Musical Turn

RICHARD Walters is under no illusion as to the effect of his beautiful, soul-searching songs.

“It’s sad guitar music,” says the East Oxford singer-songwriter. “It sounds like an angsty choirboy.

“I like to write songs with weight and longevity which will last a few years – that’s the important thing.”

Since first appearing, publicly baring his emotions, experiences and spirit in Oxford’s clubs and bars, Richard has gone on to become one of our most successful artists – a big draw in America and France, where he lived until recently, and attracting the kind of respect which saw him playing to 7,000 people at the Royal Albert Hall as support for The Cranberries.

You may even have heard his ethereal songs on film and TV, with shows like CSI: Miami, Grey’s Anatomy and So You Think You Can Dance snapping up his work on the strength of its delicious melancholy, hidden depth and lyrics touching on such uncomfortable subjects as drugs, domestic violence and epilepsy (which he briefly suffered from, at the age of 21 – a result of a stressful series of shows for a record label in the USA).

Yet, so understated and modest is the bard of Charles Street you, perhaps, can be forgiven for not quite knowing his name yet.

That is set to change, however, with the release of his new EP Young Trees (with the assistance of Robert Stevenson of Oxford band A Silent Film) and forthcoming album (with the working title Regret Less).

The album, follows debut The Animal and Pacing, produced by Bernard Butler from Suede.

“I have 25 songs to get through, which I’ve collected from over the years – and we could squeeze 13 or 14 on the album,” he says. “Sad times can be uplifting, though, and this will be more upbeat, soulful and gospel. I’m trying to stay away from what’s happening with myself to concentrate on smaller elements. I’m having a macro look at things by observing what makes up everything else – like trees…and sleep.

“I’m trying to make my songs less personal and more about things people can relate to.”

The new songs were written after his return from Paris, late last year, where he had been living for three years in the artistic hang-out of Montmartre.

The reason for his departure – the break-up of a relationship – proved a rich seam of inspiration.

He says: “When I broke up with the girl in France it led to me writing five songs in a week.

“I was quite raw and felt a need to get something out of it. Things like that can be a catalyst.”

Paris treated him well though. “It was great and I loved it. It’s a cliché but it is inspiring and creative.”

So how does he feel to be back in Oxford?

“Cool, but it’s also a bit weird. It felt a bit like coming home with my tail between my legs. I grew up here so it’s like coming full circle. But the good thing is I have friends and family here – and it’s a good place to exist.”

Tonight Richard plays a one-off show in the grounds of one of Oxford’s more interesting venues – a former doll’s house museum in the grounds of the home bought by author Graham Green for his own his ex-wife.

The Rotunda, at Grove House, Iffley Turn, is an intimate space, which will allow those fortunate enough to be there a chance to hear Richard play unplugged.

The show follows last night’s set by The Young Knives and gigs tomorrow and Saturday by former Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes.

The shows are organised by promoters Beard Museum and the city’s hippest new eaterie Oxfork – which, for a very reasonable fee, is feeding gig-goers at its Magdalen Road restaurant before the show.

“It’s an amazing room,” he says. “It seats 80 people so is really tiny and intimate.

“The acoustics are like a very mini Royal Albert Hall as the sound goes up to the roof.

“It’s more scary when you’re playing literally a foot in front of people’s faces. In the Royal Albert Hall all you can see with the lights down are the exit signs up in the gods. Here, however, you can see the whites of everyone’s eyes!”

* Richard Walters plays the Rotunda at Grove House, Iffley Turn, Oxford, tonight (£10). Gaz Coombes plays the same venue tomorrow and Saturday (£15).

Doors open at 7.30pm. Go to wegottickets.com