Chris Cleverley
... is a performer whose presence occupies the room effortlessly – taking his audiences on a journey deep into the self, unpicking how we as individuals relate to the increasingly beguiling world around us. Whether exploring forgotten feminist voices, pervasive artificial intelligence, anxious minds or simply voicing the screams of our deteriorating natural world, Cleverley’s music remains deeply affecting and highly relatable.
Chris is currently working on his 4th album for release in November 2022. It promises to be a bold leap forward, stylistically and lyrically.
Chris Cleverley is ..?
I describe myself as an emerging UK Dream-Folk songwriter, inspired by the American Greats like Springsteen and Anais Mitchell but with a strong affinity to the psychedelic folk music of the British Isles that defined my earlier years.
I grew up in the sprawling urban landscape of Birmingham but am based in the Three Counties now. I'm grateful to be included among the ranks of a new wave of pioneering artists carving an uncharted path through the UK acoustic landscape.
My three albums have been endorsed by The Times, The Telegraph and BBC Radio leading to the receipt of FATEA Magazine's 'Male Artist of the Year' Award. I'm set to release my 4th record 'Broadcast The Secret Verse' in November 2022.
How did you get into music, what were your first steps?
I grew up in a house of music, there were always great records like 'Pet Sounds' and 'Gracelands' on the stereo, inspiring me from a very young age. And so I started learning classical guitar when I was about 7 years old, but it wasn't until my early teens when I got into electric guitar and heavy metal that it became an all consuming passion.
Around the time I was at University I started to get into the new British Folk Scene in a big way, inspired by artists like John Smith and Martha Tilston as well as their American counterparts like Sufjan Stevens and Joanna Newson. I started performing live and got hooked and really quickly realised that was the only meaningful thing I would be able to do with my life.
What was your inspiration for the latest release "Chlorophyll"?
Chlorophyll came about after stumbling across a really powerful article by a leading plant scientist. It's not my usual area for inspiration but this one really grabbed me. I'd been writing a lot about climate emergency for this new record which led me to this article in my research. It was talking about the way plants alter their floral pigmentation to protect from increasingly harmful UV rays, but become less recognisable to pollinators in the process.
While raising a really powerful point about climate change it also struck me as the perfect analogy for the way we as people harden ourselves during adverse times but risk losing our essence and vitality in the proces. This formed the main concept for the song, with its double meaning "It hurts me to see your colours change".
How would you describe your songwriting process?
A lot of the songs on these records were completed during some songwriting workshops I carried out with two other great artists. A lot of it revolved around getting interesting source material for inspiration like transcripts from old sound recordings, really trying to start off with ideas outside our comfort zone. This really helped to break free from the tropes of our songwriting that we naturally all get stuck in. We spent time immersing in these articles together, absorbing the language, discussing the concepts and speaking the vocabulary out loud, before challenging ourselves to write something new in a brief specified time period, while being open to other people's contributions. I'd always written in a completely isolated way before, however this process completely flipped everything around and I'm sure it led to me making my best stuff yet. It proved the enormous importance of having healthy, regular, artistic input to ensure our output remains lucid and potent.
What can we expect from your new Album?
The album is going to be a huge turning point, revealing an unprecedented new sound combining elements of Lo-Fi Folk, Ambient, IDM and Dream-Pop. It's the start of a bold new artistic era for me; an album of total rebirth & reinvention.
The vibrant, uplifting production is influenced by the Indie greats Sufjan Stevens, Phoebe Bridgers & Elliott Smith, with echoes of Aphex Twin and Jóhann Jóhannsson. It still features a lot of my characteristic fingerstyle guitar playing, but with much more experimentation; there's ambient electric guitars, synths, samples & programming, all combining to push the boundaries and shatter the expectations of contemporary acoustic-led music.
It's an album of two halves, holding a mirror up to both the immense beauty and deep sadness in our modern world. At times abrasive, at others uplifting, but never in between; a companion piece for the conflicted 21st Century emotional landscape.
Is there a chance to see you somewhere live on stage?
Definitely. The November album release is followed by a month long UK headline tour with solo and full band dates:
08.11: Wrecking Ball Arts Centre - Hull
09.11: The Hug & Pint - Glasgow
12.11: West End Arts Centre - Aldershot
18.11: New Lion Brewery - Totnes*
19.11: The Slaughtered Lamb - London*
20.11: Hare & Hounds - Birmingham*
24.11: The Rose & Monkey - Manchester
25.11: The Gather - Ennerdale
27.11: Music On The Levels - Bridgwater
01.12: Colchester Arts Centre - Essex
*With full band
Birmingham's Indie Scene is ...?
An incredible hub of artistic talent and real innovation. I met so many amazing artists from such a variety of genres in the time I spent there like Dan Whitehouse, Amit Dattani and Abi Budgen, some of which are now big national names.
There's a strong sense of community with bands and artists from completely different styles and backgrounds all supporting each others' shows and collaborating. And with excellent venues like Hare & Hounds and media partners like Moseley Folk Festival and Brum Radio it's an amazing place for new emerging artists to build a strong following and springboard onto the national scene.
What's next for you?
I'm looking forward to getting my new record out on November 4th and redefining my sound. I think it's by far the best thing I've done yet and I can't wait to see what people think both of the new music and the elaborate new live show I'm taking on tour in November.
I'm excited for 2023, working with an incredible team including booking agency 'From The Whitehouse' and publisher 'First Original Music'. I think together we can take the music to some really interesting places, so keep an eye out on the 2023 UK summer festival scene, and brace yourselves for a remixes EP and Ltd edition Vinyl release of the new album with bonus tracks.
I'll also be starting a couple of new projects with some really amazing musicians that I'll be able to reveal a lot more about really soon, so I encourage people to follow my socials and newsletter to keep in the loop about these exciting new developments.
