Dunookie
its really hard to find music as different and great as ones made by Strawberry Guy. i hope more people come to this genre
Favorite track: Believing.
baconatorism
I really liked "As We Bloom" it really reminds me of a nice summer day and it also feels like the album cover, really amazing album overall.
Favorite track: As We Bloom.
Shaun Rutherford
One of those rare albums where the back half is even stronger than the first half, and the first half is also really good. I’m going to give you the Best Thing I Bought On Bandcamp Friday award for November.
Favorite track: Sun Outside My Window.
I felt a ray coming my way
It bounced back in human form
It moulds to its environment
It just artistic temperament
But I feel so good, so good
I’ve got to stay in this moment
Stay in this moment
I’ve got to stay in this moment
Stay in this moment
It seems so unattainable
First glance says I’m not enough
It comes from the deep end,
To my soul it came to mend
But I feel so good, so good
I’ve got to stay in this moment
Stay in this moment
I’ve got to stay in this moment
Stay in this moment
Am I feeling overwhelmed?
As another one is down
I’m searching for some order here, for me
I know you, you’ve been here before
Tell me what I don’t know once more
I feel a change, coming my way,
Moulding my days,
To get back on my feet
I feel a change, coming my way,
Moulding my days,
To get back on my feet
Something I’ve been longing for,
Falling into plan
It’s put my knowledge to use
Well exchange is pretty grand
I know you, you’ve been here before
Tell me what I don’t know once more
I feel a change, coming my way,
Moulding my days,
To get back on my feet
I feel a change, coming my way,
Moulding my days,
To get back on my feet
I guess I can’t be there
Just know that I’m thinking and dreaming of you
I’ve tried to be myself,
But I’m just feeling, missing you
We know this will end,
And the earth will mend,
To be where we belong
I wish I had some sand,
To put in an hourglass, to watch time go by
Cos I feel I’m on my own
I’ve got to remember, how it will be
We know this will end,
And the earth will mend,
To be where we belong
Even though I’m on my own, I feel fine
Even though I’m all alone, I feel fine
I don’t need anyone
Well sometimes I lie, and they’re not all white
Sometimes you lie yourself through life
Even though I’m on my own, I feel fine
Even though I’m all alone, I feel fine
I don’t need anyone
Well sometimes I lie, and they’re not all white
Sometimes you lie yourself through life
But I feel fine, but I feel fine.
about
Tiptoe between the toadstools of Liverpool’s city parks, and amongst the foliage you might find a Strawberry Guy, contemplating his next chord-progression. Composing hi-fi symphonies from within his humble abode, the Welsh-born songwriter is ready to share the fruits of his labour with debut album Sun Outside My Window. A timeless vista of ethereal balladry looking towards 19th Century musical maestros and works of art, it brings new meaning to the term ‘Modern Classic’ and is the most optimistic of lockdown records yet.
“It’s about seeing the simple things in life and them making you happy,” tells Alex Stephens, the Guy behind the Strawberry. “I remember this day when I was really down… looking out the window, the sun beaming in was beautiful, it made me want to go outside – it was simple but made me so happy in that instance.”
A one-man impressionist, painting majestic soundscapes, Strawberry Guy blends truthful lyrics with lush arrangements to conjure new emotive worlds. Inspired by composers of the Romantic period, or Debussy, Ravel, and other classical artists of the 1800s, his wonderland moves like a Monet painting where arpeggios dance between meadows of dazzling dynamics and dramatic key changes. As former keyboard player of The Orielles and Trudy and The Romance, the light through his floor to ceiling windows has caused a dramatic Greenhouse Effect and now ripening on solo terms, his innocent uploads of ‘Without You’ and ‘F-Song’ comfort 2 million Spotify listeners a month. ‘Mrs Magic’ has received 40 million streams, landing at #13 in its chart and countless fan-created videos have appeared on YouTube. “Throughout history composers have tried to capture emotion, painting their own impressionist pictures with musical brush strokes… I guess I’m just trying to do the same and people enjoy that,” he suggests modestly.
Named by musical friends Her’s after his impeccable taste in milkshakes, Strawberry Guy upturns ‘bedroom artist’ perception, as each idea is crafted into a widescreen wonder where vocals tag-team instrumentals and countermelodies flourish within the Georgian walls of his Liverpool flat’s small space. “I want it to sound like I’ve squeezed an 80-piece orchestra into my room, and for listeners to wonder how all those strings got there,” he says. “Working on the 4-part harmonies, the orchestra became real; I began believing in myself.”
Imitating nature’s effect on emotion, like 70s songwriters, or the fantastical soundtracks accompanying vibrant scenes in the Japanese animated Studio Ghibli films and video games, landscape is brought to the fore. Monet’s picturesque Meadow at Giverny features as the album’s accompanying artwork – perhaps a reminder of the rural Welsh countryside views through his childhood home’s window; “I was inspired by how calm and peaceful the image felt. Its painted lines show real-life scenes in a magical way, which to me reflects my music.”
Just as the first Strawberry Guy EP Taking My Time To Be offered a slowing down for the soul, Sun Outside My Window is musically unhurried, written and recorded over 2 years. “Recording as a lone berry meant I could run with my emotions in the moment and deliver something true; it would have been an entirely different album had it been recorded in a studio,” he says.
Modern Classic? Only time will tell. For now this Guy’s happy-sad world is here to get the juices flowing and with, pandemic permitting, a US tour in 2022, life looks a whole lot sweeter. Until then, take it slow, be at one with the wilderness and remember, when life gives you lemons, swap them for Strawberries.
credits
released October 29, 2021
All songs written by Strawberry Guy
All songs performed by Strawberry Guy
All songs produced by Strawberry Guy
Backing vocals on ‘Company’, ‘Back On My Feet’ and ‘Believing’ sung by Hannah Brown
Saxophone on ‘Sun Outside My Window’ played by Luke Ledger
Mastered by Joe Lambert
supported by 14 fans who also own “Sun Outside My Window”
Their sound keeps getting bolder and more delicate. I love hearing the singer's increased vocal exploration. Some songs popped right away, others came to me more gradually. A substantial effort! Tyler Keyes
supported by 11 fans who also own “Sun Outside My Window”
Have you ever spent a summer on the mediterranean? If you haven't, this is how it sounds like. You can feel the heat, the air conditioning, the sea breeze, the pace of the places that are waiting for people to swim in the shores, the nights out with friends, the longing of a lover, that feel of nothing apparently is happening outside, but this is a part of your life you will never forget? Well, it sounds like this.
tefo222
Auckland-based group Tiny Ruins present a series of dazzling, folk-informed songs on their latest, grounded in tender vocal melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable May 8, 2023
supported by 11 fans who also own “Sun Outside My Window”
Discovering Halcyon Age in 8th grade while I was heading to practice was an otherworldly experience. Listening back to it reminds me of the feeling of quiet freedom that consuming art felt like as a naive young pest trying to adjust to pandemic life. Finally giving the rest of the album a listen years later, I realize now how much my playlist loving child self missed out on. Thanks for exposing my young brain to an unbeatable era of independent music, Vansire. grished217