Fletcher “Open Up” single release December 2nd from the debut album ‘Upon Ayr’ out now on Dramatico
Having charmed listeners with his stunning debut single “Don’t Breathe A Word’, Fletcher returns with the beautifully introspective folk-inspired ode to youth, “Open Up”. This is the second single from Fletcher’s sensitive and wonderfully crafted debut album ‘Upon Ayr’.
Full of moving soundscapes and otherworldly imagery each song is written with the ‘authenticity and feeling’ of a true folk musician. The album explores the many shades of human emotions regarding love, youth and the idealisation of home through tenderly melancholic and stunningly honest melodies.
“Open Up” is a deeply personal coming of age single for the artist, performed with thoughtful acoustic simplicity to accent the heartfelt sincerity of Fletcher’s story-telling style. Drawing inspiration from his life and Tom Wolfe’s literary protagonist Eugene Gant, Fletcher’s achingly expressive voice enhances lyrics that perfectly capture the romance of new beginnings and the harsh reality of impending adulthood.
As Fletcher explains, “I left home when I was 15 and really started living; I felt my life ‘open up’. But there’s a strange joyful/terrifying realisation you get when you discover that You Can’t Go Home Again.”
The accompanying video perfectly complements the new release. Inspired by Cesar Kuriyama’s “1 second every day” project, Fletcher’s video for “Open Up” captures a series of one-second snippets from 9 months in his life.
As Fletcher explains, “Open Up starts with the line: ‘That was your life in the flash of an eye, a burst of colour and a slow decline…’. I wanted to try and capture that sentiment in tiny segments of my life as it is with all the bells and whistles and rust and loves and all the humdrum of daily realities that make up our time here. As the great Bueller once said: Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it…This video is me stopping and looking around.”
Fletcher – Open Up video:
‘Upon Ayr’ was a true labour of love having developed over a number of years whilst Fletcher was on tour – created during a series of clandestine ‘stolen’ sessions in a Sydney university, in the bathroom of his London flat, mixed in Stockholm and mastered in Berlin. The multi-talented Fletcher performs most of the instruments on the album and is joined on four songs by the voice of multi-award winning artist Sarah Blasko. The record has earned spot plays on BBC Radio 2 and air time regionally and across Europe.
Fletcher is an artist ‘who has certainly done his time at the school of music credibility’ having been a founding member of Bluebottle Kiss and The Devoted Few before joining ‘one of Australia’s finest artists’ Sarah Blasko’s band in 2005 to tour the world. Most recently he showcased his solo project in London, delighted commuters with a performance on The Station Sessions and secured slots at The Great Escape and Dot to Dot Festival (Manchester).
If you’re looking for a genuine, honest, unpretentious, life-affirming album, look no further than Upon Ayr – Whisperin n Hollerin
..beautifully written and honestly produced – For Folk’s Sake
..swirly, haunting and utterly bewitching – The Music Fix
As close to a perfect debut record as you will ever hear – Female First
A high quality debut album from a talented performer – Glasswerk
…folk-pop that strips away the genre’s tendency towards kitschy bucolic flourishes – The Sun
For the latest music and more, please go to:
Fletcher Official Website