Rowen Bridler
Simon Stirling
The sound of a generation is always really influenced by the technology available to it. The ‘50s had electric guitars and that’s why we got rock’n’roll. The ‘80s had synthesizers and from their loins sprang forth electro. And in 2013? Well, we have YouTube.
If you’re a singer with a guitar there’s a good chance someone will at some point compare you to Bob Dylan.
A lot of people would say that like it’s a bad thing. But for bands social media, and anything that lets you broadcast yourself freely and easily, has to be a good thing. Thanks to the Myspaces, YouTubes and Facebooks of the world we’v3e got all kinds of lo-fi bedroom singer songwriters we wouldn’t otherwise have. All of which brings me to Rowen Bridler. She’s everything you would want in a musician and almost nothing a record exec would want in a money-spinner. She’s talented, she’s great at telling stories with her music, she’s herself (and real individuality is never fashionable) and she’s also really approachable. Five minutes on her website and you feel you know her. Five minutes with her music and you feel like her greatest confidante.
www.rowenbridler.com
That’s a good thing right: Dylan was influential and successful and lots of people like his work? Except all that stuff came from the fact he was original. So being told you’re like him is being told that you’re exactly like someone who was original and breathed their own unique voice into music. Exactly like them. Simon Stirling isn’t like Bob Dylan. He is exactly like Simon Stirling. His music walks a tightrope with familiarity on one side and engrossing originality on the other. Every single one of his finally crafted acoustic stories is his alone, from the way he sings to the way he writes. In years to come, people will talk about Simon Stirling like they talk about Bob Dylan. They’ll compare all the new acoustic singers to him. And they’ll still be wrong.
soundcloud.com/simonstirling-1
www.laissezfairelondon.co.uk