Keaton Henson has treated fan’s today to a new Spotify playlist of song’s which have influenced him as an artist, the list is called Childhood – Song’s That Made Me. The playlist is an insight into the making of Keaton Henson as an artist, with respect both to his songwriting and his guitar playing. Songwriter’s favourites on the list include Stevie Wonder with ‘As,’ from his well loved ‘Song’s In The Key Of Life,’ album, The Beatles’ George Harrison penned ‘Something,’ and folk legends Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bookends Theme.’
As well as clear influences on Keaton Henson’s songwriting style, the playlist also offers much insight into his guitar playing. Folk guitar legend Davey Graham’s ‘Angi,’ is infamous amongst guitar players as both fiendishly difficult and incredibly influential and makes an appearance in the playlist, as well as the tricky standard ‘Classical Gas,’ which is another tune often used to mark a person’s prowess on the instrument. Some more Rhythm and Blues based influences can also be found in Henson’s playlist in tunes such as Nina Simone’s ‘Baltimore,’ and Booker T. & The M.G.’s’ famous instrumental ‘Green Onions.’
Famously few of words when speaking outside of song, Keaton Henson recently conducted a Q&A session during his live streamed gig ‘Live From The Sanctuary where he answered queries from fans in his typically enigmatic style. When asked by a fan ‘do you ever wish you could write and release your music without actually having to be a known artist?‘ he simply replied ‘more than anything.’ Keaton Henson is also known to suffer from Anxiety which causes him to struggle with stage freight, when asked about this and how he overcame it to perform a live streamed event he replied ‘i didn’t, but it certainly helps when you’re all far away.’
Live From The Sanctuary was an intimate affair, with Henson making himself comfortable, surrounded by guitars and with other homely objects around the performance space. There was a definite vibe of an artists retreat about the location chosen to shoot the video which was suitable for the lonely and isolated style of his music. The concert was available to stream live last week and then for the following 24 hours at a discounted price.
The performance featured classic song’s from Keaton Henson including ‘You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are,’ which was released on his 2010 album ‘Dear…’ 10 years later Keaton Henson has released his latest album called ‘Momentum,’ which features new hits such as the emotional ‘Ambulance,’ which is a definite throwback to his 2010 days. If today’s playlist, the Live From The Sanctuary Show and Q&A and ‘Momentum,’ were not enough, fans can also get to know the mind of Keaton Henson even more by purchasing a copy of his book of poetry ‘Accident Dancing.’
