Music
Press
This was the set that turned out to be the high spot of the day for me:
Amy Newton
A more engaging live performance would be hard to find. An extraordinary mixture of passion and vulnerability comes across in the songs, delivered in a highly dramatic manner tempered by a sort of impish humour, they took me on an emotional roller coaster ride that was unexpectedly powerful. Very much like when finishing a book that has held me spellbound, I didn’t want to break the mood I felt at the end of her set by listening to another band. I wanted to sit down and absorb where Amy had taken us as she bared her soul. Her album is a beautiful collection of songs but her live performance lifts them and you to a different place.
- Tin Hut Festival- Stroud
The youthful exuberance of her shows has been captured in a spontaneous outpouring of her latest material. The songs tend to fall into two categories. Loosely speaking there are her ballads, sung with strength and her swing numbers all rhythmic and restless. One offsets the other nicely bringing a robustness to the ten originals here.
David Kushar (spiralearth.co.uk) - David Kusher
Lost for words
Former LIPA student and singer/songwriter/guitarist Amy releases a debut collection of crafted, delicate and tender homegrown songs which caress the soul and twist expectations. Fans of Everything but the Girl with love the title track and its sympathetic tale of devotion and regret, which is perfect for those late night romantic hours when mere words are never enough. Smooth lead guitar on the jazz-inflected ‘Now’ follows and once we reach ‘When I think of you’ and ‘All made sense’, the fingerprints of the divine Joni Mitchell are clearly seen. But Amy retains a style and maturity of her very own and backed by Alpheous Little (bass), Chris Wilson (piano) plus Jose Joyette (drums) she has delivered an excellent album which illustrates her potential. Remember her name. AMY NEWTON
- Musician Magazine
Amy Newton is a singer with a big following in North Devon and her fan base is set to grow with the release on her new album.
The Braunton based singer-songwriter has gone back to basics for her second album, 'Which Hand', which is officially released at the 2007 North Devon Festival.
The album features 10 new songs written and produced by Amy and was recorded in a home studio set-up in her dad's living room.
She plays all the instruments on the album herself and the result is more in tune with Amy's live performances.
"I'm really excited, it's great to be able to launch the album here in North Devon," said Amy.
"I've got a lot of new material. The new album is more simplistic, I play percussion, bass and guitar. On the first album the arrangements were more elaborate musically.
"This one is much more raw, I've tried to emulate how I sound live because many of my fans have said that's what they like listening to.
"We have a mini studio at dad's place and we set that up in the living room. I locked myself in the lounge and pressed record."
Full report on www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2007/05/31/amy_newton_feature.shtml
- BBC Radio Devon
Amy Newton has shown she can handle an audience with confidence across the South West. Gaining airplay on Devon radio and an appearance on ITV West Country News has put an extra gloss on her short career. 'Which Hand?' is now her second disc. Recorded in her dad's living room and self-produced Amy intended it to be 'a showcase for my songs and the arrangements and production are simple to show you the tunes naked and bare to give more of an idea of my solo performance'.
The youthful exuberance of her shows has been captured in a spontaneous outpouring of her latest material. The songs tend to fall into two categories. Loosely speaking there are her ballads, sung with strength and her swing numbers all rhythmic and restless. One offsets the other nicely bringing a robustness to the ten originals here.
In the ballad corner we have exposed emotion and barbed comments. As Amy sorts out her true feelings different characters come and go but some of the antagonistic lines could easily be directed inward. A point in question is 'One More Time' which Amy has previously described as 'about addictions and obsessions of one kind or another'. The form of the compulsion(s) remains largely undefined however Amy really uses the outer reaches of her voice to drive points home and she certainly knows how to write a chorus.
Across on the swing side we have edgy chops and wah-wah guitar lines with scattishly rapped vocals. Amy explains - 'the songs take on more of a quirky nature. 'I didn't like you anyway' and 'Dan' sum up more of the nature of this album which is fairly light-hearted in places'. The sound remains spacious here despite the flurries of notes. Musical ideas are bursting out of these songs and a couple of moments stretch the theme a little too far for me but without any harm being done to the album as a whole.
Amy's highly developed and individualistic guitar work and catchy choruses are a heady combination. When she lets her voice fly she can be a match for a number of established modern singer/songwriters. Devon should soon prove to be too small a place for her talents.
David Kushar
Spiral Earth 2007
- David Kusher
Live music from the mail stage played day and night, including a stand-out performance from the upcoming and supremly talented Amy Newton, who performed before heading off to Glastonbury. - Digital Music Magazine
Recently seen live by MMM at Glastonbury Festival on The New Band Stage Amy Newton offered us a hearty slice of soulful acoustic guitar and controlled sassy vocals from her eponymous album. From the opening track "Monsters" there were no space fillers and the set contained some genuinely stunning moments and had a monumentally generous helping of raw emotion
- Music Mart Magazine
SO HERE'S THE THING -
A FEW WEEKENDS AGO AT ILFRACOMBE FESTIVAL I SAW A GREAT SONGWRITER, BRILLIANT GUITARIST & ABSOLUTELY STUNNING SINGER CALLED
AMY NEWTON.
SHE WAS AS GOOD AS ANYTHING I'VE SEEN THIS YEAR
HELL YOU KNOW WHAT - SHE WAS PROBABLY THE BEST!
AMY NEWTON
REMEMBER THE NAME & IF YOU HAVE SPACE FOR A FEMALE SINGER SONGWRITER IN '08...
- Keith Donnelly
Discography
Albums
"Lost for Words"
"Which Hand"
Tracks on youtube
"Watch Out"
"One More Time"
Photos
Bio
There are pivotal moments in a persons life that change the course of it forever. One of those moments happened for me whilst I was performing at Glastonbury Festival in 2004. As I looked at the people in the crowd, I could not help but be drawn to a smiley Jamaican man with a glint in his eye. I felt he really got what I was about.
His name is Derek Johnson and later he went on to produce my first album "LOST FOR WORDS". He chose a selection of top session musicians to play with me including Jose Joyette (who drummed with Stevie Wonder). This experience is one I'll never forget because everybody was on the same wavelength, no egos, just love of music. The album was mastered at Abbey Road Studios and has sold 2000+ copies to date with great reviews. I think sometimes people can feel a positive vibe and that is what this album has got.
Another pivotal moment was an event that inspired me to write my second album. Having lived in the country all my life , apart from 3 years in Liverpool (LIPA), I decided to spend some time in London playing the circuit. I was fortunate enough to stay on Damien Hirst's houseboat. One day I was sitting looking at the river and writing a new song ,when I saw a whale swimming up the Thames. It beached opposite the boat and thousands came to see this phenomenon. The whole thing was surreal and I wanted to capture the moment. This is when I decided to make my new album. I called it "WHICH HAND" and played all the instruments and produced it myself. I recorded the whole thing in my dads living room, with him as sound engineer. The first song on it was the one I was writing the day I saw the whale. I called it "Turn Things Around". It can be heard on this EPK.
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