Douglas Kay

Artist Information

Biography

“he's very good” Eartha Kitt

“insightful lyrics” Michael Potvin, Indie In-Tune Mgazine

“great voice the man's got, very mellow...loving that...” Shaun Keaveny, Xfm

“delightful... beautiful acoustic melodies” Karen Dorrat, T-Break Reviews

During the past decade Douglas Kay has honed his performance skills in the clubs, bars and coffee houses of Australasia, North America, Africa and Europe.

The 2003 release of his debut album Of All The Towns To Sleep In generated airplay on radio and TV stations worldwide, including BBC Radio One, BBC Radio Scotland, Australia's GWN & Central FM and Xfm London - where Moving Target won the listener vote after featuring on the show X-Posure.

Douglas Kay Band, which features Alex Hunter (bass) and Hugh Martin (drums), was formed following the release of Towns and since then the trio has played a number of notable gigs around the UK, including the Ben & Jerry’s Sundae on the Common (alongside Billy Bragg and Doves), T-Break Showcases and numerous appearances at the world famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In addition, Douglas has continued to play solo acoustic shows; these have included gigs alongside KT Tunstall and Amy MacDonald as well as tours of the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

The band's album Into Your Head was released on CD, download and limited edition USB drive in late 2009 and features ten tracks penned by Kay; it opens with the uptempo, hook-laden All These Days which is followed by the stripped back Better, a song which topped a poll of tracks by Scottish acts in the Edinburgh Evening News and has also received airplay on the BBC Radio Scotland. Thereafter the album offers up an eclectic collection of songs, with moments of delicate beauty (as on the guitar and strings number Everything In The World Outside’s Alright) contrasted by the swelling crescendo of tracks such as Haunted. The common threads throughout the work are Martin’s sympathetic, jazz-influenced drumming, Hunter’s melodic basslines and the thoughtful, passionate lyrics of Kay which are delivered in his warm, honeyed tenor.

Summer 2010 saw the band perform a number of gigs in Glasgow and London; in August they returned to Edinburgh for a series of shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Instrumentation

Douglas Kay - vocals, guitars, piano
Alex Hunter - bass
Hugh Martin - drums / percussion

Discography

"On Christmas Day" - 3 track E.P. (2011)

"Into Your Head" - 10 track album (2009)

"Late" - 5 track solo acoustic mini-LP (2006)

"Of All The Towns To Sleep In" - 11 track album (2003)

"How Can I Be Sure?" - 4 track EP (2003)

The track "Better" from "Into Your Head" has been featured on Radio Scotland.

Songs from "Of All The Towns To Sleep In" have been featured on radio in the UK (BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio Scotland and Xfm London) and on Australian radio and TV (Central FM, GWN)

Tracks from the album are also receiving regular podcast play worldwide, on podcasts affiliated to the Podcast Music Network.
The song "How Can I Be Sure?" remained in the PMN's top ten "Highest Rated" and "Most Listened To" lists after over two years.

Links

• Facebook
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Douglas Kay Band Official YouTube Channel

Audio

• Haunted
  Listen   Download
• Better
  Listen   Download
• How Can I Be Sure?
  Listen   Download
• Straight
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• Haunted
• Better
• How Can I Be Sure?
• Straight

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Fondoo Review, Jan 2008 [+ Show ]
  

  Finishing up the evening was the headline act, Douglas Kay Band. Fronted by vocalist and songwriter ...Finishing up the evening was the headline act, Douglas Kay Band. Fronted by vocalist and songwriter Douglas Kay,
  the Edinburgh 3 piece impressed with high quality acoustic rock music. Playing effortlessly through an extended set it
  was easy to see why the band has had such success so far. Distinctive vocals and great songs were backed up by
  intricate bass lines and solid drum beats making the Douglas Kay band a real pleasure to listen to. Watch this space for their eagerly anticipated new album.

• T Break Live Review, May 2005 [+ Show ]
  

  There’s always one poor soul who catches the technical hitches bug, and sadly tonight it falls to th...There’s always one poor soul who catches the technical hitches bug, and sadly tonight it falls to the delightful Douglas Kay. Pushing through he sweet-talks the crowd and plays beautiful acoustic melodies ably supported by his new full band. By third song “Straight” from his album “Of All The Towns To Sleep In” the mellow side of Kay is creeping out and lovely it is too, more of this would lead him dangerously close to David Gray sized classics.
  
  WORDS: Karen Dorrat
  

• Album Review, April 2003 [+ Show ]
  

  This is Douglas Kay’s debut album, the product of five months work in Edinburgh’s More Human recordi...This is Douglas Kay’s debut album, the product of five months work in Edinburgh’s More Human recording studio. He’s been playing solo acoustic gigs in Edinburgh since 1996 and has played his way around Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Europe, all the time gathering confidence and material for songwriting.
  
  Of All The Towns To Sleep In sees Kay using the studio to colour in the outlines of his careful song sketches – he plays pretty much all the instruments on the album and avails himself of modern digital techniques to manipulate them. The ploy usually works really well, like on the loop-driven opening track Moving Target, the dual lead vocal on How Can I Be Sure and the treated spoken section of Facing Up, although sometimes there’s the feeling that we’re being presented with a full sound stage simply because it was possible.
  
  The songs, happily, are the record’s strong suit. Consistently thoughtful and passionate, the constant theme is passage; passage of time and distance, passage of people and the passage involved in living itself. Given the similarity of tone and pace throughout the album, you have to listen a few times to really appreciate the songs, but it’s worth it. Kay has a honeyed, warm voice reminiscent of Steve Forbert, best presented on the lovely, resigned When You’ve Gone and the almost unplugged closing track Year.
  
  Of All The Towns To Sleep In is available from www.douglaskay.com
  
  STUART FERGUSON

Setlist

Shows played are either solo acoustic or done as a three-piece (guitar and vocals / bass / drums).

Sets can be anything up to 90 minutes long.

Here is a typical setlist:

1. SAID

2. BETTER

3. HOW CAN I BE SURE?

4. LET ME IN

5. SEE IT COME DOWN

6. HANG ON

7. FACING UP

8. WHEN YOU’VE GONE

9. HAUNTED

10. ADELAIDE

11. MOVING TARGET

Basic Requirements

Calendar