aaamusic | On 01, Jun 2011

Jonathan Powell’s childhood was filled with music and his career began when, as a teenage viola virtuoso, he won the National Chamber Music Competition five times followed by a scholarship to study at London’s Royal Academy of Music.

By the age most people are thinking about a career in music, Jonathan was ripping up what he had learned. He strayed from classical to pop at 18 and, after taking an award-winning play to Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he stayed in the city. It was a turning point. Immersed in Edinburgh’s music scene, his ability as a singer and multi-instrumentalist matured. His ability matched his ambition and his own songs poured out.

In a whirlwind 12 months, Jonathan has worked as a co-writer, producer and has performed at venues and festivals across the UK and Europe including The British Showcase Stage at The Midem Interceltique Festival in Cannes, the Greenman Festival, Hop Farm Fest & Beach Break Live. He recently showcased at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

This June, Powell will release the second single, ‘Brave Captain Mallard’ from his new album, ‘The Flight & Other Stories’. His blend of influences can echo Elbow or Jeff Buckley in an incredibly versatile vocal, but can equally hint at songwriting heroes; David Bowie, Ben Folds and Gary Barlow. And they are all distinctly Jonathan Powell.

Speaking of the new single, Powell said;

“It’s one of those funny songs that as a writer you find creeps up on you. I was reading an article in the New Scientist that was about a plane that crash landed on water after a flock of birds went through its engine. The article was half praising the physics and half praising the pilot, but I couldn’t help thinking “what about the birds?”. I’d just bought this lovely ukelele and Brave Captain Mallard was the first song I wrote on it.

When I told my production partner, Gethin, that I’d written a song on a uke, from the perspective of a duck, he though I’d lost it, you know, done a Sid Barrett.”