Alan R Davison
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom | SELF
Music
Press
“With this forthcoming single, which you can hear on their MySpace page, Edinburgh based Underbelly have done it again with another epic tune. The lads have walked the T-Break stage two years in a row in 2005 and 2006, as finalists selected from over 1,000 Scottish band entries. Now it looks as if they’re ready to stand on their own feet.”
Gary Flockhart – Evening News
- Edinburgh Evening News
“Come in to Land has the same kind of quiet and loud bits beloved of Gary Lightbody. There are heavy rock guitars and soft folk guitars. Second song (I Won’t) Leave You to Die is actually better than the main song while Slow Me Down is a gorgeous acoustic ballad. After hundreds of Franz Ferdinand copycat bands it’s great to hear a band following the success of Lightbody and co.”
Rick Fulton, Soundcheck – Daily Record - The Daily Record
“With singer-songwriters like Blunty and James Morrisson ten-a-penny and still pretty poor value for money, the importance of the band in fleshing out songs has been undervalued of late. And while it’s not clear how much the songwriting in Underbelly is a band effort, certainly the opening chords and verse on ‘Alive Again’ pretty much check the boxes for tunesmithery and light, delicate chart-friendly pop. However, wait for the chorus and the unprepared may have their roofs blown off – turning a slightly folky tune into a slow-building Snow Patrol-eqsue epic that would fit a stadium better than a folk club.” - Is This Music
“...Alan Davison’s ability to crowd-please on demand, ably backed by Underbelly, he took us through a selection of rock belters in true troubadour fashion. His voice warmed up as the set progressed and by the end we saw the strongest lyrical rock of the night...”
Angus Young – T-Break
- T In the Park T-Break Review
Discography
I'm Glad You Talked Me Round EP - Alan Davison
Twenty Fifteen EP - Alan Davison
Come Into Land - Underbelly
Empty Faces - Underbelly
Photos
Bio
Gigs
Gigs include billing with artists such as ASH, Nizlopi, Foy Vance, Gary Go, Jonny McDaid, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, Eskimo 1, The Hedrons, Jill Jackson and, notably a few acoustic performances with Snow Patrols Nathan Connolly most recently when Alan was invited to play a showcase for Polar Patrol Publishing (Patrols brand new label) in London in April of last year.
Solo success
Alan has put debut solo album, The White Eagle Lounge, into action. Pre-production has started on the 14 track debut with a super-group of players signed up and ready to go. Recording will start in March 2011. The album will act as both a release for Alan as an artist as well as a portfolio for getting into song-writing for other artists and for film and TV. Snow Patrols Nathan Connolly will also be appearing on the record. The 2008 solo track Superhero captured the attention and support of many a local Edinburgh musician. The song and video features a choir of 30 of some of most dedicated of Scottish musical talent. Superhero is a commercial track designed to promote local bands and collaborative relationships, to attract attention from
TV and film industries and to just be good fun! (Video on Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9_kbee2wc). In 2005 Alans solo single Im Glad You Talked Me Round won him a place in the heats for T-Break (T in the Parks annual unsigned competition) and meant the airing of the singles title track on BBC Radio 1 Scotland.
The Elements
Efforts are being poured into Alans solo album but also side project, The Elements. The Elements began as a collective on the back of Alans Identity Parade music showcase, bringing together some of Edinburghs most hard-working musicians, collaborations with whom led to the formation of the band, properly, in early 2008. The Elements recorded a promo video for a track called New York City after American indie film company, Southern Gothic Promotions, picked up the song to use as part of a fundraiser event to make a film called Pedestrian sometime next year. SoGoPro was started by One Tree Hill producer Kelly Tenney and actress, Hilarie Burton. The interest prompted The Elements to make a great little video of their own to accompany the release. The band will release the New York City EP on Wednesday 2 February having promoted the release at six different Edinburgh festival appearances, including the much-respected Acoustic Edinburgh event when The Elements shared the bill with Alex Cornish and the hotly-tipped Mersault (24.8.10).
Underbelly
Alan fronted Edinburgh four-piece, Underbelly, between 2003 and 2008. After some defining musical experiences in Belfast and collaborative gigs with local Edinburgh musicians Alan found his feet and started Underbelly in March 03 which was to bring success in 2005 with their EP Come in to Land hitting the airwaves on XFM Scotland and even enjoying airplay on Radio 1 Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as earning them some great reviews from The Daily Record, The Belfast Telegraph and The Evening News as well as a variety of online review sites.
Success again in 2006 for Underbelly when they too were invited to perform at T-Break, this time chosen out of a record 1,000 entries from around Scotland boosting both Alans and Underbellys profiles impressively. Before calling it a day, Underbelly ended 2008 on a high with invitations to perform at prestigious showcase, The Mill, then the Forth One to Watch award and the Evening News battle of the bands.
Not all strictly influences but bands I am loving the work of...
Carey Brothers, Tom Petty, Elbow, Snow Patrol, Sun Kil Moon, I Am Kloot, Death Cab For Cutie, Doves, Ambulance Ltd, Foo Fighters, Editors, Reindeer Section, Ash.
Links
