“When we first heard Kris Morris’ ‘Little Light EP’ we thought we’d found an artist with potential. That was back in 2007 and whilst it’s taken a while for his debut album to follow, it has proved us right. The acoustic guitar can be raw and powerful, rock out and become intimate. “I Think We Both Know” is a phrase that often signals a new beginning. The time to reflect is over, the time to act is now. Morris’ writing captures that sense of uncertainty and turns it into music. Consequently the album is edgy and blue, cathartic and positive, tough love and kindness. It lives on the nerve and jangles.”
March 3, 2009 at 3:10 am · Filed under Radio, Reviews
Thanks to Frank Hennesy for being first in to play some tracks from I Think We Both Know on his BBC Radio Wales program, Celtic Heartbeats. He played the tracks The Sun and the new improved album version of Otherside – sandwiched between all sorts of lilting Celtic type stuff. You can have a listen and check the playlist here.
Frank was the first to get behind Little Light and Someone Sometimes, and BBC Radio Wales were the first too to have me in for a live radio session after the release of Little Light. God bless Wales!
“He’s got a style all of his own”
Frank Hennesy
BBC Radio Wales
I was very privileged to get to the Ryan Adams gig in Newtown last night. I have to admit to being a bit of a half-hearted fan of the guy in the past. I appreciate his way with a song for sure but I find myself skipping through his albums. Maybe I just need to press ‘skip’ less and let it soak in a bit more. In any case I took a night out for him last night and I wasn’t disappointed. It really has to rank up there with the best gigs I’ve been to.
Rough clips are popping up on Youtube but they don’t really do the whole thing justice. Listen here at 0:30 for a very friendly punter asking his buddy “do you wanna get a water?”. Very kind. You’d think he was in the desert or something.
Ryan’s a phenomenal talent. Charisma to burn, great vocals, a really harsh (but funny) sarcastic edge, a beautifully tight but rootsy band, he seemed to be having fun too . . . I really loved the whole thing from the get go. The other thing I think really made it for me was that there was no sign of an acoustic guitar all night (as much as I love the things ). The fact he played electric all night just muscled the whole thing up. It all sounded bigger than I expected – like a proper classic rock band. Tight in some places but perfectly loose in others. I could have imagined them on a bill headlining Kings of Leon and The Raconteurs. Or equally between Lucinda Williams and someone else not as good as her. These Cardinals killed it . . . killed it I tells ya.
Just in case you missed it just before leaving London the master for my debut album I Think We Both Know was delivered into my eager little hands. Every time I’ve listened to it its taken me straight back to Rush House. Memories of all night vocal sessions, Willie working the Wurlitzer (and the lamp), Dan drumming his heart out in the stair well, Matt trying to sneak some interesting notes under the radar, Jesse taking great photos (and retrieving the ball from the prickle patch), sneaking in some FIFA06 between takes, wondering if the cops would bust in any second and tell us to shut up . . . after all I did just tell the landlady we were using the place to take some quiet time out to write music – not setup a band and make a record! Great memories. I’ll start sneaking some videos and pictures and stuff up from the sessions soon too.
I Think We Both Know will be released by weeksweeksweeks on April 13, 2009. Available from this site and all the normal digital music sites (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, Napster etc). Yeehah!
January 25, 2009 at 11:54 am · Filed under General
Getting back to Oz I’ve been keen to see whats cooking on the music front. I really haven’t done as much as I would have liked but I have had the chance to catch Mike play in Newcastle, have a coffee with him, and totally fall in love with his album The Harrowing Account of John William Tate. The songs are beautifully crafted and delivered with heart. Its all I’ve been listening too. Buy the CD or find it here on iTunes.
January 25, 2009 at 10:52 am · Filed under General
There’s been lots of movement since my last post. As most of you know we’d been in London for seven years and we were feeling the itch to get home. While we were at it we figured we’d hit the USA on the way – see the sights and delights and make a bit of an adventure of it all. The short version was that we had a crazy time. New York City was mind numbingly out of control and exhausting. We got our butts scammed on an apartment and had one hell of a stressful first night sorting things out but it all came good. After a few nights bunking down in a prison style YHA we ended up in a fantastic apartment right near Central Park. Highlights for me would have to be Dylan’s Candy Bar, Central Park, freezing our parts off, the whole Christmas vibe around the lighting of the tree at the Rockefeller, watching the girls skate (of course I couldn’t take part . . . I had to take photos. . . .). Crazy times. Kinda stressful. Kinda fun. What a place. Read the rest of this entry »
Hi folks. I’ve been a little too quiet on here. We recorded the album back in June and after that life took over and its just taken a bit longer than we expected. Getting the album done too was kinda cathartic in the sense that I felt a real sense of completion and just kinda relaxed in the fact that we’ve achieved something pretty special. No need to stress or strain – just let it happen. The timing feels all good anyways.
The whole story of the recording is amazing and humbling. We recorded it in a special place, a special old Victorian hunting lodge in Northamptonshire, and lots of ridiculously talented folks have contributed to it. Along every step people have been so generous in supporting this project and I’ll let you know all about them in due time. I’ll be able to share a lot of the process with you too – we have lots of videos and pictures from throughout the whole thing. And of course I can’t wait to share the record with you. We’re just thinking through the release plan but it will be early 2009. Below is a shot of the master delivered to my house just yesterday. Yeehah!
In personal news I’m gearing up for a return home to Australia next week. I came to the UK seven years ago with a couple of guitars and not much else. I’m taking home a much nicer bunch of guitars, some great songs, lots of great memories, a handful of friends I’ll cherish forever, some hope and some heartache, a beautiful girl, a gorgeous wife that has cheered me on all the way, and a really special album (not in any order of course). There’s lots to be thankful for.
I had a great week handling the house act duties at the ‘Rendezvous’ cafe at New Wine again this year. I packed pretty light just taking myself, a tent, a sleeping bag, my old camp worthy guitar, a few hats, some books, one pair of jeans for the week and a few t-shirts. I packed just about right. I also packed my frisbee but its so hard to play frisbee by yourself. Man I felt like a loser. Read the rest of this entry »
This is a super late gig report but I feel obliged to come back and do a little write up – it was such a great night. Matt and I ventured up to North London – I was kind of responsible for directions but Matt soon took control of this as well. Directions are not my strong suit. We got to the venue in good time and were very happy to find a lovely venue (like amazing – check the photos!) and an even nicer bunch of folks. I totally loved the set by Neil Gilmartin who opened the night. He has a brilliantly unique and very English voice and weaves some lovely guitar lines underneath it all. Great heartfelt stuff with some little funny bits around the edges too. Absolutely loved his stuff. Read the rest of this entry »
The brother’s Weeks and I are running away to the country to start work on an album. Its a real treat to have them behind me on this – they are amazing musicians and fantastic blokes. We’re going to have a total blast.
The songs have really come together too and I really feel I’ve got something to say with the album. Its going to be honest, gritty, loud, soft, raw, soulful, spiritual… it will be great to see how it all comes together. I hope it changes whatever part of the world it comes into contact with.
I’ll be trying to give some updates when we get going and show you how its all coming together. Can’t wait!
“Kris’ voice can slide along the soft and gentle to the powerful and dominating with ease. It gives his material power and passion. It allows him to rage without losing control”
