WILL VARLEY
''AS THE CROW FLIES''
SEPTEMBER 2 2013
38:46
1. Where the Wild Wind Blows /2:33
2. Blood and Bone /4:48
3. Weddings and Wars /3:52
4. As the Crow Flies /5:38
5. I Got This Email [Explicit] /3:41
6. She's Been Drinking /2:29
7. When You're Gone /3:28
8. Until the Grass Gets Greener /4:53
9. The Self Checkout Shuffle /2:42
10. Down the Well /2:06
11. Soldiers On the Wall /2:36
Album Press Release
September 8th 2013 will see the release of ‘As The Crow Flies’, the second album by fiercely independent folk singer, novelist, and filmmaker Will Varley. The album was recorded in the old smuggling tunnels that riddle the basements of the cottages beneath the seaside town of Deal, Kent. It is released on DIY label Smugglers Records that Varley runs alongside a co-operative of fellow southeast based musicians. Over the last five years Smugglers has helped a plethora of artists further their musical endeavours, as well as organising their own sell-out festival deep in the Kent countryside.
“Certain to turn ears his way… Varley feels very much a voice for what could soon become the 21st Century’s lost generation”
Folk Radio UK
The 26 year old plays an explosive brand of contemporary British folk music which scales the full spectrum of storytelling, from farcical ‘shaggy dog stories’ about the self checkout machines at the supermarket, to beautifully crafted allegorical songs such as the real life tale of Khulekani Khumalo, a South African folk singer who supposedly rose from the dead in 2012. His live shows dance effortlessly between sharp humour, scathing social commentary and raw heart-breaking emotion.
“Powerful, Political & Pertinent”
The Independent
Varley moved to the seaside from London in 2010, seeking like-minded musicians, cheap rent, and a new way of doing things. After releasing his politically charged Debut album ‘Advert Soundtracks’ in 2011, he set out on the road and walked a hundred and forty miles with a guitar and tent on his back. Starting his walking tour at London Bridge he headed southeast, strolling through the rolling hills and towns, singing songs to whoever would listen. This began to build a fan base that has since grown to sell out the first album and seen festival tents bursting with followers. The record received a number of excellent reviews, and his self-directed music video for ‘King For A King’ has enjoyed almost 25,000 views on YouTube.
“A simple line like “the big bang doesn’t care if I pray” is laden with the kind of meaning other artists would take whole albums to say.”
Rock Kent
After self-publishing his first novel in the winter (Reaching No.1 in Kindle’s Political Fiction category) and almost two years of relentless gigging, including shows at the Occupy London protests & The Bank of Ideas, the young troubadour has recorded his second album with the help of David Hatton Jnr. (Cocos Lovers). Though still littered with his trademark humour, ‘As The Crow Flies’ is a darker, more mature album which sees Varley’s poetry take centre stage, from the brutal honesty of the album’s title track, to the swaying cynicism of ‘Weddings and Wars’ in which he attempts a history of the world in under four minutes.
“It’s the antithesis of all that Simon Cowell creates, and it’s fantastic”
Contact Music
OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
Will Varley is a 26 year old folksinger/ poet/ storyteller and novelist from London. He has been a stalwart of the Acoustic/Folk scene since his early teens, playing literally hundreds of gigs in England and Ireland and supporting some huge names along the way. After growing tired of London in 2010 Varley moved to Deal, Kent and there along with a number of musicians helped to set up Smugglers Records. Smugglers is a collective of like minded independent bands and solo artists who help eachother release and tour their music and put on events. Since it’s inception the collective has been instrumental in starting the careers of a number of independent artists as well as putting on their own sell out music festival deep in the Kent countryside, not far from the sea.
In 2011 Varley recorded his debut album ‘Advert Soundtracks’ with Smugglers, and then set out on the road and walked a hundred and thirty miles with a guitar and tent on his back. Starting the walking tour at London Bridge he headed south east, strolling through the rolling hills of the Kent wield and singing songs to whoever would listen. The 24 year old slept in barns, camped at the side of canals and played gigs in the corner of crowded pubs. By the time he strolled back to deal, despite the blisters and the aching muscles, word of his album had begun to spread and he had many a story to tell.
Varley’s live performances have become more and more anarchic over the years. Audience interaction, surreal improvised comedy between songs and chaotic stunts like playing two songs at the same time are now more often than not included in his shows, though he will just as quickly deliver a melancholic and heartbreaking ballad or a fiery protest song as he will a shaggy dog story or an amusing talking blues.
After self-publishing his first novel ‘Sketch of A Last Day’ (Reaching No.1 in Kindle’s Political Fiction category) and almost two years of relentless gigging, including shows at the Occupy London protests & The Bank of Ideas, with the help of David Hatton Jnr. (of the band Cocos Lovers), 11 new songs were recorded in the basement of an old smugglers cottage in Deal. Outside the coastal wind rattled the doors and windows, fresh off the English Channel. In between sips of Glen Moray and glasses of red wine the pair drafted in a number of musicians to help record an album that was written partly on the road and partly in the smoking areas of Deal’s countless public houses.
Though still littered with his trademark humour, ‘As The Crow Flies’ is a darker, more mature album which sees Varley’s poetry take centre stage, from the brutal honesty of the album’s title track, to the swaying cynicism of ‘Weddings and Wars’ in which he attempts a history of the world in under four minutes. With upcoming festival appearances at Green Man, Secret Garden Party and Mandstock (Italy), and huge tour planned to follow, Will Varley’s second album “As The Crow Flies” is scheduled for release on Smugglers on September 2nd 2013.
''AS THE CROW FLIES''
SEPTEMBER 2 2013
38:46
1. Where the Wild Wind Blows /2:33
2. Blood and Bone /4:48
3. Weddings and Wars /3:52
4. As the Crow Flies /5:38
5. I Got This Email [Explicit] /3:41
6. She's Been Drinking /2:29
7. When You're Gone /3:28
8. Until the Grass Gets Greener /4:53
9. The Self Checkout Shuffle /2:42
10. Down the Well /2:06
11. Soldiers On the Wall /2:36
Album Press Release
September 8th 2013 will see the release of ‘As The Crow Flies’, the second album by fiercely independent folk singer, novelist, and filmmaker Will Varley. The album was recorded in the old smuggling tunnels that riddle the basements of the cottages beneath the seaside town of Deal, Kent. It is released on DIY label Smugglers Records that Varley runs alongside a co-operative of fellow southeast based musicians. Over the last five years Smugglers has helped a plethora of artists further their musical endeavours, as well as organising their own sell-out festival deep in the Kent countryside.
“Certain to turn ears his way… Varley feels very much a voice for what could soon become the 21st Century’s lost generation”
Folk Radio UK
The 26 year old plays an explosive brand of contemporary British folk music which scales the full spectrum of storytelling, from farcical ‘shaggy dog stories’ about the self checkout machines at the supermarket, to beautifully crafted allegorical songs such as the real life tale of Khulekani Khumalo, a South African folk singer who supposedly rose from the dead in 2012. His live shows dance effortlessly between sharp humour, scathing social commentary and raw heart-breaking emotion.
“Powerful, Political & Pertinent”
The Independent
Varley moved to the seaside from London in 2010, seeking like-minded musicians, cheap rent, and a new way of doing things. After releasing his politically charged Debut album ‘Advert Soundtracks’ in 2011, he set out on the road and walked a hundred and forty miles with a guitar and tent on his back. Starting his walking tour at London Bridge he headed southeast, strolling through the rolling hills and towns, singing songs to whoever would listen. This began to build a fan base that has since grown to sell out the first album and seen festival tents bursting with followers. The record received a number of excellent reviews, and his self-directed music video for ‘King For A King’ has enjoyed almost 25,000 views on YouTube.
“A simple line like “the big bang doesn’t care if I pray” is laden with the kind of meaning other artists would take whole albums to say.”
Rock Kent
After self-publishing his first novel in the winter (Reaching No.1 in Kindle’s Political Fiction category) and almost two years of relentless gigging, including shows at the Occupy London protests & The Bank of Ideas, the young troubadour has recorded his second album with the help of David Hatton Jnr. (Cocos Lovers). Though still littered with his trademark humour, ‘As The Crow Flies’ is a darker, more mature album which sees Varley’s poetry take centre stage, from the brutal honesty of the album’s title track, to the swaying cynicism of ‘Weddings and Wars’ in which he attempts a history of the world in under four minutes.
“It’s the antithesis of all that Simon Cowell creates, and it’s fantastic”
Contact Music
OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
Will Varley is a 26 year old folksinger/ poet/ storyteller and novelist from London. He has been a stalwart of the Acoustic/Folk scene since his early teens, playing literally hundreds of gigs in England and Ireland and supporting some huge names along the way. After growing tired of London in 2010 Varley moved to Deal, Kent and there along with a number of musicians helped to set up Smugglers Records. Smugglers is a collective of like minded independent bands and solo artists who help eachother release and tour their music and put on events. Since it’s inception the collective has been instrumental in starting the careers of a number of independent artists as well as putting on their own sell out music festival deep in the Kent countryside, not far from the sea.
In 2011 Varley recorded his debut album ‘Advert Soundtracks’ with Smugglers, and then set out on the road and walked a hundred and thirty miles with a guitar and tent on his back. Starting the walking tour at London Bridge he headed south east, strolling through the rolling hills of the Kent wield and singing songs to whoever would listen. The 24 year old slept in barns, camped at the side of canals and played gigs in the corner of crowded pubs. By the time he strolled back to deal, despite the blisters and the aching muscles, word of his album had begun to spread and he had many a story to tell.
Varley’s live performances have become more and more anarchic over the years. Audience interaction, surreal improvised comedy between songs and chaotic stunts like playing two songs at the same time are now more often than not included in his shows, though he will just as quickly deliver a melancholic and heartbreaking ballad or a fiery protest song as he will a shaggy dog story or an amusing talking blues.
After self-publishing his first novel ‘Sketch of A Last Day’ (Reaching No.1 in Kindle’s Political Fiction category) and almost two years of relentless gigging, including shows at the Occupy London protests & The Bank of Ideas, with the help of David Hatton Jnr. (of the band Cocos Lovers), 11 new songs were recorded in the basement of an old smugglers cottage in Deal. Outside the coastal wind rattled the doors and windows, fresh off the English Channel. In between sips of Glen Moray and glasses of red wine the pair drafted in a number of musicians to help record an album that was written partly on the road and partly in the smoking areas of Deal’s countless public houses.
Though still littered with his trademark humour, ‘As The Crow Flies’ is a darker, more mature album which sees Varley’s poetry take centre stage, from the brutal honesty of the album’s title track, to the swaying cynicism of ‘Weddings and Wars’ in which he attempts a history of the world in under four minutes. With upcoming festival appearances at Green Man, Secret Garden Party and Mandstock (Italy), and huge tour planned to follow, Will Varley’s second album “As The Crow Flies” is scheduled for release on Smugglers on September 2nd 2013.
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