1.0 rich SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com 450 100% London based singer-songwriter, Ned Roberts, has four studio records to his name, which have all featured frequently on BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio Scotland, and have been championed by the likes of Lauren Laverne, Jo Whiley, Gideon Coe, and Roddy Hart. His bittersweet songs sit comfortably among the classics of the Laurel Canyon era, with a timeless quality and a poetic turn of phrase. With shows across Europe and America, live highlights include a tour with celebrated songwriter Anais Mitchell, plus support slots for Joe Pug, Micah P. Hinson, Those Pretty Wrongs, and Sarabeth Tucek amongst others. He has released two critically acclaimed albums for the Aveline label (home to Ani Di Franco), and has a decade long creative partnership with renowned US producer and songwriter Luther Russell (Sarabeth Tucek, Fabiano do Nascimento). He’s received significant national press, notably from the Guardian and Uncut magazine, and has recorded live sessions for BBC Radio London and Bob Harris’ Radio 2 show. In 2024, Ned released his fourth studio album, Heavy Summer, which was supported on Cerys Matthews 6music show, and across BBC radio. Teaming up again with producer Luther Russell, and sound engineer Jason Hiller, the record was cut and mixed in 6 days in the late LA summer heat. Recorded mostly live to a vintage 8-track tape machine, Luther (keys, mellotron, guitars, drums) and Jason (bass) doubled as an expert band. Heavy Summer showcases both sides of Ned’s creative output, with gorgeously constructed band takes, recorded during the heat of the day, and intimate acoustic numbers, recorded just as night drew in. The sparse fingerpicked opener, ‘Play My Cards’ – cut last and written during the sessions – recalls Ned’s debut single ‘Red Sun’, some 10 years ago. The more expansive sounds of Heavy Summer then emerge; ‘Down to the Edge’ develops into a wide, open soundscape, and ‘Days Into Days’ drives the momentum and energy onwards. Lyrically, on first listen, these tunes echo the romantic melancholy of his previous records. Yet the record contains more existential themes too – of aging, regret and loss; of childhood; of escape and creative expression – on ‘Another Record Round’, ‘Tomorrow in Time’, and ‘Losing Sight’. Throughout, there is a sense of searching, of something just beyond reach. ‘Days into days / a uniform parade / Run ‘cross the fields / is salvation on the way? / To ease the sense of time / Go steady on the wine / I’m young and I’m old / I’m living and I’m dying.’ Solo acoustic closer, ‘The Breakers’, with Sarabeth Tucek on backing vocals, brings the record to a meditative end. https://i1.sndcdn.com/avatars-000039733450-d1q4ns-t500x500.jpg <![CDATA[<iframe width="100%" height="450" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?visual=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fusers%2F7674408&show_artwork=true"></iframe>]]> Ned Roberts https://soundcloud.com/nedroberts