Am I an Ear Traitor?
A story of a girl who's ears have been swayed.
Johnny Flynn - Hop Farm Festival Summer 2010.
Since hearing Johnny Flynn for the first time at Hop Farm Festival in 2010 I was infatuated with his incredible talent, multi instrumental genius Flynn melted my heart. His poetic lyrics left me breathless in the July heat. Performing his classics such as "The Wrote & The Writ" & "The Water" (which can I just add is performed with Laura Marling) I could envisage many happy year spent being totally dedicated to just him & his wonderful music. For the months to come I couldn't spend a day without Johnny ringing through my ears, generally whilst ironing or on my long bus rides to work I would indulge my ears in beauty, time alone with Johnny became a regular occurrence. In the winter of 2010 I heard he was playing in Manchester at a tiny venue, this time I could appreciate him in all his splendour, it happened to be my best friends birthday so we were able to woo at him once again.
Johnny Flynn - Manchester, Winter 2010.
His intimate performance could have quite easily made me cry, I was star struck to be this close to the person responsible for this ear romance I was having on a daily basis. Not only was I sat on the stage staring in amazement I even got to meet him....
Aime & I with Johnny Flynn.
Year's have gone by now and I still listen to Johnny A LOT! But recently I have been moved by a new love, The Tallest Man on Earth is a Swedish solo artist who's gravely tones and complex guitar work have mesmerised my ears for weeks now. I have reached my maximum plays on the majority of his songs on Spotify. (I am far too poor to pay for it)
Krisitan Matsson of The Tallest Man on Earth.
As a classically trained Guitarist, Kristian in his youth regarded it as boring, he was tired with this style, saying it was like studying Maths. In his early Twenties he found Nick Drake. This was to begin the moulding of The Tallest Man on Earth. Admiring Drakes style of open tuning it enabled him to concentrate on his singing while still being able to play intricate compositions. I would just like to say he has been compared to Bob Dylan in style and lyrical tone, but I for one has to agree with Krisitan when he said, this is how I play & this is how I write music.
Often Krisitan will ask Amanda Bergman of Idiot Wind to accompany him on stage. Amanda's voice is a delight when merged with his, perfect match I would say. It's a good job Kristian snapped her up and they are now married, the loving look they exchange is a powerful bond of unity they share.
Amanda Bergman & Kristian Matsson performing Thrown Right At Me.
What I would give to see them perform live, unfortunately there is nothing scheduled for any time soon, if anyone hears of anything coming up before I do, I would appreciate a nod so I can get those all important tickets.
The comparison is few and far between, I will never be able to decided who my allegiances lie with. I never thought I could replace Johnny in anyway, but now I have tainted my ears with the overwhelming tones of TMOE, I am lost in my own headphone, my mind often wonders but I get well and truly sucked in, it's hard to have reality pull me back out these days.
This is my collection of my favourites from both, see what you think!
You could always help me decide.
Laurie Rose x
