BIOGraphy.
John
Cunningham was born in the sixties in Liverpool. Is that really worth mentioning
? If you have listened to his new album 'Happy-Go-Unlucky' you might have worked
that one out for yourself. However this is no Mersey-beat revival but a serious
fondness for timeless melodies and a matchless ability to tug at the heartstrings
with a few choice guitar chords and a frail but magically warm voice.
After
playing for a while in a band called The Curtain Twitchers (with Jane from the
Marine Girls), John started recording songs on his own and eventually caught
the attention of Brighton-based label La-Di-Da, who released his first record,
'Backward Steps' in 1989, included three songs co-produced by Stan Cullimore
(from the Housemartins). The first full-length album 'Shankly Gates' revealed
a more refined songwriting and a slight inclination toward jazz, as well as
a generally more nostalgic tone. The orchestration also became more sophisticated
and personal. 'Shankly Gates' got rave reviews in France, the very choosy "Les
Inrockuptibles" fell in love with it, and Japan where he was invited for a series
of sell-out gigs. The songwriters John is often musically compared to are Nick
Drake, Robert Wyatt, Mark Hollis.
site
designed by arnver.com
{page}
Another album, 'Bringing in the Blue' was released through La-di-da, but the
label
soon folded and we were left with no news from John. The release of 'Homeless
House'
broke a four-year-long period of silence. The eight new songs were recorded
in Brighton in 1998 with help from Julian Tardo (from Insides, ex-Earwig) in
an attempt to sound as natural as possible. The melodic songs quietly flow along,
the acoustic guitars, piano and bass give them an almost classical touch. The
lyrics decorate them with poetry. The album's charming simplicity not only convinced
those who enjoy the current neo-folk scene (Ron Sexsmith, Elliott Smith, Will
Oldham) but also those who always keep a copy of Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" at
their bedside.
Back on track with his album " Homeless House " praised by both media and public,
John Cunningham made a series of concerts in France in the year 2000. During
of these concerts, he met Mehdi Zannad, leader of FUGU and they discovered they
had a lot of musical things in common. This new complicity made them work together
on their respective albums as John mixed most songs on FUGU's first album and
Mehdi arranged some titles on his English friend's new record. The success of
the album brought both of them on the road, with performances in England where
they played with bands like Stereolab.
Maybe more subtle than ever, the songs on "Happy-Go-Unlucky", John Cunningham's
so expected newest album, show once again the incredible finesse in the melodies
of the English songwriter and singer. John Cunningham offers a new set of brilliant
compositions sometimes inspired by a new sense of joy but always with the same
sense of untouchable sensibility… After their first collaboration, no wonder
we find on this album some pieces strongly orchestrated by FUGU but also some
balder songs. The inspiration in the melodies is nevertheless the main thread
in this album. Once again, this exceptional songwriter proves the excellence
of his work although he remains one of the most unrecognised and neglected figures
of his time.
