Steve Adey (born in

Great Barr Great Barr is a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as ...

, Birmingham) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. His music is characterised by slow

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

arrangements, underpinned by piano and a rich

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

vocal. As of 2018 Adey has released three studio albums and various EPs and singles. Adey released his critically well received debut album '' All Things Real'' in 2006 through independent record label Grand Harmonium Records. Music journalists often categorise his piano, vocal led songs as

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 ...

and singer-songwriter, but also acknowledge a harder, less generic, left of mainstream approach; No Ripcord's Simon Briercliffe writes "His voice is rich and carries on long after it's comfortable, at times far louder and more in your ear than is comfortable, leaving you hanging on every word." Writers generally warmed to the album's introspective songs and well chosen covers. US journal for improvised and progressive music 'Signal to Noise' heralded the album as "haunting folk into straight-up epic territory." Many reviews picked up on the integration of hi-fidelity crossed with a

lo fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic cho ...

, homemade approach.

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

critic Mark Edwards: "The secret lies in the gap between Adey’s main influences: on the one hand, the mournful, home-made alt-country of

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

and

Smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and ''fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odour. The word was then inte ...

; on the other, the pristine atmospheres of the

Blue Nile The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major Tributary, tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the wa ...

and

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981 by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, '' The Party's Over'' (198 ...

." Critic Leon McDdermott (

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

) writes "Adey channels the spirit of Smog, minus Bill Callahan's caustic take on dysfunctional relationships; elsewhere, there are hints of the late

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...

's mournful tenderness." Grand Harmonium released lead single "Find the Way" (31.06.06), containing two new acoustic recordings of "Find the Way" and "Mississippi". ''Mississippi: Remixed'', a download only EP, featuring Kramer, A Marble Calm,

Black Sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

and Sweet Billy Pilgrim was released (14.05.07). The Marble Calm remix was also released on 12" vinyl via Tonefloat Records. A limited 7" single and download, "Burning Fields" b/w "Everything in its Right Place" followed in September 2007. Adey (with full band) played several festivals around Europe in 2007, and in August 2007 headlined his debut UK tour. In 2010, a new Steve Adey track (excerpt) was featured in an advert for

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

. A five-song EP entitled ''These Resurrections'' was released in May 2011. A new studio "long player" '' The Tower of Silence'' was released in November 2012 to positive critical response. ''The Tower of Silence'' made The Sunday Times Album of the Week and

Q Magazine ''Q'' was a British popular music magazine. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ''Q'' was published in print in the ...

cited the album as "beautiful and grandly".

MusicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...

garnered the album "a meticulously crafted, sparse and funereally paced soundscape on which every note seems to have to earn its place; an eerie, sweeping soundtrack of grand orchestration." A new album of covers entitled ''"Do Me a Kindness"'' was released on 4 August 2017. The album includes takes on

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

and more.

History

2003–2006: ''All Things Real''

'' All Things Real'' was recorded between September 2003 and April 2005, at Longformacus Parish Church, and a rented cottage in

Longformacus Longformacus () is a small village in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is around north-west of Duns, in the Lammermuir Hills. The Dye Water runs through the village, flowing east towards its confluence with the White ...

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

. The recording was "fixed" and

mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...

Calum Malcolm Calum Malcolm is a Scottish record producer, sound engineer and keyboardist, who is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Career From 1974, he has worked with bands and musicians such as The Blue Nile, Capercaillie, Clannad, Emily Barker, Fish, The ...

. The album consists of both original compositions and cover versions of

's "

Shelter from the Storm "Shelter from the Storm" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on September 17, 1974, and released on his 15th studio album, '' Blood on the Tracks'', in 1975. It was later anthologized on the compilation album ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' in 2000. Co ...

" and Will Oldham's "

I See a Darkness ''I See a Darkness'' is the sixth studio album by American musician Will Oldham, and his first album under the name Bonnie "Prince" Billy. It was released on January 19, 1999 by Palace Records. The album features appearances from Bob Arellano, C ...

". ''All Things Real'' was critically well received. Sunday Times journalist Mark Edwards on Shelter from the Storm: "You'd have to be a fool to cover one of Dylan's best-loved songs. Either that, or a singer with the presence — and presence of mind — to slow it right down, exposing the beauty of every syllable." Ian Mathers from ''

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

'': "Never has Dylan's 'creature void of form' sounded so wracked, so stricken". The album includes the song "Mary Margaret O'Hara", a tribute to the Canadian singer/actress

Mary Margaret O'Hara Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and composer. She is best known for the album ''Miss America'', released in 1988. She released two albums and an EP under her own name, and remains active as a live performer, as a con ...

. An initial album recording, featuring

choral A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

singers and members of the

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) () is a Scottish orchestra, based in Glasgow. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Orchestra has played an important part in Scotland’s ...

was abandoned, due to the wrong feel and a less personal sound.

2012: ''The Tower of Silence''

It was announced via Steve's official website over the summer of 2012 that a new album will be available from September as a special LP bundle direct from the artist. An official release was to follow in November through the Grand Harmonium label. Adey worked on '' The Tower of Silence'' for several years, mostly mixing and editing early band recordings that were "laid down" in a church. No computers were used and Adey wanted to mix to tape in ''"an old school"'' style. ''"The songs were all written at the piano, but from that point, the direction and possible trajectory could be anything."'' Each song was approached differently, although the overall sound of the album is seamless and has a continuous mood. A full string section was employed during the initial recording. The sound is more "live" with more emphasis on a stronger "band feel." Album two was recorded, for the most part in a church, using the natural acoustic and room noise.
The album received critical acclaim across the board, including positive reviews from

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

and

Uncut Magazine ''Uncut'' is a monthly magazine based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections. A DVD magazine under the ''Uncut'' brand was published quarterly from 2005 to 2006 ...

, who also included the track "Laughing" on a best of 2012 covermount CD.

Influences

Writers consistently reference Smog, the Blue Nile and Talk Talk as influences.
In various interviews, Adey has said that the

Bonnie Prince Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...

, a.k.a. Will Oldham albums

and Master and Everyone are very important and influential records. Also, Oldham's 'I See a Darkness' was covered on ''All Things Real''. Uncut magazine cited that "Adey is clearly in thrall to the folk fatalism of Will "Bonnie Prince Billy" Oldham along with Dylan and the knotty American pre-war minstrels that inspired him." Talk Talk lead man

Mark Hollis Mark David Hollis (4 January 1955 – February 2019) was an English musician and singer-songwriter. He achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in the 1980s and 1990s as the co-founder, lead singer and principal songwriter of the band ...

is a major influence. Hollis released his only solo, eponymous album in 1997. Adey commented the album was "Uncompromising and in a different league."

Recording

Adey has previously engineered and mastered recordings for classical labels, recorded various types of music from

heavy rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard rock mu ...

to folk, both in the US where he lived for several years, and his current home city of Edinburgh. He has recorded and self-produced both solo albums ''All Things Real'' and ''The Tower of Silence''.

Discography

* '' All Things Real'' (2006) * '' The Tower of Silence'' (2012) * ''Do Me a Kindness'' (2017)

References

Sources

* Signal To Noise No. 43 : Fall 2006 * Uncut No. 108 : May 2006 :
''Sunday Times – Songs of the year: Shelter from the Storm''

"All Things Real" – Video EPK

''Penny Black interview''

'All Things Real' ''Sunday Times review''

Live, Edinburgh, 07 ''Skinny review''

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adey, Steve Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters English folk singers English pop singers English composers English multi-instrumentalists English alternative rock musicians People from Great Barr