Richard Dawson (musician)

Dawson grew up in Newcastle and became interested in singing as a child, attempting to emulate American singers such as Faith No More's Mike Patton.^[10] He worked in record stores for 10 years before starting a professional music career. He bought an inexpensive acoustic guitar^[3] but accidentally broke it. After the guitar was repaired, he found it had a unique sound and he has used it as his main instrument.^[2]

Dawson's music has been described as a deconstruction of folk music, done in an English style, similar to what American Captain Beefheart did with blues music.^[2][5] Dawson himself cites Qawwali,^[10] a form of Sufi devotional music, Kenyan folk guitarist Henry Makobi^[2] and folk musician Mike Waterson^[11] as influences on his work. The albums The Glass Trunk (2013) and Nothing Important (2014) feature collaborations with harpist Rhodri Davies, who Dawson describes as "somewhat of a kindred spirit".^[10][11] Dawson and Davies released a collaborative album, Dawson-Davies: Hen Ogledd,^[12] in 2013 and Dawson has also released solo material pseudonymously under the name "Eyeballs".Dawson has also performed in the groups Hot Fog with Mike Vest (Bong)^{[citation needed]}, Moon with Ben Jones and Sarah Sullivan (Jazzfinger), and played a handful of shows on guitar with Khunnt.^[11]

Since Nothing Important, Dawson has played the guitar through a Fender and an Orange amplifier in series.^[10] He also used synthesized sounds from an iOS application, ThumbJam, and played saxophone despite having only a rudimentary knowledge of the instrument.^[10]

Lyrically, Dawson's material deals with dark subjects such as death. For The Glass Trunk, he searched a database in the Tyne and Wear archives for "death" and took inspiration from old news stories involving murder and bodily harm.^[3][13] The track "The Vile Stuff" from Nothing Important describes a continuous narrative of events, including one where Dawson pierced his hand with a screwdriver attempting to crack a coconut shell while on a school trip.^[5]

Albums

• Richard Dawson Sings Songs and Plays Guitar (2007)
• The Magic Bridge (2011)
• The Glass Trunk (2013)
• Nothing Important (2014)
• Peasant (2017)
• 2020 (2019)
• The Ruby Cord (2022)

Compilations

• Stick In The Wheel presents From Here: English Folk Field Recordings Volume 2 (2019)
• Republic of Geordieland (2020)

Collaborations

• Dawson May Jazzfinger Clay with Nev Clay, Ally May and Jazzfinger (2009)
• Moon — Diseasing Rock Who with Ben Jones and Sarah Sullivan (2011)
• Dawson-Davies: Hen Ogledd with Rhodri Davies (2013)
• Bronze by Hen Ogledd (Richard Dawson, Rhodri Davies, and Dawn Bothwell) (2016)
• Mogic by Hen Ogledd (Richard Dawson, Rhodri Davies, Dawn Bothwell, Sally Pilkington, Will Guthrie) (2018)
• Free Humans by Hen Ogledd (Richard Dawson, Rhodri Davies, Dawn Bothwell, and Sally Pilkington) (2020)
• No Wood Accepted (EP) by Hen Ogledd (Richard Dawson, Rhodri Davies, Dawn Bothwell, and Sally Pilkington) (2021)
• Henki (2021) with Circle

Additionally, over 60 releases with Sally Pilkington as Bulbils^[14] during 2020-2021.

Soundtracks

• Motherland (2008)

As Eyeballs

• Europa (2008)
• The Roof of The World (2008)
• Sea of William Henry Smyth (2008)
• Seal-Skin Satellite (2008)
• The Invisible Castle (2009)
• The Quest (2009)
• Thief of Men (2009)
• Treasure (2009)
• Eyeballs/Gareth Hardwick split (2009)
• Eyeballs/White Dwarf Spiral split (2009)

• Official website
• 2014 interview with The Guardian