Formato/Format: CD gatefold card sleeve.
Fecha edición/Release date: 5 January 2018
//English//
*** The new album from Alan Tyler, lead singer of The Rockingbirds.
*** Post truth melancholia with electro hooks and country harmonies.
UK Americana pioneer Alan Tyler will release his new solo album, El Tapado, on 5 January through Hanky Panky Records.
As chief songwriter in cosmic Camden cowboys The Rockingbirds, back in 1992 Tyler brought country to UK indie music fans in thrall to grunge and Britpop, paving the way for the now-huge UK Americana scene. For the last 21 years Alan has also run Come Down And Meet The Folks, a fortnightly club that has been a cornerstone of the scene, hosting just about everybody who has ever played country and folk in the UK over the past two decades. In fact, his reputation and standing among his musical peers is so great that a campaign was recently launched on Facebook to have him honoured at the next Americana Music Association UK awards in February.
Now, however, after 25 years and 9 albums, on El Tapado Tyler has found a whole new way of working: writing and recording on a Teenage Engineering OP-1 programmable synthesiser.
“Having this amazing technology at my fingertips has really pushed me along, got the creative juices flowing, and shown me a different way of writing and recording. I wouldn’t say I’ve gone electronica, exactly. Maybe it’s electronicana!”
Recording much of the album on the OP-1 himself, each track has been completed and produced by Sean Read at his Famous Times Studio. Sean also plays on the album, and with additional vocals by The Magic Numbers’ Angie Gannon and lead acoustic guitar from long-term musical partner Patrick Ralla – Tyler has recorded possibly his most personal album to date. And while there may be synthesisers and rhythm loops on El Tapado where electric guitar, pedal steel, bass and live drums would have been in the past, the songs are unmistakably Alan Tyler, his classic country baritone and supremely crafted songwriting still the main focus of El Tapado.
//Castellano//
Pionero del denominado Americana en el Reino Unido, Alan Tyler publica su nuevo álbum en solitario, El Tapado, el 5 de Enero 2018, a través del sello Hanky Panky Records.
Al mando de los "cosmic Camden cowboys" The Rockingbirds, allá por 1992, Tyler introdujo el country al público independiente inglés ensimismado con el grunge y el Britpop, allanando el camino para la enorme escena actual de Americana en el Reino Unido. Durante los últimos 21 años Alan ha estado a los mandos de Come Down And Meet The Folks, un club quincenal que es piedra angular de la escena, y por el que han pasado prácticamente todos los que tocan country y folk en Inglaterra en las dos décadas pasadas. Tanto es así, que la "Americana Music Association UK" le ha concedido el prestigioso "Americana Grass Roots Award 2018".
Ahora, sin embargo, y después de 25 años y 9 discos, en El Tapado Tyler ha encontrado un nuevo modo de trabajo: componiendo y grabando con el sintetizador portátil "Teenage Engineering OP-1".
“Tener a mi alcance esta asombrosa tecnología realmente me ha empujado, me ha inspirado, y me ha mostrado una nueva forma de componer y grabar. No diría que me he vuelto electrónica, exactamente. ¡Quizás sea electronicana!”, dice Tyler.
Grabando la mayor parte del álbum él mismo en el OP-1, cada pista ha sido luego completada y producida por Sean Read (Rockingbirds/ Manic Street Preachers/ Colorama /Edwyn Collins, etc.) en su estudio Famous Times. Sean también toca en el álbum, y con la ayuda en las voces de Angie Gannon de los Magic Numbers y la guitarra acústica solista de su colaborador Patrick Ralla (The Hanging Stars/The Rockingbirds) – Tyler ha grabado el que tal vez sea su disco más personal hasta la fecha. Y aunque haya sintetizadores y loops en El Tapado donde en le pasado hubiera habido guitarras eléctricas, pedal steel, bajo, y batería, las canciones son inconfundiblemente Alan Tyler, su clásica voz barítono y su magnífico estilo compositivo siguen siendo el principal reclamo de El Tapado.
