February 15, 2015 | Posted in:Vellum News

 

A few seconds into Arthur Fowler’s debut record and you’re brought back to a simpler time. The lead track “What’s Keeping Me Going” recalls singer-songwriters from the 60’s such as Don McLean and Cat Stevens who used clear vocal styles to tell life stories. Fowler does the same, giving his songs a personal touch. He does wander off a bit as the record goes on into more bluesy, pop, experimental territory and the music gets a bit weirder than the traditional folk inspired tracks. This is not to say they aren’t good, just that his strongest suit is definitely the singer-songwriter numbers.

Growing up in the Mid-West Fowler was a big fan of all the 60’s guitar greats such as Hendrix, Santana and Garcia. But one of his greatest influences is blues guitar legend Wes Montgomery. This is apparent throughout most of the record as Fowler stays true to that style of playing. You can hear the bluesy slide in his six string especially on tracks “Here I Am” and “Twilight Breeze”. “HU” goes a bit more left of field in the direction of acid folk and comes off as a catchy, spacey number. He currently resides in Tokyo, Japan where he plays acoustic folk with the band AJA.

Check out Fowler’s new CD: http://soundcloud.com/arthur-fowler