Harker
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Harker

London, England, United Kingdom | INDIE

London, England, United Kingdom | INDIE
Band Folk Singer/Songwriter

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"Anecdote - Press Release"

Singer-Songwriter HARKER Releases New EP.

Independent British singer-songwriter HARKER, aka James Harker, has set a release date of October 14th 2013 for his new EP, Anecdote: a 4-track record, produced to professional standard for no money at all.

In March 2012, Harker released his debut album, The Red Room, also produced on a micro-budget. The album received several positive reviews from indie blogs and magazines, but otherwise sank without trace. For the follow-up, Harker wanted something a bit more accessible, without compromising on creative integrity.

“For the new record, I wanted to write some songs that would have much more immediacy, and be instantly engaging, both for me and for a wider audience. I promised myself to keep the songs at 'radio-friendly' lengths, melodies that aren't too byzantine, and chord sequences not too left-of-field - without ever feeling that I was compromising my integrity as a songwriter."

"I decided to run with the theme of places. Life seems so much to be about the places we inhabit and pass through, and those places are not only the geographical locations themselves, but the people in them, the emotions we experience while there, and the memories we gather from them. Anecdote is a brief set of reflections on a few places that have meant something important to me over the past year."

"Furthermore, this theme meant writing a 'folk' record, rather than the 'chamber pop' which characterised The Red Room. Thus, rather than putting the piano - my natural instrument - at the heart of the songs, I went with the acoustic guitar. And from that starting point I built the songs. However, being a pianist by trade, the songs still come across as those of a piano player, so they're interesting to listen to as guitar-oriented, singer-songwriter tracks."

Another point of interest is that Harker teamed up with electronica producer Vast, to help him create the record. Anecdote was predominantly recorded at Vast's north London studio. As a result, while it's ostensibly an acoustic/folk record, the production sensibilities of Vast lend it a different tone - one with more depth and bass - which makes the EP an intriguing listen.

With its lush production, flowing melodies and also its English flavour, Anecdote is perfect for fans of Bon Iver, Nick Drake, Mumford and Sons, Fleet Foxes, James Taylor, The Divine Comedy, and Iron and Wine.

"Singer-songwriter folk is not necessarily the direction in which I'm going, however," says Harker. "The next record will probably be electronic, and will possibly be called Anecdote II. I like to surprise people."

Anecdote released October 14th 2013.
Available on iTunes and other download stores.
www.jamesharkermusic.com/anecdote
http://jamesharker.bandcamp.com/album/anecdote

Sign up to the mailing list for a free download upon release
For further information, please contact
info@jamesharkermusic.com - Harker


"Anecdote - Press Release"

Singer-Songwriter HARKER Releases New EP.

Independent British singer-songwriter HARKER, aka James Harker, has set a release date of October 14th 2013 for his new EP, Anecdote: a 4-track record, produced to professional standard for no money at all.

In March 2012, Harker released his debut album, The Red Room, also produced on a micro-budget. The album received several positive reviews from indie blogs and magazines, but otherwise sank without trace. For the follow-up, Harker wanted something a bit more accessible, without compromising on creative integrity.

“For the new record, I wanted to write some songs that would have much more immediacy, and be instantly engaging, both for me and for a wider audience. I promised myself to keep the songs at 'radio-friendly' lengths, melodies that aren't too byzantine, and chord sequences not too left-of-field - without ever feeling that I was compromising my integrity as a songwriter."

"I decided to run with the theme of places. Life seems so much to be about the places we inhabit and pass through, and those places are not only the geographical locations themselves, but the people in them, the emotions we experience while there, and the memories we gather from them. Anecdote is a brief set of reflections on a few places that have meant something important to me over the past year."

"Furthermore, this theme meant writing a 'folk' record, rather than the 'chamber pop' which characterised The Red Room. Thus, rather than putting the piano - my natural instrument - at the heart of the songs, I went with the acoustic guitar. And from that starting point I built the songs. However, being a pianist by trade, the songs still come across as those of a piano player, so they're interesting to listen to as guitar-oriented, singer-songwriter tracks."

Another point of interest is that Harker teamed up with electronica producer Vast, to help him create the record. Anecdote was predominantly recorded at Vast's north London studio. As a result, while it's ostensibly an acoustic/folk record, the production sensibilities of Vast lend it a different tone - one with more depth and bass - which makes the EP an intriguing listen.

With its lush production, flowing melodies and also its English flavour, Anecdote is perfect for fans of Bon Iver, Nick Drake, Mumford and Sons, Fleet Foxes, James Taylor, The Divine Comedy, and Iron and Wine.

"Singer-songwriter folk is not necessarily the direction in which I'm going, however," says Harker. "The next record will probably be electronic, and will possibly be called Anecdote II. I like to surprise people."

Anecdote released October 14th 2013.
Available on iTunes and other download stores.
www.jamesharkermusic.com/anecdote
http://jamesharker.bandcamp.com/album/anecdote

Sign up to the mailing list for a free download upon release
For further information, please contact
info@jamesharkermusic.com - Harker


"The Big Takeover Review"

This Sheffield, UK raised singer/actor (Harker won acclaim portraying Tony Blair in a sellout musical at the Edinburgh festival) spent three years recording this debut, raising funds by playing piano in a restaurant and writing short film scores. But despite the shoestring budget, he’s crafted an elegant, luxurious warm sounding orchestral/classical pop album. It’s led by his tickling, sonorous piano and stylish, amorous croon, complemented by lush, crescending strings, Jessy Price’s angelic backing vocals and even Chinese erhu. Exquisite, slowly unfolding compositions such as ‘Last days of Rome’, “The Exile” and “Wide Sargasso Sea” recall New Zealand favourites Don McGlashan and Humphreys and Keen, with dashed of Rufus Wainwright and The Divine Comedy. Like a Beethoven sonata, Harker’s genteel music evokes a bygone era, spellbinding and enriching. (CD2 contains radio edits, a “Wide Sargasso Sea” demo and French and German renditions of “Lost Soul Music”)

Mark Suppanz

In The Big Take Over
Issue 70 - The Big Takeover


"Strutter Magazine Review"

"The Scottish [sic] singer/songwriter JAMES HARKER is not delivering one, but 2 full-length CDs as a debut album. ‘The red room’ is the title of the record, which has kept him busy since 2008. The result is a Classic 1970s style Singer/Songwriter album, with a strong focus on the Piano/Vocal department. The sound is crystal clear, with high pitched vocals also here and there, but I have to say that James sounds better in the lower octave range than when switching to the higher vocal octave.

Although ELTON JOHN is a comparison one might draw at the start, vocally James is more diverse actually and also musically more interesting than Elton has ever been. Especially during a song like “Counterfeit” there is a real atmospheric approach with some nice female backing vocals as well. The music is quite calm and sounding very laid-back and is quite interesting to check out if you’re a fan of ANTHONY AND THE JOHNSONS, NICK CAVE, TORI AMOS… Somehow his voice even has some similarities to TONY HADLEY during “Lost soul music” and as already mentioned, the music is also very diverse, with a jazzy 1920s mood swing type of tune titled “Flimsy whimsy” slipped right through too.

Actually it is hard to put this album in one specific genre, as it offering a very wide explosion of music styles, although atmospheric piano/vocal inspired Pop might be a nice description. Check it out for yourself at: www.jamesharkermusic.bandzoogle.com/"

Gabor Kleinbloesem - Strutter Magazine


"Celtic Music Radio Review"

"One of the finest albums I have heard in a long time. It evokes the skill and feel in its Englishness of Noel Coward and one of my favourite songwriters Clifford T. Ward, but has the internationality of the great Jimmy Webb."

Tom Hamilton - Celtic Music Radio


"Celtic Music Radio Review"

"One of the finest albums I have heard in a long time. It evokes the skill and feel in its Englishness of Noel Coward and one of my favourite songwriters Clifford T. Ward, but has the internationality of the great Jimmy Webb."

Tom Hamilton - Celtic Music Radio


"Fatea Records Review"

Micro budgets hold no fear for James Harker, having spent three years producing a two-disc album and video with next to no cash. The 12 songs that make up The Red Room started to take shape in the venue of the same name at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival where James performed alongside various purveyors of avant garde music and theatre.

It stretched his mind and body, prompting him to wrote these songs that chronicle the immersion as well as the fall out and its attendant existential angst. Having recruited a string quartet and found a paying gig as a restaurant pianist, James funded the record as his experiences fed back into the songs.

What emerges is a set of distinctive songs that stand on their own two feet, some dressed in slightly more shabby garb than others, but all with the potential to be far more than they appear. Clearly Harker has a way with a song, channels the spirits of early Elton, Rufus Wainwright, Jon Brion, Kate Bush, Neil Hannon, even Stuart A Staples and deserves your aural attention. Lost Soul Music rails against Cowell and his kind, while Last Days of Rome (the lead single) paints romantic-decadent pictures of marvellous youth.

At different times it's delicate, upsetting, soaring and sour, but always articulate, The Red Room is a major achievement from a writer of no small talent who should be applauded for taking the DIY route to escape the oblivion of obscurity.

Nick Churchill - Fatea Records (Magazine)


"Fatea Records Review"

Micro budgets hold no fear for James Harker, having spent three years producing a two-disc album and video with next to no cash. The 12 songs that make up The Red Room started to take shape in the venue of the same name at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival where James performed alongside various purveyors of avant garde music and theatre.

It stretched his mind and body, prompting him to wrote these songs that chronicle the immersion as well as the fall out and its attendant existential angst. Having recruited a string quartet and found a paying gig as a restaurant pianist, James funded the record as his experiences fed back into the songs.

What emerges is a set of distinctive songs that stand on their own two feet, some dressed in slightly more shabby garb than others, but all with the potential to be far more than they appear. Clearly Harker has a way with a song, channels the spirits of early Elton, Rufus Wainwright, Jon Brion, Kate Bush, Neil Hannon, even Stuart A Staples and deserves your aural attention. Lost Soul Music rails against Cowell and his kind, while Last Days of Rome (the lead single) paints romantic-decadent pictures of marvellous youth.

At different times it's delicate, upsetting, soaring and sour, but always articulate, The Red Room is a major achievement from a writer of no small talent who should be applauded for taking the DIY route to escape the oblivion of obscurity.

Nick Churchill - Fatea Records (Magazine)


"A Name To Look Out For (BritMag Mention)"

New Music: A name to look out for.

The Red Room by James Harker
CD released on 15th March

A debut with instant appeal, produced on a micro budget and all the more notable for Harker’s French-language bonus track, La Musique des Âmes Perdues. Sheffield-raised Harker played the title role of Tony Blair in an acclaimed Edinburgh Festival play but his music is what’ll make his name: flavours of Ben Folds, Tori Amos and a smooth voice reminiscent of The Divine Comedy. Anyone ready to record in two languages is likely to do well in France; a name to look out for. - BritMag


"A Name To Look Out For (BritMag Mention)"

New Music: A name to look out for.

The Red Room by James Harker
CD released on 15th March

A debut with instant appeal, produced on a micro budget and all the more notable for Harker’s French-language bonus track, La Musique des Âmes Perdues. Sheffield-raised Harker played the title role of Tony Blair in an acclaimed Edinburgh Festival play but his music is what’ll make his name: flavours of Ben Folds, Tori Amos and a smooth voice reminiscent of The Divine Comedy. Anyone ready to record in two languages is likely to do well in France; a name to look out for. - BritMag


"The Red Room - The New Album, Single & Video from James Harker"

Independent British singer-songwriter James Harker releases his debut single, "Last Days Of Rome", from his forthcoming album "The Red Room". The single comes accompanied by a stunning music video, produced independently and on a microbudget. - JamesHarkerMusic


Discography

"Anecdote" - 4-track EP (released 14th October 2013)

"The Red Room" - Album (released 15th March 2012)

"Last Days Of Rome" - Single (released 21 November 2011)

Photos

Bio


Contact: info@jamesharkermusic.com

HARKER, aka James Harker, was raised in Sheffield, England, and first began cultivating his musical interests participating in his school concert band and big band playing bass. Meanwhile, he took home vinyls of Peter Gabriel, early Elton John, Robert Fripp, Talking Heads and Paul Simon, and began producing his own home-made albums on the side. Within time, he began showcasing his songs on the school stage, performing under-rehearsed rock numbers in front of bewildered peers and teachers.

Since graduating from the University of York, where he'd been involved in the university’s drama and music scenes, (including stripping completely naked in front of nearly 2,000 people in the university's production of 'The Full Monty' musical), James has worked as almost everything: piano player in an Italian restaurant, gin seller, caterer to the Royal Family, wine seller, and medical administrator - all while trying to pursue a music career.

In 2009 James released his debut album, The Red Room, written - like so many records - on the back on a brief and ill-fated love affair. He has also composed music for films, and has acted in a number of shows, including an hour-long comic monologue on the off-West End stage, and a comedy-horror short film. In recent months, James has begun collaborating on a large project with electronica producer Vast, and continued to work on his solo career.

---ACCLAIM FOR THE RED ROOM---

"Exquisite ... spellbinding and enriching."
- Mark Suppanz, The Big Takeover Magazine

"Delicate, upsetting, soaring and sour, but always articulate, The Red Room is a major achievement from a writer of no small talent."
- Nick Churchill, Fatea Records Magazine

"One of the finest albums I have heard in a long time."
- Tom Hamilton, Celtic Music Radio

"A classic 1970s style Singer/Songwriter album ... offering a very wide explosion of music styles."
- Gabor Kleinbloesem, Strutter Magazine

---ACCLAIM FOR HARKER---

"Delicate, soaring pop" - Indiestore panel of music journalists, including NME and Rolling Stone

"A smooth voice reminiscent of The Divine Comedy ... A name to look out for" - Britmag

"Providing enough physical presence to make the audience ripple with excitement every time he is on stage" - Broadway Baby

"Truly excellent" - The Scotsman