Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"Unashamed brilliance"
…The sun was out in the tiny garden at the back of Kro and find of the festival, Gillan Edgar, was making the most of the crowd.
He calls his music unashamedly pop, but in fact, it’s simply unashamed brilliance, walking that fine line that can land you on the covers of both the music and the teen mags.
He delivered his “wee songs” with an affable humour and unmistakable charm that saw him even manage to start a sing-along for his set closer, the insanely catchy The Greatest Gift. What followed at Kro simply couldn’t live up to his standard.
- bbc.co.uk
“Gillan Edgar sounds like Paolo Nutini, had he played Merseybeat ditties in the early Sixties. The charming cheek that propelled Robbie Williams to stratospheric fame sat comfortably alongside confident, happy-go-lucky indie-pop tunes, and he could easily have an audience of Pantera fans putting on crisp shirts and combing their hair before they realise what has happened.
Although no rip-off, the chorus to ‘Eloise’ continued the good work done by Deep Blue Something back in 1995 with ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’, and it is this wholesome accessibility that means he deserves a place on every teenage girl’s bedroom in the UK.
Sadly though, for Edgar’s likeability rating is surely impossible to chart, it was only when his swift exchanges between violin and keys occurred that heart-throb status was surpassed, and he is evidently capable of playing tunes further down the ‘White Album’ route…”
Megan Vaughan
- manchestermusic.co.uk
RealfreshTV @ Futuresonic Electronica Gig :
“First up, after the RealFresh presenter's got all his swearing out of the way rather creatively prior to the start of filming, is the decidedly unelectronic Gillan Edgar.
"That's Gillan as in Ian Gillan, Edgar as in, er, Edgar Allen Poe", he tells us. "It's kind of strange to be playing with all these electronic acts, being just a guy with a guitar... but it's OK, cos I'm actually a robot. Made in the Highlands."
He's got a bunch of sweet, poignant little songs about girls and friends and a gorgeous, rich voice which makes even a fairly simple line like "We can take the next flight, it'll all be all right, and we can star at the sun all day" sound like the best proposition in the world, and even drafts the small but friendly crowd in on backing vocals towards the end of his set.”
Cath Aubergine - manchestermusic.co.uk
Discography
Various birthday and christmas albums for friends and family, (1994 - present). No formal releases!
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Biog / Article by my good friend Taylor Mitchell -
According to his myspace blurb, Gillan Edgar describes himself as “…a British-based, Scottish-voiced troubadour/songsmith… a multi-instrumental egomaniac posing as an acoustic singer/songwriter who tends toward the retro and organic.”
Over the past year, he has been drawing comparisons with, amongst others, Paolo Nutini, Neil Finn, Travis and (most pleasing to Gillan) The Beatles. “It always comes back to them for me. No contest.”
Other influences are many and varied however, Gillan citing the complex and emotive music of Elliott Smith, the curious productions of Jon Brion, the quirky writing of Ray Davies and the sheer musical bravado of Queen as key influences in his style of writing and performing. He also has a place in his heart for “Good, honest pop music; regardless of how fashionable it is”
So why does he feel the need to write and perform music?
“There’s something inside me that is so focused on creating music, that it seems a brilliant idea to drag myself out of bed at 3 in the morning to record an idea that’s woken me up and won’t let me get back to sleep. I’m sure my neighbours would disagree.”
His musical career began at a very early age, beginning with piano lessons at the age of 7. The biggest influence on his decision to become a musician appears to have been his Papa.
“He was deeply into classical music, though never a player himself, and he’d always be suggesting composers and works I should listen to. For my 10th birthday, he gave me the violin his Grandad had played, so the family encouraged me to learn to play it to quite a high level. I had other ideas though – I thought the guitar was far sexier when I became a teenager, plus I couldn’t really sing with it under my chin; all my heroes at the time were singers in bands, and it’s pretty hard to play Paperback Writer on the violin…”
However, almost as a ‘tip-of-the-hat’ to his grandfather who passed away a couple of years back, Gillan now incorporates the violin playing into his live performance, as well as the piano.
“I figured it was about time I really started showing what I can do. Plus I think the violin is kind of sexy again.”
Since the decision to go it alone at the turn of last year, Gillan has been busy playing his music to receptive crowds up and down the country, from the bars of Glasgow (armed with two acoustics, a wealth of catchy, upbeat pop songs and his engaging positivity) to the Mount Ephraim Gardens in Kent for an appearance at this year’s Electric Gardens Festival (bolstered by a recently assembled and slightly boisterous backing band).
“It’s great to have all the noise and fireworks of a full band. I mean, I was brought up on Queen, so there’s definitely a bombastic element to my musical makeup. But I’m glad I started out playing by myself; one man and a guitar. I proved to myself I can get the crowd singing along with me on my own, so adding the band just enhances what I do – they’re not there to hide anything.”
Gillan sees a bright future ahead of him, and there’s no sign of him deviating from the musical path he’s been on for close to 15 years.
“I frequently get people from America and Europe asking me through myspace where they can buy my CD. I have to tell them there isn’t one in the shops just yet, but to keep their eyes peeled – we’re working on it!”
Surely for Gillan, with his incontestable stage presence, intelligent and catchy songwriting, sheer drive and love for music, getting a CD in the shops, and much more besides, are only a matter of time away.
Taylor Mitchell
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