Chris Keys is a singer/songwriter from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and I am crazy about his music. For starters, he is adorable. But most importantly, his music is great There is a fantastic tradition of folk/rock/pop music, brought to mind recently by the passing of Mary Travers. For me, folk artists are musical storytellers, communicating 3-minute tales that have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The songs often have a valuable lesson involved, be it social, political or personal. The artists paint the imagery both lyrically and musically, enhancing the aural experience to something much more, the best bringing in the other senses.
Chris Keys is an artist who can do that, at least for me. His voice has a smoke-tinged sound, yet maintains a purity in tone. He uses it to add another layer of percussion to the song, at varioius times driving the rhythm vocally. Yet, like many of my favorite musicians, he remains unsigned. I was lucky enough to stumble across him on MySpace, and after hearing Shooting Star, I knew I needed to buy whatever music he was putting out. So I clicked on a link, broke out the credit card, and did just that. So happy I did, because I listen to him all the time.
So I downloaded the 12 songs [I think there was 12, but I have bought others since, so it is hard to be definite] and gave them a listen. Hitman was fantastic, with a soulful rock feel and a guitar riff that reminds me of a young Edge. Seven Seas has amazing chorus, that just makes me happy when I listen. Reliving is a bouncy, uptempo song with heart, asking the immortal question, 'would you ever, ever like to dance with me?' The next song to come on was Under The Street Light, a beautiful love song that paints this romantic picture while maintaining a strong masculine edge.
Those are just the first 5 songs I listened to, so I knew I was hooked. At the moment, there is little chance I would hear him play live, so I live vicariously through YouTube, where he has posted some of his gigs in Belfast. Chris bridges the great Irish traditions of music and poetry to create some fantastic songs. To find out more about Chris Keys, you can check out his homepage here, his YouTube page here, and can listen to some more music on his Bebo page here. Like many of the artists on this blog, I just think it is important to support them so they can continue to make the music I love to hear.
