aaamusic | On 17, Dec 2011

Keaton Henson has announced plans for his first ever headline shows (with a twist).

Following a particularly disastrous bout of stage fright last year, Keaton has never played a traditional headline show. He has no current plans to, for that matter. But beginning on Sunday December 18 at 8pm GMT, Henson will present ‘Forts’ – the first in a series of online live music experiences.

‘Forts’ is neither a streamed session, a music video, nor a traditional live gig…though it does contain elements of all these things. ‘Forts’ is Keaton’s own twist on the shared gigging experience, and is designed to retain the intimacy of listening to a record, whilst still capturing the excitement of a live performance. To experience this, visitors should tune in to Keaton’s website (www.keatonhenson.com) on Sunday December 18 at 8pm. Though details are scarce, in this initial outing Henson will play a 20-minute set from inside a childlike fort, decorated in items dear to him. A wider narrative of ‘Forts’ will unfold throughout the piece, for all is not as it seems…

Keaton Henson is a truly unique singer and songwriter, of whom relatively little is still known. He spends his days alone – at first by circumstance, and now by choice – writing, recording and illustrating from his bedroom. At least that was the plan. Then Zane Lowe heard ‘You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are’ and loved it so much he threatened to play it twice in one show, sparking a frenzy of Twitter investigations into Keaton’s identity. Responses mixed between the obsessive – setting up Facebook and Tumblr sites, claiming to be him – and those worried about his disarmingly open lyrics. At the centre of all this was an increasingly-mystified Keaton, whose songs were never really intended to be heard by anyone.

Yet as his confidence continues to grow, Keaton is finding interesting ways around the demands of the traditional live circuit. ‘Forts’ will coincide with an invite from Zane Lowe to play at Radio 1’s Festive Festival, which will be aired December 12 from Maida Vale Studios. Kicking off at 7pm, hosts Nick Grimshaw and Zane Lowe will introduce an eclectic line-up of artists they have been championing; including Keaton, Bring Me The Horizon, Emeli Sande and Dot Rotton.

Keaton’s stunning debut album (‘Dear…’) is now scheduled for release on February 27, ahead of a new single, ‘Charon’, on February 20. This follows the breakthrough success of his first single, ‘You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are’, which was released in October to an incredible response, with Zane Lowe making it Single of the Week, XFM playlisting it, and repeated plays from the likes of Fearne Cotton, Nick Grimshaw, Jo Whiley, and Lauren Laverne. The darkly comic video for new single ‘Charon’, co-directed by Keaton, has already had over 88,000 views on Vimeo and Youtube.

 

December 12                                                             London                                                                                                             BBC Radio 1’s Festive Festival

December 18                                             www.keatonhenson.com ‘Forts’ – 8pm GMT