Ian Knapp - based in the U.K. Words - it's all about the words. I love making music. I love playing live... Debut album released in 2005 to unanimously positive reviews. Toured the West Coast of the US in 2005. Play regularly in the U.K. I'm never too good at writing these biog things so I'll let what other people have said give you an idea of what I'm all about....
"Incredible stuff. He's your 'New Favourite Artist'. He's my new favourite artist, I'll tell you that right now......Im going to play another song from him, 'cos that is just too good."
- John Richards, Host of The Morning Show, KEXP, Seattle
"How does a singer-songwriter become canonized? For some, like Jeff Buckley or Elliott Smith, you have to die way too young. For those that continue to produce music well past what should be their prime, undisputed legends like Bob Dylan, those sages seem to speak to the masses because they are willing to wear their hearts on their sleeves. That emotion, coupled with a keen sense of musicianship and a grasp of the English language, transcends beyond touching just one generation. Simply put, the legends are the poets of our generation. They are our pied pipers and we follow. Maybe its too early for me to lump newcomer Ian Knapp in that status but he comes darn close to encapsulating all of the ingredients for future canonization."
"Simply put, Into These Oceans is a fantastic album... The lead track, "If The Aliens Came", is one of the best social commentaries I've heard... [Spaceman] warrants multiple listens and after a relatively rough week at work, it was this song that made me remember why I get up in the morning and bust my butt..."
"That introspection, and how he stirs up our own passions and feelings in the process, is why I believe Ian Knapp has a bright future. And, as long as the earth remains screwed up and in need of repair, Ian will have plenty of material to write about. You can bet that this album will receive my nomination for best album of the year."
- Ben Montgomery, CDReviews.com
"Ian Knapp is a compelling performer who combines acoustic guitar with potent lyrics about politics and humanity."
- M. Myers, KEXP, Seattle
"America has its first post-9/11 singer-songwriter; however, he isnt from the U.S. Nevertheless, no other new guitar-slinging solo artist conveys the troubled state of public consciousness than Englishman Ian Knapp. You can hear it in his voice stripped of its strength, trembling, questioning. Theres a fire in Knapps vocals that is not lit by heartbreak or romance; instead, it percolates from our current fears and disillusionment. Even the title of the album Into These Oceans makes one think of drowning, lost in the waters of a world turning upside down. The song itself is about escape, the only solution to these increasingly scary and confusing times."
"Knapp is a fine poet, and as tempting it is for me to quote him here, its better to simply trust me and listen to his record cold like I did. He has a way with words that is less common with his nonsensical peers and can be compared to new wave lyricists from the '80s such as Roddy Frame from Aztec Camera or Elvis Costello. The music is mostly folk-oriented with occasional bursts of rock & roll energy, especially on "Jumping the Wall" and "Pieces of You," the latter having a riff reminiscent of Madder Roses "Panic On.".... the greatness on display should have industry observers predicting future hits for this man." 4.5/5
- Kyrby Raine, Shotgun Reviews
"British singer/songwriter Ian Knapp has a love and hate relationship with the human race... the hilariously sarcastic opening track "If the Aliens Came"... [is] a bitingly funny commentary on society's gradual moral decay... [It] combines Elvis Costello's vitriol with Thom Yorke's alienation from the planet Earth. Knapp's voice raspy, quivering is effective in its unpolished delivery. Knapp's vocals recall Mike Scott's from the Waterboys except that he isn't aiming for a big sound; instead, Into These Oceans is fairly low-key and intimate. However, that doesn't mean it's mellow. Knapp's influences include Nirvana as well as Bob Dylan, which is why his guitars can be brittle and edgy at times. 'Jumping the Wall' is almost like a parallel world recording wherein Kurt Cobain had lived to produce a solo album." 4/5
- Michael Sutton, All Music Guide
"The best of the recent crop of male singer-songwriters to grace the 75orless mailbox, Ian Knapp reminds me of John Wesley Harding. Not his voice, but the sarcastic social commentary laid over a damned catchy acoustic guitar. You can practically hear the curled lip as he sneers at Mr. Mickey Mouse for being "junk food for the soul," or predicts that "If the aliens came... they'd turn 'round their spaceships" because humankind is so retarded. The album ends sweetly, though, with the exquisite "Spaceman," a lovely welcome to a wee baby."
- Meredith, 75orless.com
"It's not supposed to work like this as it mocks the proper order of things, but Ian Knapp goes against the grain in many different ways, so maybe the gods of serendipity are having a playful game with us foolish mortals. What should happen is that we Brits discover a talented singer-songwriter, our press worship the very piss from his dick, then the Yanks catch on after we tell them it's cool. But in the case of a home-grown talent like Ian Knapp, who buzzes languidly around that oh-so-sellable border between sardonic poet and sensitive young troubadour, we sit idly by and allow Americans to spread the news and babble like loudmouthed lunatics about this songwriting genius from Eng-er-land, while we largely ignore this precious jewel in favour of cheap gaudy tat. Small wonder that the new Rough Guide to England says we're shallow vulgar fuckwits, because our failure to revere this marvel on our own doorstep isn't just baffling, it's bloody well criminal.
IAN KNAPP, you see, has the lot. Not only does he have those delicate angular features so prized by lonely indie-chicks searching for a new enigmatic misfit to adore, but he's got the effortless reserved cool of a man who knows his own qualities and doesn't need to boast about them."
"Tunes? Give any of them 10 seconds and they feel like not just friends you've known your whole life, but lovers. I haven't seen or heard Knapp play for two sodding years, and each song's like returning to the arms osomeone who instinctively knows how I like to be touched; such is their beauty, passion and power. And the voice, oh my fucking God, the voice! A high, mournful Yorke wail with a cracked quivering timbre that caresses and soothes, backflipping into unnervingly potent but subdued Mike Scott-style confidence, then around again, leaving you exhilarated and struggling in vain to regain control of your heartbeat."
"Knapp writes songs of instant, devastating clout. Trust me, you'd kill to create tunes like this, caress those melodies with even a fraction of his sublime confidence, or write lyrics of such intelligent, humbling poignancy: love, fear, hope, the human spirit and frustrated cynicism borne from observing its failings. Try to better the black humour of "If The Aliens Came" if you want uncomfortable truths rubbed in your face, or the political venom of "Caribou" to hear how a statement can be made without sounding pious or right-on. You won't. Simple as."
"This man isn't just a rare and exquisite performer, he's a poet who can make you feel intensely alive: "This world's overflowing with beauty, yet most of it passes us by, when was the last time you looked up and noticed the sky?". Need I say more?"
- Live review in Blam, May 2006
"Singer-songwriter IAN KNAPP should be raved constantly about in the NME right now. With a voice that erupts in raw passion, Knapp's vocal skills alone is a keen instrument, sharp as saber tooth."
"Winging his way towards political and personal issues, Knapp is definitely in the Bob Dylan mode with a sense of urgency that explodes like a volcano. He's got a deadpan sense of humour that is pointedly funny, reflected in the opening track "If the Aliens Came." Knapp's words are memorable and touch the heart with open hands."
"There's more variety in the music here than you'd think, not everything is strum-strum and even then they're usually toe-tapping riffs. "Into These Oceans," "Pieces of You," and "The Dream" are all standout numbers. Outstanding debut." 10/10
- Adam Harrington, Whisperin & Hollerin
"Singer/songwriter Ian Knapp's "Into These Oceans" is one of those debut albums that'll be discussed years from now. It's an intense experience, packed with real emotions and smart lyrics - the kind of record that Bob Dylan's son should've recorded. "If the Aliens Came." opens the album on a darkly humorous note, accurately realizing that extraterrestrials would probably depart our beloved planet once they saw how dumb and evil we are. I'm surprised by the wide musical range on this album. I usually fear the 'singer/songwriter' tag as it often means some boring bloke with an acoustic guitar borrowed from his ex-hippie mum. None of that here. This is a shockingly confident and mature first LP." 10/10
- Barry Andrews, Reviewcentre.com
"London-based singer-songwriter Ian Knapp is armed with equal parts melody and passion. His lyrics are astute and delivered with an urgent, wavering falsetto and his ability to turn a phrase is truly unique. With so many lesser talents being hailed as the new Dylan, Knapp is the only one with the intellect to back it up." Editor's Pick
- The Editor, Download.com
"Right off the bat as the first song "If the Aliens Came" chimes in and you hear Ian Knapp's vocals you can tell there's something extraordinary happening. It is excruciatingly world-weary, noiselessly angry, and hopeful all at once. When he sings you can forget the meaning of pretension, a word that a horde of wannabes have personified for as long as we've been numbed by them."
"In his hands, the acoustic guitar becomes a bludgeon, an instrument that emits the poignant yearnings of a sad man who threatens to smash it on monstrous faces that make our lives a big lie, fragments of a severed dream. Yet it all swiftly changes into a thing for buoyant times, waving it in the air like a flag after some private conquest."
"Seethe with him on the abovementioned "If the Aliens Came," celebrate "Into These Oceans," fall in love with our children on "Spaceman" [an art that we seem to have forgotten], and drink a couple on "Mouse on A Wheel" and hurl the bottles at the walls besieged by memories that creep from the dusty parts of our minds."
"Knapp is that long-lost prophet drunk on madness, wide-eyed and exhausted. He doesnt come like a savior, claiming to be this and that, forcing his doctrines down our throats. Ian Knapp is the everyday man who has taken the language of life down to a level that we all can relate to. He makes us forget who he is. In fact, it doesnt matter at all. What matters are the stories. Nobody ever tells them anymore. He talks about things we have been struggling all our lives to say and makes it sound so effortless. In gratitude we ought to take the cudgels and wave his guitar like a flag after some private conquest, screaming at the sky."
- Mondo Castro, Manila Standard, Philippines
"...On Jumping the Wall, Knapp uses an electric base to great effect, with a rock-punk run through a song reminiscent of Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire. Elsewhere, as on the title song, this electrified instrumentation takes him nicely close to college-rock icons The Connells. One to watch, as there are signs that more is to come." 7/10
- Mike Rea, Adult Contemporary
"...Knapp has a strong pitch, and ability to string his lyrical content along with the instrumentation. Drinking With Mickey, If The Aliens Came and The Dream are all upbeat pallett cleansing acoustically distorted diddy's that belong on any local radio-pop station...I imagine the live show is quite a ticket, worth at least ten bucks, a few beers and some great friends. We may see Ian Knapp rolling back across the Atlantic ocean again."
- Brian Rutherford, Music Emissions
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