About

Keith James

Although Keith is still, in some respects, a well kept secret, he has recently seen a gradual emergence as one of the country's most valuable singer/songwriters, as well as a sort after acoustic music producer.

Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, Keith spent his early years in Surrey and Berkshire where, during the early eighties, he performed hundreds of times in what was then a healthy circuit of wine bars. During that time he recorded four, now collectable, vinyl albums.

Throughout almost all of the 90s, Keith spent more time behind the mixing desk and in the studio, gaining a deserved reputation as a producer and sound engineer, using, as can be heard on many of his own recordings, multi-track analogue tape. Very much dedicated to the purpose of the "singer-songwriter", Keith has always assisted most of the artists in his studio in a much deeper and more hands-on capacity than just committing them to tape. The hands-on focus remains - along with Dave Woolgar and Matt Peason, his Beardness is helping on the desk at Broadstairs Folk Festival this August (www.broadstairsfolkweek.org.uk).

Keith is a prolific writer with a large catalogue of songs, including the CD albums "Tomorrow is Longer Than Yesterday" (1993), "Outsides" (2002), "The Songs of Nick Drake" (2003), "Postcards" (2005) and his most recent studio album "No.1 Paradise Road" (2006). A career spanning collection entitled "A Small Few Grains" is due for release in September 2006.

As an artist, Keith has toured all of the UK many times both in his own right and as support to larger names, in addition to performing across Europe and the Americas.

Now residing in Canterbury, he is currently putting the final touches to a new recording studio called 'Bare Wires'. Primarily set up to record his own new material, it is unlikely that Keith will produce work for other artists to any where near the degree that he has in the past. Nonetheless, it will almost certainly be available to others - watch this space.

Much of the last 3 years has seen Keith performing concerts of The Songs of Nick Drake. At the end of the 7th tour in Spring 2006, Keith & double bassist Rick Foot had made over 250 performances of these amazing songs with an unprecedented response. Another 60 date UK tour is planned for Autumn/Winter 2006.

And the future holds yet more treats in store. There are plans for Keith and Rick to take a careful selection of work by Spanish Poet Federico Garcia Lorca, set it to music and take it on tour. It is a project that they are both very excited about but will be extremely challenging, certain to come to fruition in Autumn 2007.

Influences & Experiences

Keith is passionate about:

John Martyn, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Debussy’s Music for Solo Piano

Keith has recorded:

Garry Potter, Michael Messer, Sarah Randle, Karin Karian, Wire Jesus, Ben Castle, Derrin Nuendorf, Lillian Boutte, The Frannie Verney Group, Martin Ditcham, Tim Edey, Abbie Lathe, John Forrester, The London-Irish Rugby Team, Luke Daniels, Droderick, Andy Crowdy, Dylan Howe, Annette Peacock, Hugh Turner, Norma Winstone, Ginni Hogarth, Clive Carroll, Pol Brennan, Tom Leary and many more.

Long before becoming a performer Keith attended concerts by:

Pentangle, Jethro Tull, Ralph Mactell, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin (in a pub), Caravan, Roy Harper and Al Stewart.

Keith is currently raving about:

Ray LaMontagne
Martha Tilston’s album 'Bimbling'
His new Panini toaster
Jack Johnson
'The Olive Readers' - Christine Aziz