Listen Up - Crayon Angels
A look at some of the emerging artists of the acoustic roots & folk circuit
This month's Listen Up feature put's the spotlight on the Crayon Angels who are a London based trio who are releasing their debut album 'People You may Know' on the 18th October, difficult to pigeon hole into one genre their music features elements of folk, pop, jazz and rock creating their own distinctive style,
How would you describe your music?
In a nutshell we are: Natalina Castiglioni (vocals), Del Halpin (guitar, mandola and slide) and Ian Montague (guitar, vocals) - three pleasant humans from East London and Essex writing and performing some nice songs for grown-ups in an acoustic setting. We are - by our own admission - no spring chickens so we do try to ensure that the songs we write are age-appropriate. To hear the middle-aged singing about 'making sweet, sweet love 'til the morning light' as their silver chest hair peeks out tantalizingly from their shirts can be upsetting for an audience or listener. The loss of a parent, the leaving the nest of a child, the late rekindling of a first love and the ludicrous behaviour of the ageing lothario are the sort of subjects we cover - things we feel equipped to write about.
Musically speaking, we occupy a place on the musical map somewhere around Folk, just north of Americana (Del's bits) with a weekend mini-break to 'Clever English Pop' (Ian's bits) and an occasional day trip to Soul (Natalina's voice). In a live setting we are pretty much an acoustic trio while in the studio the temptation to add other colours is too great (with a particular penchant for the much-maligned Finger Cymbal and the cruelly overlooked Morris Bell).
Our influences in terms of songwriting would be some of the true greats like Ray Davies, Richard Thompson, Kirsty MacColl, Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding (XTC), Neil Hannon (Divine Comedy) - all marvellous and in some cases criminally under-valued.
What has been your highlight so far?
For us the highlight has been finding a genuine grassroots scene where we can play our songs to a listening audience.
We are constantly amazed by the dedication of the people who run the folk clubs and acoustic nights that we tend to frequent. They do it purely for the love of the music and not to make money out of the acts (probably just as well). The time and effort it takes to keep these things going is not to be sniffed at - particularly after the last eighteen months and it's lovely to see them start to open up again.
It's been great getting out playing and seeing and meeting other acts - young pups and old lags alike. The talent of the acts - playing for the love of it - is incredible and it's generally a very generous and supportive scene. There may be the odd character who does their own spot and slides away into the night but more often than not people stick around in the spirit of 'you had to listen to me so I'll hang about and listen to you'. Quite right too.
Also those who write blogs and do their radio shows - labourers of love, putting in their unpaid time and effort to promote and share the music they believe in.
Not forgetting the audiences who rouse themselves from their sofas after a hard week or on a chilly Tuesday in November to go out and watch us all pouring our little hearts out. Hats off to you, you are all good eggs.
What plans regarding recordings, video, tours etc do you have for the future?
We have just released our first album 'People You May Know' courtesy of the fantastic Submarine Broadcasting Company label. It has eleven nice songs on it and although some of it was recorded during lockdown, all of the songs were written prior to that. So you will be relieved to hear that there are no 'I Got Them Lockdown Blues' type shenanigans on it.
All being well, we have a series of gigs arranged in October and November to mark the release where you will be able to secure a CD version of the album. Otherwise it will be available on 'all the usual platforms'. Gig details are on our meticulously maintained website (crayonangels.co.uk) so do pop along if you can.
We have sidestepped the thorny issue of doing a video as we didn't think that anyone (including us) would want to see us trying to look windswept and interesting somewhere on the Essex coastline. Thank us later.
Is there anything else you would like to say or any message to our readers?
Without wishing to try to teach anyone's Granny to suck eggs and any reader of an august organ like FATEA will likely already do this but, if you go to see an act and enjoy them and you have a couple of quid to spare, do think about buying some of the wares from their merchandise table. A CD, a badge, a tea towel or perhaps a bobble hat with the act's name on it. That way they can afford to make more delightful music for your listening pleasure. It does give a little thrill to acts like us when someone voluntarily takes something we have made into their lovely home.
Other than that, chin up and vote tactically.
For more details:
https://www.crayonangels.co.uk/
Live
Fatea Showcase Sessions
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.
Corsair is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy
www.fatea-showcase-sessions.co.uk for all the artist information.