Richard Walters
June 6th, 2008 by sparky
Richard Walters will perform at The Big Chill festival 2008 A-Z line up | Ticket info
Richard Walters – Biography
Richard Walters has been playing music in some form or another for over 10 years. From poorly executed attempts at punk when he was 13, to the stirring cinematic music produced in recent years. He holds his hometown responsible. "Oxford was such a perfect place to grow up in terms of the music scene, I often wonder if I’d have got started so intently with music if I’d lived somewhere else".
Growing up surrounded by brilliance in the city – Radiohead, Supergrass, Ride and a hundred other bands to idolize, its no surprise that Richard found himself plucking a guitar and nervously mumbling something into a microphone early on. "I just wanted to play guitar until I was about 16, I never had the nerve to sing to a room full of people. I was in love with such strong voices – Beth Gibbons, Jeff Buckley, Thom Yorke – I just never felt capable or brave enough to try and make the same noises."
Eventually finding his own voice, he set about building, joining and leaving a number of bands in his late teens and early twenties; soon realizing that alone was the best place to be musically. "I loved being in bands, we became so tight musically and so close as friends – but of course tastes and ideas change and I always felt a little under-heard. My songs started to lose their sound, due to the other people’s contributions, so I started the solo thing, figuring I couldn’t fall out with myself, that I couldn’t disagree with my own ideas – but of course you can."
The solution has been to work alongside producers, musicians and arrangers, keeping Richard on the right side of musical sanity. Bernard Butler (Suede, Duffy), Guy Sigsworth (Bjork, Madonna) and David Kosten (Ben Christophers, Bat for lashes) have all helped to hone Richard’s sound in recent years, as well as introduce him to new ideas and artists.
"Every time I’ve done a session, I’ve walked away with something new learnt, something gained..not just in terms of playing and recording…I’ve found a couple of my favorite records from working with other people, just being turned on to something new…Judee sill, Billy Mackenzie, T-rex, the Postal service…things i might never have approached on my own."
Richard Walters releases a new single, ‘Brittle Bones’, In Aug 2008 through Kartel Records
www.myspace.com/richardwalters
Richard Walters will perform at The Big Chill festival 2008 A-Z line up | Ticket info
