Thursday February 18th 2010
Cellar Bar 20:00
Tickets £5
Derrin Nauendorf (Pronounced No-en-dorf) 31, is an Australian who blends blues, folk and country by combining guitar, voice and lyric to create a unique and passionate rootsy sound that has to be experienced; and can only be described as pure Derrin Nauendorf.
Since first embarking on our shores 6 years ago, Derrin has worked relentlessly to get his music heard. Touring firstly as a duo, then for several years solo and, more recently as solo, duo or trio with his newly formed band.
2006 has been a great year for Derrin so far; Along with the release of his new studio recorded band album and first commercial release The Rattling Wheel; Came a distribution deal with Pinnacle, national radio plays, 'live' sessions on BBC Radio 2 with Paul Jones and Bob Harris coupled with sessions on many local BBC and other radio shows, the publishing of Derrin's lyrics for 'Shipwrecked' by Cambridge University Press in an English teaching guide, a full endorsement from Yamaha guitars, presence in various publications e.g Mojo, Q, Maverick, Blues Matters, Blues in Britain, and last but not least a 4 star album review in The Sunday Express alongside Jools Holland, Tom Waits and The Beatles! Great company indeed… And; whilst all of this has been happening Derrin has still managed to keep up with his busy touring schedule delighting audiences wherever he goes.
REVIEWS
The Sunday Express - 4 stars By Martin Townsend, Nov 2006
Maverick Magazine (issue 47) 4.5 stars 2006
The Rattling Wheel (DN06 Rising Records Ltd)
Awesomely growling vocals wrapped around superb lyrics go a long way to making this a top class album. Australian native Derrin Nauendorf arrived in England 5 years ago with just a guitar, £1200 and some warm clothes to cater for the colder climate over here. Since then he has worked very hard to get regular gigs, in fact over 1,000 and he has managed to build up a very loyal army of fans that follow him around the country, as well as Europe and his native Australia. The material on his new album has been compared to Steve Earle, but with a rougher feel, and more dynamic.
This is actually his fifth album, but the first to feature his band which consists of Jamie O'Keeffe on drums, multi-instrumentalist Arnie Cottrell on mandolin, electric guitar & slide guitar, Rick Foot on double bass and of course Derrin himself who handles all the vocals plus plays a shed load of different guitars. Universe Demands is a wonderfully bouncy song that Derrin wrote as a driving song. Shipwrecked is about life, relationships et al, and is a brooding blues rocker with a drilling beat throughout. Derrin wrote the beautiful love ballad, I Won't Turn My Back, about seven years ago. The music is kept relatively simple allowing his raw emotive voice to deservedly take centre stage, one of the many stand out tracks on this superb CD. Ron & Buz Singh help out with harmonium and wailing vocals respectively on Where Two Men Go Tonight, which is a dark and haunting folk murder ballad. Turn out the lights, shut your eyes and turn the volume up. Just amazing!!
Another gut wrenching, heart rending, inspiringly brilliant ballad about broken love is Deliver me an Angel, which again relies heavily on Derrin's gutsy vocals that just breeze through it so effortlessly. Derrin shows off his talent on the resonator guitar on the blues rocker, My Hurricane, his rough grating vocals give way to the storming resonator guitar solo at the end.
From start to finish this is a quite excellent album of top quality material from a man who deserves to be a major player in the music world.
Blues Matters Magazine (issue 32) 2006
The Rattling Wheel (DN06 Rising Records Ltd)
After gaining quite exceptional popularity (and unusually high CD sales) on the live circuit (is there a more liked performer?) Derrin finally realises he can't do it all on his own and "The Rattling Wheel" sees him release his first "officially distributed" collection.
Instead of a brand new album though this acts as a "Best Of" (so far) bringing together, what I guess are, Derrin's favourite moments. Having a full band (I'd previously only heard Derrin solo and live - whether in person or record) certainly adds greater depth/warmth to the songs (you could argue some of the edge is lost for a softer/commercial sound) but it's vocally that Derrin still affects the listener most - in fact his vocals sound far more relaxed/comfortable here than previously - and an unnoticed influence, Bruce Springsteen, becomes apparent.
How Bluesy Derrin's music is will always be up for debate - I'm sure the folk scene is equally unsure as to his merits given his rootsy sound falls somewhere outside and inside both classifications but Derrin won't be concerned with where on the shelf he resides at HMV (as long as he's there!) - in fact the success of far less talented "rootsy" singer-songwriters like KT Tunstall and James Blunt must give some confidence that this release could see him crossing into the pop-market. Standout, and still favourite Derrin number, 'Queensland' has to be one of the most uplifting numbers recorded in a long-time and the sense of empowerment this song gives the listener can be felt throughout this collection. Simple, honest, stylish music.