Beau Diddley!
It’s soloist time once again in Brewtown with a finger-picking guitarist from the Mining town of Swadlincote who has made quite an impact in his first year of performing. The dandy young man Jamie Beau!
Beau (real name James Burton, fitting given this website!) is a singer/guitarist by performance and mix engineer by production which has him both sides of the glass when it comes to recording. Despite only being around for just over a year in the scene, he has made a great impression gaining opportunities to perform at the best festivals.
The VERY best!
Beau comes from a family with five siblings and grew up in Swadlincote. He first started playing the guitar at 7 years old, took a break from it (since you have a very busy schedule at 7 years old) and then developed his musical interests further by taking up singing and performing in his teens as he rediscovered his passion for music.
Throughout his teens, he was in various bands and got his first taste in music production in 1996 when he went to his then guitar tutor’s studio to record the first song he ever wrote. As much as he was drawn to performing music, he was just as interested in the production aspect of music which he described as becoming “hooked on the process of recording then mixing, the meticulous attention to fine detail, the musicality and expression you can create and ultimately, the satisfaction with the end result.”
After graduating college with a distinction grade in sound engineering, he went for various music-related jobs such as a music teacher in Long Eaton in 2003 and going from a freelance sound engineer (started in 2005) to starting his own SE business JBB Studios in 2012. That kind of dedication is why sound engineers are well-respected by musicians for doing the job they do for whatever price.
And if bands try to slip out of paying them, something like this could happen!
It was also in 2012 when he decided to officially get back in the gig game in September and writing some new material while he was at it. Having been performing on and off as a solo artist since the early 2010s, Beau started using the experience he had gained in the industry through bands and sound engineering to make it on his own merit.
After this new start, one of Beau’s next gigs was amongst other sultry performers as he was put on as live music entertainment as part of a burlesque show in Derby in November run by Spotlight Burlesque and Cabaret. One of the burlesque performers on this night was Beau’s girlfriend known as Cadillac Arrest.
Some steamy burlesque night action here for you!
He would go the next month to perform at another burlesque show in Birmingham with Cadillac Arrest on the card once again as well as Great Scott! Great Scott Boylesque that is! Not the two muppets I’ve already written about! If they did burlesque…I can’t even come up with a fun analogy. It’s not pretty to think of!
But it was this year that Beau’s talents were able to flourish on both sides of the recording booth as well as getting some big time exposure. An off-stage example of his growing popularity in January when gained a new follower on his Twitter in the form of The Darkness! Spangly falsetto singing metal band you know? Gotta love their solo acoustic balladeers!
In February, one of his first gigs of the year came to be at Burton’s Royal Oak which was unfortunately interrupted by an abrasive heckler who Beau was able to fortunately able to sort out to continue the show. In between plenty of other gigs in the Midlands through Spring, in April, he announced the title of his first EP Shedding Skin as well as releasing a rather unique acoustic version of the Terminator theme! Yeah you saw that correctly, Terminator meets James Taylor!
You’ve got a friend John Connor!
The next month he went from one sci-fi classic theme to another as he was booked for a Boxman Media gig in Burton called StarFest on, appropriately enough, May 4th which would also feature the likes of Chris Baldwin, Lady and the Tramp, For the Kill and The Vibe. Two weeks later, he would be back in Burton again for another varied musical event which was Get Cubs‘ post UK tour homecoming show.
In June, Beau got some radio airtime on BBC Radio Derby where he along with Matt McGuinness of Derby folk act Karl and the Marx Brothers were interviewed about all things musically in the Midlands by Sally Pepper.
Later in the month, he was not only an attendee but also one of the performers at the world’s most famous music festival Glastonbury! OK, not on the main stage like the Rolling Fossils but just having a low key busking session amongst the organised chaos at Glasto! Also, one of his tweets was actually favourited by the Rolling Stones’ Twitter so that was cool too!
Go on, see if you can spot him!
A week after his time at Glasto, he released Shedding Skin to positive reception from the likes of BBC’s Phil Trow taking note of his “Really powerful vocals” and event organisers Sidefest who said: “I can imagine seeing him perform at Glastonbury, Isle of Wight, Strawberry Fields, and to an extent, Reading and Leeds, and believe he has the talent to do just that.” Well, he kinda has done one of those already so it sounds like he’s well on his way!
An official launch party for the EP took place on July 19th at The Blessington Carriage in Derby which also featured fellow Derby acoustic acts George Simpson, Brookfield and pianist Eleanor Lee.
August proved to be even busier for Beau with performances at YNot Festival, Furthest From the Sea Promotions (A Derby-based arts promoter) this time playing with Karl and the Marx Brothers, down south on Newquay beaches and back in Burton for a Bank Holiday Sunday music evening at the Wetmore Whistle with Sam Garrett, Star From Ivy, Exile84 and 5 Days of November.
He would then be constantly going between recording and performing as a solo act and with KATMB, mostly performing in Derby and recording tracks at Piggyback Studios in Bretby.
Expect no big cigars or anyone calling each other comrade here though!
The whole autumn so far has not been any less busy for him as he gigged everywhere from Derby, Nottingham, Hartlepool and back again. One major highlight being Derby Folk festival pulling double duty as a solo act and KATMB member. His recording credits outside of performing have been mixing and mastering works for George Simpson, Hertfordshire-based Tail Dennerstein and a sterling recommendation from award-winning Welsh singer/songwriter Phil Lewis.
So after all that, let’s look at the man’s music itself and see what it’s like. It’s great to see how much Beau has done as far as music in the Midlands goes and as a solo performer, he’s just as great at that as he is a sound engineer.
Beau’s great voice, guitar playing, lyricism and production are all highlighted on Shedding Skin and features four tracks that all have their own merits and don’t submit to generic singer-songwriter syndrome of all the songs sounding exactly the same. Let’s have a look at it shall we?
Great poster for Tim Burton’s new Bob Dylan biopic isn’t it? (Artwork design by Becky Ryan)
Beau announced last week that his debut album was in the works and if this work is an indicator, I’m looking forward to it! With the upbeat yet introspective The Mill, the soothing acoustic choir in All Late, heavily instrumental heartbreak song Piece by Piece and simple yet effective live recording Shame I Met You, there’s a variety to his songs that is to be appreciated in order to keep a simple four track EP fresh with each listen.
The two tracks in particular I will pick as my favs are The Mill and Piece by Piece since to me they show Beau’s best qualities on both sides of the recording booth. The first of these two The Mill as said before begins the EP with an upbeat feel with not only the strings of the guitar being used but the hollow body is used as percussion. This method is used not only for live performances but also on the EP but the recording has additional layers to it that makes it stand out.
So I keep head down in the dead end mill
I’ll find a new place to wait
And the Waifs and Strays of the dead end mill
Will keep until I stagnate
Why forever do I take the long way around?
A look into a man’s repetitious yet jolly existence awaits you.
The second of these being Piece by Piece has the highest amount of production involved with many intricate layers and instruments including guitars both acoustic and electric, backing vocals and xylophone give this song a larger feel but still a subdued, calming nature to it that fits with a relaxing Sunday afternoon.
SideFest who I mentioned earlier said that this song was “written for a group to perform…a boy band perhaps…but handled and carried well single-handedly.” There are hints of an acoustic boy band song in there but it’s mostly a soothing folk number. Still I can sort of see where they’re coming from.
It’s mainly a well done song about heartbreak that serves as a great way for Beau to show off his performing and production talents through and through. Check these songs out for yourself with the links below if you don’t believe me!
Somehow baby I always came to your defence
And I couldn’t hear the voice of reason making sense
It was taking me apart
Taking me apart
Piece by piece
All I want is to find peace
Simply put, Jamie Beau/James Burton is an all-rounder in terms of music. Being recommended by many for his own music and music he has produced for others, he is a versatile addition to Midlands music, whether it be in Burton, Derby or anywhere he is needed. Keep an eye out for him if he’s coming your way, you’ll appreciate it I’m sure. This has been Brewtown Music serving you another fine brew of Midlands tunes!
Beau/Burton’s stuff
Beau Official Website: http://jamiebeau.com
Burton Official Website: http://jbbsound.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamiebeaumusic
Bandcamp: http://jamiebeau.bandcamp.com/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jamiebeau
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamieBeauMusic
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/jamiebeaumusic
Brew town music 