Keaton Henson has surprised fans today with an online live performance of ‘Ontario,’ released on his Youtube channel. The video is shot in a dark room and Keaton Henson sings his haunting lyrics to a a simple backing track while playing simple, melancholic chords on a small keyboard. The dim lighting and and minimalistic decor and filming style are very suitable for Henson’s music, which both haunting and eerily comforting in its isolationism.
In many ways Keaton Henson is an ideal soundtrack for those of us living in London or the South East of England today as the government announced an even stricter ‘tier 4,’ which is placing millions of people under the strictest rules since November’s national lockdown. For many of us here it is going to a very bleak Christmas and the fragile, broken music of Keaton Henson is exactly how many of us are feeling at the moment.
‘Ontario,’ is the third track on Keaton Henson’s latest album, ‘Monument,’ and is unique in eschewing his normal guitar-based style and opting for a keyboard accompaniment more in lieu of someone like Chet Faker who’s similarly emotional vocal style is often matched with chilled keyboards and slowed down, hipsterfied versions of rap tunes such as ‘No Diggity,’ as well as his own well-crafted songs with interesting lyrics and relaxing chords.
Keaton Henson is someone that you might describe as having something of a cult following, with today’s video attracting a modest 2,065 views so far, its certainly not the world-dominating pop force of someone like Dua Lipa, however one thing is for certain, those who follow Keaton Henson do follow him with great loyalty and take his music very seriously indeed. One admiring fan asks ‘Who thought his gorgeous voice could mature any more then it was? It’s mellowed out so beautifully, like a fine wine.’
In many ways the analogy of a fine wine is apt for Keaton Henson, someone who creates music so mature that it is unlikely to ever be misunderstood are fail to strike a resonant feeling within the listener. Since the release of is debut album ‘Dear,’ in 2010, which featured the gripping ‘You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are,’ Keaton Henson has had an incredibly productive ten years, releasing six incredibly original studio albums as well as a complete TV soundtrack to BBC Three’s In The Flesh.
The latest album, ‘Monument,’ is very much the pinnacle of Keaton Henson’s development as an artist, and yet the same closeness of feeling and emotional vulnerability which was present on ‘Dear,’ has not been lost or even spilled a single grain. ‘Ontario,’ feels just as penetratingly fragile as ‘You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are,’ yet it is also audible to hear the entire ten years of experience and creative development that he has gone through, an entire decade well spent.
It is even more gripping to see the song performed live, even though this live performance is unlike any other, conducted remotely, from a great distance for many of his fans, and yet feels like he is right in the room with you.
