I jumped at the chance to get down to one of London’s cool quarters, Brick Lane, to see a bit of Fence action. Familiarity with other artists on Fence records meant that I was aching to check out The Lone Pigeon’s (solo artist and the Beta Bands fifth and lost member) stable mate (King Creosote) and sometimes collaborator (Yorkston).
The first thing that struck me was the sheer peacefulness of the venue - like a cult - the wide-eyed front rows of the audience look like they've been here for a couple of days, smoking magic ingredients in their pipes, lying on the floor as if they are basking in the sun at the Avalon field - it’s a good vibe (man) - but we could do with more candles - and the people at the back could do with more space. Have all these people travelled from beyond the borders? - there is a scene in Scotland’s major cities (that may exist only in my head) that has an innocence and non-pretentionsiousness that you rarely feel in these parts - it is like going to a farmers market and buying some cheese and bread.
In London everything is angular hair cuts attitude, stupid style and the ridiculously cool as portrayed by Chris Morris-penned Nathan Barley and the rise of the Idiot. There is none of that here tonight. Tonight it’s back to the roots with a full menu of folk gems and more pretension on the floor than on the stage. There’s also a lot of facial hair experimentation going on. Which we like...
By the time we arrive the bespectacled and bewitching ELLIE OSBOURNE has already taken the stage. The atmosphere of the venue: marvellous. It is touching to witness an audience showing showing so much respect towards the artists. It is quiet enough to hear the cash registers ringing in between songs.
Ellie is a singer-songwriter with a fiddle instead of a guitar and folk is not my music of choice, but this is lovely. Her music bobs along gently liike a fishermans boat rocking at sea, caught in the beam of a lighthouse. She is Beth Orton with out the beeps and backing band and this is possibly laziest comparison you will ever hear. She is beautiful & gracious & sweet & folky - though I couldn’t spot a rainbow sticker on her fiddle. As with the other performers on tonight’s menu she comes across as quite shy when she talks in between her songs and often trails off in to something just above a mumble. However, off stage she's a lot more self assured leading to the assumption that her onstage kooikiness is a part of the act. It matters not: the folk world love her and tonight we do too.
His discography shows that he's released about a million albums (OK it's actually closer to 20) - a prolificness that could only bear fruit from an artist that exists outside of the mainstream music industry, as all of tonights artists do. KING CREOSOTE bears a resemblance to Badly Drawn Boy - physically and sonically, but lacks the Mancunian's cockiness and populist sensibility.
And this is no bad thing as the bearded and beanie hatted soloist ambles into the lights. His website says that KC "maintains that the song is more important than the style, and that performance outweighs recording quality. If a part can't be recorded in one take, scrap it for something simpler" - and it is obvious from tonight's performance that this is the mantra he lives by.
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The stage is where KC likes to be and he has an innocence and and untaintedness that is central to both his writing and performance - the result is fresh and although not each song is a taste explosion, like those "classic singer-song writers" that appear in the mainstream, each song has a rooty, organic flavour that you know is good for you. Tonight he is relaxed, a little shy but it is glaringly obvious that he likes people to hear his songs as nature intended. His songs often dwinddle into a strummed annecodotes as if KC has just thought of something before the song remembers where it is going and before we know it he's making way for James Yorkston's extended set.
Fife-born JAMES YORKSTON, now living in Edinburgh (those Celts really like to stick together) creates meandering, solidly-crafted songs that gently tug at your heart strings. Tonight he his lacking his sometimes backing band, the Athletes ("a nice bunch of people who James met at different times in different Edinburgh pubs...a versatile lot [who] do whatever is required to get the job done"), and on tonight's evidence he doesn't neccesarily need them, although the more probing amongst us are surely curious as to what his songs sound like with the enrichment of the extra players.
His music is obviously remincent of Nick Drake though minus the introspective tendencies. Fittingly someone faints just before "Sweet Jesus" the song that the audience have been crying out for. Like all his songs, it displays a sensitivity and strength that is well served by his particular brand of poignant, bittersweet melancholy and understated fingerpicking style. His songs are as much about story telling as pure emotion, often laying back on the music, only gently strumming to keep to keep the slightest momentum whilst he gently engages with his audience. For the last song Ellie and King Creosote rejoin Yorkston on stage and we're treated to a brief impromptu version of Travis's 'Why Does It Always Rain On me', though mercifully he doesn't get byond the first few bars.
All three artists have things in common: their music is the most obvious. The second is the rapport all build with the audience - though none are natural performers all are natural songwriters and their music's natural habitat is on stage - and the third is their charm. If you're not familiar with any of them, come and join the family.
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