» Foy Vance interview
With soul and blues in abundance Foy Vance is fast becoming a star in the making. Jeff Hemmings spoke to him
In this age of tags where ‘singer-songwriter’ could denote anyone of varying ability, from Joni Mitchell to yer hopeless ‘talent’ down at the local open mic, it’s difficult to know which way to turn, and to stop cynicism in its tracks. ‘Yeah, he’s just another singer songwriter,’ could be the world-weary refrain. But if you take time to engage in Foy Vance you might just come out thinking, ‘wow, where did he come from!’
From Bangor in Northern Ireland, Foy has been quietly making an impression throughout the UK, with his lethal combination of good guitar playing, exceptional songwriting skills and a classic soul-blues voice that speak of the “…cathartic nature of my songs… I write them to try and understand the world around me.”
Now based in London, Foy is independent of spirit and seemingly not too bothered with record industry machinations. “I decide when and where I go, I like to lead my own hand,” he says. Take the recording of his debut album Hope: “I recorded the album on the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland in a cottage I hired up there. I’ve used studios in the past and I’ve always found them a bit difficult when it comes to really getting into the vibe so I figured – I’ll just buy the recording gear I need, hire a cottage, stick a piano in it and record. Every night we’d get the fire burning, open a bottle of wine, put some mics up and record. A lot of what came out of that is what the album is.“
Whether or not it’s southern funk, r’n’b, soul or gospel, his background as the son of a preacher and time spent in the USA growing up have helped shape Foy’s vision. Comparisons with Van Morrison and Otis Redding only begin to tell you how good this guy really is.
Latest Music Bar, 29 April
