Introducing Darren Watson...the New Album

Introducing Darren Watson...the New Album

ALBUM RELEASE AND LAUNCH PARTIES, NOVEMBER 2014

'Planet Key' songwriter's latest release is non-political...

New Zealand musician Darren Watson is releasing his new album Introducing Darren Watson on 7 November. He plans to celebrate this with launch parties at Galatos in Auckland on 8 November then at San Fran in Wellington on 13 November.

Watson wrote most of the songs on the album that also includes two of Wellington blues- man Bill Lake's (Windy City Strugglers) songs. He describes Lake as one of New Zealand's great songwriters, who deserves to be more well-known.

While Darren Watson is most often described as a 'blues-man' himself, the Wellington- based songwriter says that is more just useful shorthand for his wide ranging grass roots musical tendencies.

“If you go by all the styles on the new album you'd have to call me a Country-Blues, Blues-Rock, Twisted Rhumba, Southern Soul, Tex Mex, New Orleans, Eastern-European Folk-man!”

Watson has been in the national spotlight lately after he released a hugely popular satirical political song that the Electoral Commission advised couldn’t be broadcast or sold. At it's peak of relevance and popularity - with over 100,000 video views and at #5 on the NZ Artists Top 20 chart - he was compelled to remove it from sale and broadcast. He is currently fronting a High Court case for artistic freedom, and (at time of writing this) Justice Clifford has not yet issued his judgement on the legal status of 'Planet Key'.

Putting that all to one side though, Planet Key does not make an appearance on Watson's new album.

“ That song was a spontaneous expression of a particular viewpoint, but I know that not all my fans like to hear it. So I've kept it off the album. That way they can continue to enjoy my music for the music's sake.”

He says it's his most 'musically honest' album yet.

“ This album feels more like me than any before. It's been totally my vision from conception to the first sessions, through to how it was mixed and mastered, and I wanted it to sound like an album Booker T & The MGs might have done behind someone in 1967. It's a real taste of me – and hopefully that will appeal to some people, somewhere.” laughs Watson.

Watson 'found his own voice' with 2010's Saint Hilda's Faithless Boy and has really hit his straps with Introducing Darren Watson. From the loose-limbed, live-in-the-studo opener Some Men, to the Ray Harryhausen inspiredHungarian Rhapsody For A Kiwi Fulla - the totally self-performed instrumental closer - Watson has delivered an album full of anything but the same old blues-rock cliches.

There are eight catchy new Watson-penned songs, a couple of should-be classics written by Wellington legend Bill Lake, a cornucopia of interesting and deep feels, plus a distinct shortage of bloat and drawn out soloing for it's own sake.

Introducing Darren Watson will be available as a CD or download from www.darrenwatson.com and as a CD from good record stores. Release party tickets are available for $20.00 at eventfinder.co.nz. There will also be door sales, if available, for $25.00.

DARREN WATSON BACKGROUND

Watson gained national fame in the 80s as the fresh-faced , young front-man and guitar- slinger for Smoke Shop. The band made two charting albums, had several radio hits, opened for international blues legends like Koko Taylor, Robert Cray, George Thorogood, & The Fabulous Thunderbirds. They toured tirelessly earning Watson a place alongside the likes of Midge Marsden, Hammond Gamble and Rick Bryant as one of New Zealand's best blues-men.

Since leaving Smoke Shop in the early 90's he has cemented his reputation as the country's most original, contemporary blues voice, with three albums of world-class blues music: 2002's Tui-nominated King Size, 2005's South Pacific Soul, and 2010's internationally acclaimed Saint Hilda's Faithless Boy. During this time Darren also fulfilled a life-long ambition working alongside one of his childhood R&B heroes, touring extensively as sideman for Midge Marsden and, more recently performing as side-man to Chicago blues harmonica legend Billy Boy Arnold. He's also opened for New Orleans funkster Dr. John, Doug McLeod, Joe Cocker, Keb Mo, and nu-soul exponent Eli 'Paperboy' Reed, as well as appearing at WOMAD.

Watson gained international recognition in 2009 when he won the blues section of the International Songwriting Competition as judged by John Mayall, James Cotton, and Tom Waits amongst others.

Saint Hilda's Faithless Boy, Darren Watson’s 2010 album, received glowing reviews worldwide. The album was singled out by Blues Revue USA as “beautiful”.

Watson's fifth solo album Introducing Darren Watson is out from November 7, 2014.

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