C.R. Avery

C.R. Avery is a one man hip hop beat-box blues harmonica Americana iconoclast. If Lawrence Ferlinghetti could play harmonica like Little Walter, you'd have an idea of where C.R. is coming from and the genre busting audio statement that defines his latest release, Magic Hour Sailor Songs.

C.R.'s intense delivery and storytelling has been likened to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska era, or Tom Waits (who is a fan), but mainly, Avery's words and visions come from his slam poetry pieces, honed by the merciless, sudden death, one-victor-and-all- others-cast-aside competitive nature of the slam world. As such, having been performed in front of an audience that demands both intellectual clarity and visceral honesty, competing against the very best work of the very best poets, his pieces are crafted to a necessary perfection.

Fresh from a European jaunt which included support dates for Buck 65 and showcases in Paris, he's brought back a suitcase full of reviews and accolades, including a glowing review (4 out of 5 stars) from the UK's Time Out weekly:

"(C.R. Avery's) union of hip-hop and beat-up blues packs a powerful punch, while lyrical truths creep slowly up your spine."

"Each track is utterly compelling as the words cover the tunes that serve as frames for the poeticism of the lyric. This album is a listener not background and if you do you will be rewarded in spades by the most imaginative artist this reviewer has heard in ages. A true artist." 9/10 - Keith Hargreaves
AMERICANA-UK

Magic Hour Sailor Songs is released May 12 in France and continental Europe by Platinum Records France in a Euro-only version that has been re-mastered and re-sequenced; replacing two tracks with two Euro only songs, "St Marie" and "Sylvee".

If Magic Hour Sailor Songs is an elegiac poetic tour de force, bending and crisscrossing genres; his live one-man show is another force to be reckoned with. Bongo Beat is proud to announce that C.R. has been asked by Billy Bragg to support him on his upcoming North American tour.