Mostly solo - James Hollingsworth - vocals, guitar, harmonica, percussion, bass, piano and stuff (various objects, beaten, strummed or banged together)
Roy HarperJohn Martyn Peter Gabriel Tori Amos Jethro Tull Nick Drake Tim Buckley Janis Joplin James Taylor Joni Mitchell Otis Redding Bob Dylan Shawn Colvin Paul Simon Francis Dunnery George Harrison Yes Ozric Tentacles Fairport Convention Pink Floyd Kate Bush Genesis Neil Young Nic Jones Joe Jackson Lefties Beatles The Who Counting Crows Richie Havens Jimi Hendrix Fred Neil Tom Waits David Bowie Sure Bert Janch Martin Carthy Joan Baez Ewan MacCall Pete Seeger Al Stewart James Brown Peter Tosh Desiderata Paul Weller Miles Davis Jeff Buckley Permaculture
Bob Marley Ravi Shankar Miles Davis Carlos Santana Jalal al-Din Rumi Aldous Huxley Herman Hesse Gabriel Garcia Marquez John Steinbeck The Byrds Buena Vista Social Club Buddy Guy Pearl Jam Beatles Leadbelly Jack Karouac Jamie Hewlett Maria João & Mário Laginha George Orwell Virginia Woolf Iris Murdoch Vikram Seth Amos Milburn CSN Blues Brothers Alexander Technique The Doors Johnny Cash Johnnie Burns Robbie Burns Robbie Allen Alan Groves 1993-1994 Kurt Cobain Douglas Adams Mogwai The Green Inspiration Band Banco de Gaia Gong Steve Vai Antonio Forcione Eduardo Niebla KarateBruce Lee Richard Bach Rush Ernest Hemingway Ben Okri Moon Suk Kang Kahlil Gibran Jacques Loussier The Bhagavad Gita Jesus Bill Hicks The Mushroom Jam The Crescent
Woodstock Altamont Live Aid Billie Holliday Vegetarianism Jeremy AC Langham Salvador Dali Timothy Leary MC Escher Rene Magritte Anthony Burgess Punk The Flying Picketts Dr Feelgood Alfred Kinsey The Rolling Stones Dr Phibes and the House of Wax Equations Christy Moore Mary Shelley Cervantes Monty Python The Young Ones My Brother, obviously... even Dr Quentin King (and family) Jo Hollingsworth Franz Kafka Steve Martin Robin Williams Ross Noble Eddie Murphy Emo Phillips Red Dwarf Charles M. Schulz William Blake Terry Pratchett Cats and Dogs The I Ching Homer Pythagoras Plato Astrology Gloria Roca Riera Terence McKenna Tony Hancock Keith Floyd John AC Langham Roux Brothers My Mum David Part OBE World Cuisine generally Brian Eno Rodney Matthews Josh Kirby Richard Prior Dan Aykroyd John Belushi Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Nigel Frith JRR Tolkein My Dad Barry Hughart GK Chesterton Carlos Casteneda Charles Darwin Calvin Miller HG Wells Bram Stoker Carl Jung Fritjof Capra RD Laing Gentle Giant Daniel Quinn Tony 'Little Sun' Glover I Paprika
Sounds Like
join my mailing list and I'll email you a FREE mp3, then you can find out what I sound like away from your computer.
Still, people variously refer to me as being a bit like the following: Yes Cat Stevens Roy Harper John Martyn Nick Drake Nick Harper Ben Harper Peter Gabriel Traffic
Clifford T Ward Tim Buckley James Taylor Dylan Bish Paul Simon Francis Dunnery Don
Mclean Pink Floyd Neil Young Nic Jones Joe Jackson Billy Mackenzie Counting Crows
Richie Havens Sam Cooke Hendrix Fred Neil Paul Weller Miles Davis Jeff Buckley Bob
Marley Ray Lamontagne Jack Johnson Jason Mraz, um...
oh, and (apparently) Damien Rice, Dave Matthews, thingie, and the other one.
..
Buy my album Coming
Home to Stay on i-Tunes, or click the Paypal 'Buy Now' button to buy the
CD. It's acclaimed! Lucky me. Alternatively, get the mp3 version of the album for just $4.99 on Soundclick or TuneTribe.com and even IAC, the Independent Artists Company where you can also find Rachel Fuller and Pete Townshend, nevermind me, eh?
Unless you're in the USA, that is! In which case click the album cover above to get the CD from CD Baby, those tremendously motivated people halfway across the globe who stock 3 of my cd's and can mail them to any of 2400 Independent Record Stores around the globe. Here's a list on my website.
"It’s rare nowadays for it to be irrefutably true that a vocalist genuinely means
every word he sings. This much doesn’t so much confirm itself to be true as leap out
from behind a nearby rock and slap you about the face with a frozen kipper.
Hollingsworth’s guitar playing is also gloriously uncalculated and astonishingly
heartfelt, sometimes giving little concern to structure. If it wasn’t for the
excellent production I’d believe that these tracks were recorded on a portable tape in
a mountain forest in a single afternoon." - Live
Music Scene
""Musically, lyrically and vocally, it's stunning and thought-provoking... James
Hollingsworth is UNIQUE and dare I go out on a limb, I don't think he has an
equal" - ..EDEN of
Albuquerque
"you will love this CD from what must be one of the best song writers in the
country." - Bristol Rocks
"The timer on my music player tells me this is exactly one hour long. What it
doesn't tell me is the words and phrases that James squeezes into that hour. 12 minute
plus epics feel as at home as two minute blitzes." - FATEA Records
"The much-touted young Bristol-based guitar wizard and songwriter, who has been compared to Richard Thompson, Al Stewart and early Fleetwood Mac, travels in possession of a mean harmonica style and a rapid-fire, Spanish-influenced guitar-picking technique." - 5 best gigs - The Independent
I've been playing music since the age of 6 first on the piano then violin then later bass guitar and finally guitar and harmonica. Today I'm also dabbling with the snake-like vibrations of the Indian flute and the Ocarina. I've been full-time music since late 2006. Now, in 2008 I'm incredibly busy doing my own promotion and writing, recording, producing and hand-making CD's of my music mostly to sell at gigs, although I sell also on the relatively maintenance-free i-Tunes, Napster and so on (made possible by the highly recommended CD Baby).
"one of the best song writers in the country" - Bristol Rocks
Life is good, I'm living in a flat in Bristol with plenty of loft storage, a small herb-garden, off-road parking and situated near a patch of ancient woodland conveniently within two miles of the city centre. And it's reasonably cheap being a converted council house on the edge of a (fairly peaceful) estate, and bought to be let to wayward people, including itinerant musicians such as myself.
I remember someone else's gig in Swansea in about 1990 when I was at University living with an eclectic bunch of other boho's and drop-outs, and one of the band members launched into a passionate Christian monologue about how the band getting a lighting rig for free was a miracle. Uncomfortably skeptical at the time, I later realised that such serendipitous grace doesn't appear to know the difference between religions.
Anyway, I stayed in Swansea playing in various bands, until, jobless, in 1993 I made a near prodigal return (having graduated with a BSc 2.2 hons in Marine Biology), spent a few months in London
catching my breath, saw Jeff Buckley play a solo set at The 12 Bar Club in Tin Pan Alley, London, which inspired me to relaunch myself following an offer to play bass guitar and sing in a West Country-based rock band, The Electric Druids. I'd known them in Swansea. I also had friends in the area, so accepted the offer, did a cluster of gigs with them, but left the band 9 months later (for a number of reasons) and I've remained here in Bristol ever since. In the latter half of this period I have been able to leave the temp jobs and part-time (yawn) salaried employment and move to sustaining myself through making original music, mostly solo, but also being singer and frontman for JEBO, a rock band produced by John Burns whose work includes definitive albums by Genesis, Jethro Tull, Burning Spear and John Martyn in the 70's. During my time with them we played at the Royal Abert Hall and built a strong following in Germany. Now I'm looking forward to working alonein my new studio as well as producing a chaotic Catalan poet/rhapsode, Xavier Panades and the CAT.
Actually, I am still grateful for the skills I learned in my mostly admin-related, temp jobs which helped kick-start my practical ability to make a living from music. In the few years of professional life I've had to spend far more time on the phone, dealing with large amounts of the data necessary for the operation of the business than actually playing guitar. But at least I was working for myself and I'm pleased to say it's paying off.
Now I have time to be creative again! For 20 years I made little recordings of ideas on cassette and wrote reams of lyrics on scraps of paper saved from bins near photocopiers (my equivalent of the back of an envelope). Of course, I finished a few songs along the way, but now I've reached the period I always planned for: to turn that resource into songs, and thanks to the internet there's something I didn't plan for too: the concept of a website to tie all those songs together.
I can't afford a mortgage. I love it anyway.
Bristol is fast gaining a reputation for being a Music-City and is a convenient central point to base myself. Meanwhile there is an increasing necessity for me to travel all over the place in order to find live audiences, which I enjoy as a kind of reward for all the hard work I do. I'm mostly working the pub circuit, but I also play a few festivals including Priddy Folk Festival, which is a fairly big deal in the folk world. I've been lucky enough to play some great supports for accomplished artists including Hazel O'Connor and Cara Dillon.
See my website for the unfolding fruits of my labours. And a nice bread recipe.
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"Probably the first thing to strike every listener is James striking voice. The only comparison I can readily make, is to the voice of Tim Buckley, and this is something I do not suggest glibly. Listen to the songs and hear the vocals rise clear and pure, soaring high as they deliver the words. But listen carefully, in places they will drop in pitch to bring emphasis to certain lines and phrases. This is a talent few singers possess and in the right hands it becomes a most effective tool. It is little wonder that legendary producer John Burns (Genesis, Jethro Tull, etc) recently exclaimed "What a voice!" I only wish I'd heard it before now." - Woven Wheat Whispers.
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Ever wondered what to do in the event of a nuclear threat?
A while ago I found stuff that inspired me to make this film:
Living Under the Shadow of the Nuclear Umbrella
Both artistic (ensure you get the background music!) and educational, it primarily comprises official British government civil defence advice.
Though source materials are quite aged, much remains relevant today.
I encourage all to visit the YouTube page to learn more (Show support! Rate! Comment!) and responsibly circulate as widely as possible, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaIim3Rj7L4
Good to have you as a friend! So great to see the internet in action this way, shortening distances between people.
I hope all's well with you and that you enjoy checking out my web site some time.
For occasional, new, refreshing, insightful and (possibly?!) valuable content, I encourage you to sign up for my free newsfeed/email newsletter (using the form on site at page right - high quality, low quantity, no spam!).
You might enjoy watching some of my films (use the on screen controls to skip between them):
Hey! Appologies if this is the second comment we've sent you today.. bit of a mix up in the bands communication :)
Anyway.. we've been a little quiet for the last few months but we are very pleased to announce our new EP is finished and up on our myspace! It's called Bright Lights and has four brand spanking new tracks to blow your mind. Please have a listen and tell us what you think and if you love it, buy it! :)
ONLY 2 Days TO GO TILL SUNRISE 2009!
May 28-31st in Somerset - Bruton
Peeps we are in for a treat!
MET office predicts SUN SUN SUNRISE!
TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE
DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO TAKE PART IN FESTIVAL HISTORY
IT'S GOING TO BE MAGIC
Love from the SUNRISE xx
x
It is your votes that determine the Top 10 ratings each month. So feel free to cast yours while you are listening to Radio Free South West by giving a track either a thumbs up or thumbs down.
Congratulations to Bath based band Slovakia who move up three places this month to take the number one spot with their track Part of The Factory.
The Starkadders take the number two spot with their track Broken Hill.
James Hollingsworth takes the number three spot with his track Quieter Lifetime. James is influenced by Roy Harper and John Martyn amongst others. James was described by The Independent as a ‘guitar wizard’. You can catch him live on 29 May - 21:00 at Monty’s Brasserie, Cheltenham and then on 3 Jun - 21:00 at Finn M’Coul’s, Falmouth.
1. Slovakia - Part of the Factory – Slovakia 2. The Starkadders - Broken Hill - Black Witch 3. James Hollingsworth - Quieter Lifetime - Precession Of The Albums 4. David Nicholas Hill - The Bluest Stars – Demo 5. Take Back The Planet - No Hero - E.P 6. Kellie Cox - I Wait - Pathos and Exaltation Part 1 7. Some Beans - Dark Days - Pop Noise Sampler 8. The Legendary Ten Seconds - Near But Far - The Legendary Ten Seconds
I deny that I am a Rolling Stones copy. Not to hit a sour note and with the greatest possible respect to The Rolling Stones, I have now unfortunately found it necessary to respond publicly to their allegation.
I deny that I am a Rolling Stones copy. Not to hit a sour note and with the greatest possible respect to The Rolling Stones, I have now unfortunately found it necessary to respond publicly to their allegation.
Hiya James! I hope you are well.I just wanted to let you know that I have six new songs from my forthcoming album "Letting Go" up on my player.It would be great if you could give them a listen and let me know what you think. God Bless, Tim.
We're playing at The Thekla in Bristol tomorrow night. We hope you can come. Its a special multi-media show with a vj mixing footage from Baka land with live film and effects. Come and dance and spread the word to your friends. It'll be a great night.
We'll be playing songs from our new album "Baka Beyond the Forest" as well as some old favourites. Its the 5-piece line up featuring Molara, Fela Kuti's niece and the original voice of Zion Train, joining Su on vocals.
You can hear clips on our website (www.baka.co.uk) and our Myspace page.
It starts early (7.30pm) so don't be late!
One Love!
Did I miss your birthday? How are things with you James..I have't been to active on MS lately but I remembered just now you had a birthday in the Spring. Hope all is well with your and ur music is prospering! ~JoAnne
We still need your help! Please vote for us to be your "Married on Myspace" couple. -- vote once per day if ya can! Voting ends this Friday so please SPREAD the word! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope you enjoyed all of the new songs here...grab a copy of our album if you can. All profits go toward funding our summer tour so we can play in your town! Check out our online store if you're interested:
the philip k dick book you are reading is good, but nowhere near his best, let me recommend you check out-valis, a scanner darkly (my personal fave!) radio free albemuth, the cosmic puppets, ubik, clans of the alphane moon, the 3 stigmata of palmer eldritch- all are totally amazing, ive read 33 and about 5 short story compilations!-and the most amazing biography i've ever read- i am alive and you are dead- a journey inside the mind of philip k dick- by emmanuel carrere- its an acid trip in print!-the previous best biography ive ever read by the way was-my life as a hollywood indian by iron eyes cody! red indians setting fire to furniture to keep warm in a 1930's guest house in blackpool- totally surreal!!!
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