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Benjamin Francis Leftwich – Pictures
After releasing his debut EP ‘A Million Miles Out’ at the end of 2010, Yorkshire-born singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich quickly began garnering praise from across the board. Radio 1 DJs Zane Lowe and Fearne Cotton gave ‘Atlas Hands’ significant support on their shows, the track was also added to XFM’s Evening Playlist, Jo Whiley invited Benjamin to play her Little Noise Session show at the Union Chapel, London whilst also making ‘Atlas Hands’ one of her Tracks of 2010. Benjamin was additionally asked to do a live session for Radio 2’s Dermot O’Leary during which he covered ‘Rebellion’ by Arcade Fire; the track has now been downloaded over 20,000 times.
‘Pictures’, Benjamin’s eagerly anticipated follow-up EP will be released on March 7th through Dirty Hit, and like his debut is produced by Ian Grimble (Mumford & Sons, Manic Street Preachers, Siouxsie & The Banshees). The EP melds Benjamin’s flair for delicate and beautiful songwriting as it glides from the deft finger-picking on ‘Pictures’ into the refined elegance of ‘Sophie’. On ‘See You Soon’, Leftwich’s hope strewn lyrics are offset by delicate melodies and as the EP finishes with ‘The Boat’, we are left with a lingering reminder of an understated talent. The lead track ‘Pictures’ has already been made Hottest Record in the World on Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show.
'Singer-songwriter' is not a term embraced by many musicians, but for Leftwich it feels far from insulting. A self-taught guitarist, he had plenty of time to perfect his craft and started playing at the age of ten. Growing up on a diet of The Rolling Stones and Nina Simone, Leftwich discovered Bob Dylan and Elliot Smith in his teens and quickly began playing out on the York music scene. Benjamin also cites Kate Bush, Sigur Ros, Bruce Springsten and Ryan Adams as influences.
Benjamin Francis Leftwich has announced a full UK tour for March before he heads off to SXSW for his debut US gigs. He will also be playing a HMV Next Big Thing show next month and is currently finishing off his debut album which will be released in June 2011.
Upcoming UK shows:
Tuesday 8th Feb – HMV Next Big Thing @ Upstairs at The Garage, London
Wednesday 23rd Feb – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Thursday 24th Feb – An Outlet, Manchester
Friday 25th Feb – The Arches, Glasgow
Saturday 26th Feb – Eden Court, Inverness
Sunday 27th Feb – The Cluny, Newcastle
Monday 28th Feb – The Duchess, York
Tuesday 1st March – Fruit, Hull
Wednesday 2nd March – TheYardbird Jazz Café, Birmingham
Thursday 3rd March – Bodega, Nottingham
Friday 4th March – Buffalo Bar, Cardiff
Saturday 5th March – The Louisiana, Bristol
Monday 7th March – The Albert, Brighton
Tuesday 8th March – Joiners, Southampton
Wednesday 9th March – Jericho Tavern, Oxford
Thursday 10th March – Borderline, London
Friday 11th March – Marquee, Norwich
Saturday 12th March – Cornerhouse, Cambridge
Monday March 14th – Academy 2, Dublin