First Listen :: Tenterhook

Tenterhook is the working moniker of 19-year-old singer/songwriter Archie Faulks from West London's Portobello Road area. And with a surname that is a variation of the legendary Guy's, you might well expect some dynamite material. Well, we can't say for sure, but on the one demo track that he unveiled yesterday, 'Stereo', things look very promising. With a soaring falsetto voice and a style somewhere in between Sivu, Benjamin Leftwich and Paul Thomas Saunders, the track builds nicely until in its last minute, it soars. It's a damn catchy tune too.

Having just left school and working part-time to find his musical activities - he is a classically trained singer and clarinet player - he's not hanging around, recording his debut EP over the next two weeks for release over the summer. At the moment, 'Stereo' is the only track online but he does apparently "have a repertoire of about 20-25 original songs."

So how did he kick off in this big, bad music biz? "I got into songwriting when I was 15 and started playing in a band (Hold Up, Nancy!). The reason for doing so was simply to try and be cool! We played a few shows in London and that sparked my interest in songwriting, production and music in general. I also play guitar, piano and drums - all of which are self taught."

Inspirations? "Major musical ones range from lyrical acoustic songwriters such as Neil Young and Nick Drake to cinematic bands such as Sigur Ros, Bon Iver and Half Moon Run. However, I would say my overall musical inspiration is Jeff Buckley - in particular his cover of 'Dido's Lament' from the Opera Dido and Aeneas. It was one of the first songs I heard which made me want to sing."

As for the rather unusual name, Tenterhook, Archie tells us, "was originally a character I had thought up as part of a short movie idea. However, the name caught on and I thought it has a nice ring to it. Not the most interesting story behind it!"

While still to make his live debut, keep an eye on dates in Oxford, Bristol and Brighton at some point in March, and possibly with a band set-up since he is currently auditioning.


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