Des de Moor -- voice, guitar, percussion, with numerous collaborators including Julia Doyle -- double bass, voice; David Harrod -- piano, accordion, and in the past the late great Russell Churney on piano and voice.
Influences
Jacques Brel, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill, Hanns Eisler, David Bowie, Franz Schubert, Barb Jungr, Ray Davies, Nina Simone, Chet Baker, Leon Rosselson, Georges Brassens, Léo Ferré, Eddie Palmieri, Thelonius Monk, Duke Ellington, Friedrich Hollaender, June Tabor, Cole Porter, Robb Johnson, Poison Girls, Marc Almond...
Sounds Like
"A sort of Brechtian Marc Almond" according to Time Out. "English chanson's Dario Moreno" according to Record Collector.
English chansonnier Des de Moor is one of only a handful of British-based performers originating material that's broadly in a theatre-cabaret and chanson tradition more familiar in mainland Europe.
Des's own new English chansons are a potent combination of high-profile lyrics full of wit and passion with sophisticated music dynamically and dramatically delivered by an accomplished and intense performer with a distinctive and powerful voice, unafraid to confront the gamut of emotions on stage.
He's also an inventive interpreter of other people's songs, noted for his radical reworkings of songs by British artists like David Bowie and for original faithful translations of material from French, German and Dutch. Since 1994 he's been the host of Pirate Jenny's, London's only regular chanson and musical cabaret club.
