London-based John Fairhurst makes heavy blues for heavy times. In equal parts revealing, vulgar, cathartic and thrilling, the virtuoso guitarist is channelling the discontent felt in the world to pay tribute to – and to update – the very idea of rock n roll as protest music.. “Personal greed has far outstripped the need to support the health of society. British politics is a farce. The Government are liars”, states Fairhurst. Powerful statements require powerful music. And it is with ragged glory that ‘The Divided Kingdom’ articulates its point of view.
Created with his partner in crime, Bristolian drummer Toby Murray, ‘The Divided Kingdom’ evangelizes the power of rock n roll through sheer bloody performance. Drawing from the same sonic well that brought us Black Sabbath, Tom Waits, Rage Against the Machine and Captain Beefheart, tracks like ‘Blood & Fire’, ‘Fear’ and ‘Lies and a .45’ prowl with a fury rarely heard in a two-piece, grabbing reality as it sees it and lays it bare for all to see, warts and all, over a heady 37 minutes.
Album tracks “Lies And A .45” is out now as a taster to the full album. See video here
Fairhurst – hailed by Acoustic Guitar Magazine USA as one of the Top 3 Resonator guitar players worldwide– and Murray are currently recording ‘The Divided Kingdom’ in part in their own studio, That Sound Studio, which was built in 2018 by the pair, their friend Pawel Lach and a multinational group of friends.
The Divided Kingdom’ stands as a tribute to the pair’s passion for music and their ever-deepening relationship. “A true partnership. Toby is my best friend and my brother. We know each other better than anyone. This is our album, this is our life.”
The Divided Kingdom” track listing will be as follows:
- The Divided Kingdom
- Blood & Fire
- Hungry Blues (Slight Return)
- Lies and a .45
- Fear
- Boss Man
- Going To See My Baby
- We Dance the Merry Dance
The album will see a crowdfunding campaign launched in March through til album release in April. The campaign will see John’s multi-faceted interests available for fans to engage with. John is highly regarded as a maker of traditional handmade wooden bows – using traditional methods he takes custom orders from across the world. Fans can have the chance to dig into truly unique album-funding options including John make them their own hand-crafted longbow, learning how to construct bows, a fishing trip with John to a haircut from drummer and trained hair dresser Toby Murray, complete with guitar serenade from John, as well as the more traditional crowd funding options.
The duo are a stunning live act, and announce “The Divided Kingdom Tour” in April 2019. Full tour dates as follows:
Fri 12thApril 2019 The Old Courts, Wigan
Sat 13thApril The Globe, Glossop
Sun 14thApril The Flying Circus, Newark
Wed 17thApril Monarch, Camden, London
Thurs 18thApril Con Club, Lewes
Fri 19thApril Madding Crowd, Bournemouth
Sat 20thApril The Moon, Cardiff
Sun 21stApril The Purple Turtle, Reading
Wed 24thApril Patchwork Studios, Millbrook
Thurs 25thApril The Watering Hole, Perranporth
Fri 26thApril Old Market Assembly, Bristol
Sat 27thApril King Arthurs, Glastonbury
The Divided Kingdom” is released on 12thApril 2019.
www.johnfairhurst.com
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https://twitter.com/JFairhurstMusic
www.youtube.com/user/JohnFairhurstMusic
Feature image by Graeme J Baty