David Thomas Broughton (, born 20 March 1981) is an English

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

/avant-garde singer and guitarist. Born in

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, he creates the sound of a large ensemble by sampling himself singing, playing

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, and making an assortment of other sounds through a

Boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

loop pedal Live looping is the recording and playback of a piece of music in real-time using either dedicated hardware devices, called loopers or phrase samplers, or software running on a computer with an audio interface. Musicians can loop with either loop ...

. He also uses various non-traditional musical instruments to augment his songs, including radios, personal attack alarms and televisions, and occasionally incorporates a use of natural

field recording Field recording is the production of audio recordings outside recording studios, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It can also include the recording of electromagnetic fields or vibrations using diff ...

s into his music. He is also known for his love of spontaneity and musical improvisation, recording albums in one take (allowing recording faults to remain) and beginning live performances with no clear plan in mind. He includes

self-conscious Self-consciousness is a heightened sense of awareness of oneself. It is not to be confused with consciousness in the sense of qualia. Historically, "self-consciousness" was synonymous with "self-awareness", referring to a state of awareness tha ...

ironic Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...

dance moves and off-mic (often off-stage) singing in his live performances. Four solo albums have been released under his own name, '' The Complete Guide to Insufficiency'' (2005), '' It's in There Somewhere'' (2007), the studio recorded album ''

Outbreeding Out-crossing or out-breeding is the technique of crossing between different breeds. This is the practice of introducing distantly related genetic material into a breeding line, thereby increasing genetic diversity. Outcrossing in animals Out ...

'' (2010) and triple LP '' Crippling Lack'' (2016), as well as the EPs ''

Anchovies An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

'' (2007) and '' Boating Disasters'' (2010). In 2007 he collaborated with Leeds

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

group 7 Hertz to release '' David Thomas Broughton vs. 7 Hertz'', and released a single during the same year with Chris Casati. In 2013 he collaborated with the

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

Vocal Ensemble and the subsequent year ''Sliding the Same Way'' (David Thomas Broughton and Juice Vocal Ensemble) (2014) was released. Most of his releases have been met with great critical acclaim, with publications such as

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

and

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...

rating his work highly. Broughton has toured around the world, including appearances at Barcelona's

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as Primavera) is an annual music festival held at the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain, during late May and early June. It was founded in 2001 by Pablo Soler as "a showcase for Spanish Noise rock, noise ban ...

and Britain's

Green Man The Green Man, also known as a foliate head, is a motif in architecture and art, of a face made of, or completely surrounded by, foliage, which normally spreads out from the centre of the face. Apart from a purely decorative function, the Green ...

and End of the Road Festival festivals. Broughton is the subject of Greg Butler's documentary ''The Ambiguity of David Thomas Broughton'', which premiered at 29th

Leeds International Film Festival The Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) is an annual film festival hosted in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest film festival in England outside of London. Founded in 1987, it is held in November in various venues throughou ...

on 11 November 2015.

Biography

Although he was bought a guitar by his father, Broughton was never formally trained to play any instrument. Broughton's debut album, '' The Complete Guide to Insufficiency'', was released in 2005. Recorded in a

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

by suggestion of the label, it contains five relatively long compositions that combine previously existing songs and improvisation. This album was followed by a decidedly low fidelity release, 2006's three track EP ''

'', and then 2007's '' It's in There Somewhere'', a collection of home recordings from the previous six years. 2007 also saw the release of a single with Chris Casati, featuring the songs "The Rage" and "Be My Boy". His first full-length collaborative work, with Leeds-based

group 7 Hertz, entitled '' David Thomas Broughton vs. 7 Hertz'', was released in October 2007. The album ''5 Curses'' was supposed to be released in April 2008 by Golden Lab, but it has now been delayed indefinitely. The album ''

'', was released in 2010 on Brainlove Records. Also in 2010 he released '' Boating Disasters'', a four track EP containing, among others, newer versions of the songs "Perfect Louse" and "Ain't Got No Sole" from ''It's in There Somewhere''. Broughton's 2016 release, ''Crippling Lack'', was recorded in France and via email exchange while he was living in Pyongyang, and features contributions from artists such as

Aidan Moffat Aidan John Moffat (born 10 April 1973) is a Scottish vocalist and musician, and member of the band Arab Strap. Early life Moffat was born and raised in Falkirk, Scotland. The first album he bought was ''Elvis Sings for Kids'' by Elvis Presley ...

Beth Orton Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall ...

, Jordan Geiger,

Sam Amidon Samuel Tear Amidon (born June 3, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Early life Amidon's parents are folk artists Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon. They were members of Bread and Puppet Theater in the 1970s ...

, Luke Drozd,

Rachael Dadd Rachael Dadd is an English folk and lo-fi musician based in Bristol, England. She is currently signed to French independent label Talitres. Dadd has played at a variety of UK music festivals including Glastonbury, End of the Road, Green Man and ...

and

ICHI The International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) is a system of classifying procedure codes being developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is currently available as a beta 3 release. The components for clinical documenta ...

. The basic tracks were recorded in at Le Noize Maker Studios in France, and after Broughton returned to Korea, French players Timothee Couteau, Olivier Minne and Bastien Loufrani were brought in to add parts, which were approved or adjusted under instruction by Broughton after receiving mixes by email. He then asked friends to contribute vocals or instrumental parts, recording them on his iPad when he visited them, or receiving their submissions by email. Broughton remains a part-time musician, having worked as a

conservation officer A conservation officer is a law enforcement officer who protects wildlife and the environment. A conservation officer may also be referred to as an environmental technician/technologist, game warden, park ranger, forest watcher, forest guard, ...

, a

data analyst Data analysis is the process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, e ...

for an electric company and in customer services for

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

. He has lived in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

and in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

through his partner's work and since 2020 lives in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Style and songwriting

Both Broughton's recorded and live music is based heavily on spontaneity and improvisation. However, he often has a basic melody or lyric in mind beforehand, building the layers into a full composition that can be dismantled whenever he sees fit; in his own words, this process allows the music to be more organic. Similarly, the length of compositions are dependent on feelings at the time, allowing the loops of the previous song to gradually fade out and bleed into the next song when nothing else is deemed worthy of addition. Aside from his usual combination of an acoustic guitar and loop pedals,

field recordings Field recording is the production of audio recordings outside recording studios, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It can also include the recording of electromagnetic fields or vibrations using dif ...

are often used; Broughton puts their usage simply down to his love of nature and the environment. Broughton's voice, although distinctive, has been compared with singers such as Anohni Hegarty of

Anohni and the Johnsons Anohni and the Johnsons (previously known as Antony and the Johnsons) is a music ensemble originally based in New York City that presents the work of English singer-songwriter Anohni and her collaborators. The band released its self-titled de ...

and

Devendra Banhart Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Texas and raised in Venezuela and California. In 2000, he dropped out of the San Francisco Art Institute to pursue a musical career. ...

. Broughton, however, insists he had never heard their music before the comparisons were made, seeing the similarities as being the likely result of people growing up with the same records. His lyrics often deal with serious, universal topics such as

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

and

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, though mirrored with more everyday references; one clear example can be heard on "Weight of My Love" from ''David Thomas Broughton vs. 7 Hertz'', which mentions his inability to afford a

pasty A pasty () or Cornish pasty is a British baked turnover pastry, a variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, but has spread all over the British Isles, and elsewhere through the Cornish diaspora. It consists of a filling, ty ...

from

Greggs Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as baked goods, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is lis ...

bakery.

Discography

LPs

*'' The Complete Guide to Insufficiency'' – 2005 CD (Birdwar/

Plug Research Plug Research is an independent record label, based in Los Angeles, California, US. Created by Allen Avanessian in 1994, the label specialized in IDM, folktronica and experimental music. The label began with young artists that have made its repu ...

), 2019 vinyl LP ( Song, By Toad) *'' It's in There Somewhere'' – 2007 CD/LP (Birdwar) *'' David Thomas Broughton vs. 7 Hertz'' – 2007 CD (Acuarela), collaborative work with 7 Hertz *''

'' – 2011 CD/LP ( Brainlove Records) *''UnAbleTo'' – 2013 Cassette ( Antiquated Future Records) *''5 Curses'' – 2014 Download (self-released), originally scheduled for 2007 on Golden Lab Records *''Sliding the Same Way'' (David Thomas Broughton and

Vocal Ensemble) – 2015 CD/LP (Song, By Toad), collaborative work with Juice Vocal Ensemble *'' Crippling Lack'' – 2016 Triple 12" LP, 2017 re-press (Song, By Toad/Paper Garden Records/Le Noize Maker Records) *''Live at The Rose Hill'' - 2020 CD, recording of a 2017 live performance in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Singles and EPs

*''

'' – 2006 10" EP (Golden Lab Records) *''Boating Disasters'' – 2010 EP (Static Caravan Records)

Other

* ''The Rage/Be My Boy'' (Broughton & Casati) – 2007 Download (Plug Research), collaboration with Chris Casati

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Broughton, David Thomas 1981 births English folk guitarists English male guitarists English folk musicians Living people People educated at Prince Henry's Grammar School, Otley Musicians from Leeds Plug Research artists