There’s a quiet contemplation that sits just out of frame with Chris Linton’s music. His voice is raw and fragile- at times it seems to crack under its own weight, and in other moments it swells and bursts in a furor. His reflections are honest, and his intent is clear; this is his story, and these are words only he could write.
Hailing from the sleepy harbor town of Plymouth, the sea breeze can almost be felt between his songs, reflecting the salt-tinged air he’s grown up with. Having previously cut his teeth in dimly lit pubs and hazy open mics, Chris took a few years out from performing to focus on his songwriting. In this time, he became a key player in a burgeoning community of left-field electronic artists, contributing his unique brand of vintage lyricism to projects by producers such as Unknown Brain and Lost Sky. All this was done while working full time in the Royal Navy.
Now, Chris is ready to step into the limelight; crafting his 5 track EP New Light from the songs that allowed him to quit his job in the navy and take the plunge into music full time. It consists of entirely new compositions recorded at Real World Studios, where he’s followed in the footsteps of industry greats such as Paloma Faith, Freya Ridings and Rag N’ Bone Man in honing a sound that is clear and crisp.
With New Light , Chris has coalesced the spirit of his 20’s into 6 tracks that span the breadth of human emotion. Opening track Fearless is an anthem for the eternally worried, with Chris’ ethereal vocal performance capturing the age-old feeling of being young and terrified. Other standout tracks include Superhero; a bluesy, heart-wrenching number where softly driven guitars lay the foundation for Chris’s chant; ‘What can I take?/Can I be your superhero?’. Without You is another track instrumental in understanding Chris as an artist. ‘it’s been a year/ and now I’m living’ he ruminates in the wake of a broken relationship, but with the awareness that both parties are better off without the other. Solemn and bittersweet, it’s a feeling near all of us can relate to; yet Chris captures it so succinctly. His EP is the culmination of ten years of growth as an artist. Careful and considered, this is only the beginning of Chris’ journey as a songwriter.