We first came across the Welsh singer-songwriter when a track of his, Black & Blue (That's How I Feel About You), was in circulation last year. It featured a turn from Mercury Music Prize winner Speech Debelle, but it was really Lawrie's voice – a bluesy growl with a raspy side order of hurt and pain – rather than Debelle's contribution which made the tune stand out in our in-box.
The next instalment in the Lawrie story is the debut EP How Could I Complain?which is released on the label Field/Island next month. Four more slices of bluesy cinéma vérité delivered in that distinctive blur, the EP augers well for Lawrie's debut album, A Little Brighter, due later this year.
Born and bred in the seaside town of Penarth, Lawrie has an assortment of musical adventures before he decided to follow his current sonic flow. “It’s taken me a long long time trying to find a sound, a style that suited me,” he says.
“I suppose if I had to give my current sound a name, I would call it southern blues country rock skiffle hoptronica, whilst cringing at my own pretension.”
myspace.com/petelawrie
