In 2021 songwriter and musician M G Boulter released his album ‘Clifftown’ which was described in our album review as an intoxicating listen, following which we interviewed M G, who offered the following on the album’s focus:
“It’s a collection of songs that are rooted in my personal experience and my feelings about my hometown, which is Southend-on-Sea, in Essex, sort of 40 miles east of London on the River Thames, and you know, I live in suburbia, and I don’t feel many people write about suburbia. But, for me, suburbia is all I’ve ever really known, and so it pervades all my song writing, it certainly has for at least the last ten years.”
It was the beginning of a project that would encompass not just the album but a podcast series (The Clifftown Podcast), an invitation to write and present an essay at Melbourne’s Emerging Writers Festival and an experimental sounds commission from Southend’s Focal Point Gallery; all collected in the Clifftown Sounds Website.
In the Clifftown live show, M G explores this seaside suburbia through its unique stories and his evocative songwriting. Accompanied by short documentary films shot especially for the show by acclaimed director Andrew Delaney, Clifftown captures the essence of the everyday seaside suburbia familiar to us all, from the neon lights and burnt sugar smells of a Saturday night seafront to the solitary Essex noir of the salt marshland. For the shows, M G will be accompanied by a collection of outstanding musicians, including Lucy Farrell (critically acclaimed Folk artist), Harriet Bradshaw (cellist for the likes of I Am Kloot’s John Bramwell and Teesside’s Tom Joshua) and Bryan Styles (London Improvisational Orchestra and The Routes). Bringing the audio and visual elements together for the show will be BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winning producer Andy Bell.
M G Boulter has been quietly working at creating rich and evocative story songs since 2013 and currently releases his music on Sheffield label Hudson Records. M G creates vignettes of suburban lives and seaside communities and is a contemporary voice in the long tradition of the singer-songwriter. Often referred to as the artist’s artist M G has been a much sought-after collaborator in the Folk and Americana scenes, having worked with the likes of the Simone Felice Group, The Duke and the King, Emily Portman’s Coracle Band and Blue Rose Code. He is currently a member of Jon Boden’s Remnant Kings.
Clifftown Tour Dates
Saturday 1st Oct – The Blue Lamp, ABERDEEN
Friday 7th Oct – The Fisher Theatre, BUNGAY
Saturday 15th Oct – Thimblemill Library, SMETHWICK
Sunday 16th Oct – Bishop’s House, SHEFFIELD
Weds 19th Oct – Cecil Sharp House, LONDON
Friday 21st Oct – Fishermen’s Chapel, LEIGH-ON-SEA
Saturday 22nd Oct – The Bowerhouse, MAIDSTONE
Friday 28th Oct – Christ Church, GREAT AYTON
Friday 18th Nov – Davenham Theatre, DAVENHAM
Friday 2nd Dec – Ashcroft Arts Centre, FAREHAM
Ticket Links: http://www.mgboulter.co.uk/tour-dates-2/