Fraser Anderson earned Chuck Berry's nod with a resounding "two thumbs up." In the realm of soul-baring musicians, he stands shoulder to shoulder with, and has been likened to Bon Iver, Damien Rice, Nick Drake and Laura Marling.
His music, a canvas painted with tales, uniquely tuned acoustics, and a tender falsetto, delivers an intimate experience that hits you square in the gut. It's a poignant journey, akin to Joni Mitchell's melodic movements.
The roots of Anderson's craft dig deep into the soil of human vulnerability, a place where his own take on folk music becomes cinematic. His lyrics, a poetic exposé of life's fragility, resonate with the heart. But the road to musical eloquence began on the heels of a haunting encounter in the Scottish highlands. A conversation with a young man about life and death, which quickly became a short-lived friendship, as it was followed by the tragic spectacle of his death, became the catalyst for Fraser's musical journey.
Raised in an environment where therapy was a foreign concept, Anderson turned to scribbling in the back of school books, a personal refuge for unresolved thoughts and feelings. The emptiness of Rosslyn Chapel, made famous by "The Da Vinci Code," became his sanctuary, where the sound of his voice rebounded, his secret solace.
Armed with a battered three-stringed guitar from a car-boot sale, Anderson stumbled upon his musical calling. Marriage, children, and the struggle to sustain a family couldn't deter his passion for music. The legendary Dougie McLean recognized Anderson's talents, inviting him to join his band. From there, Fraser worked tirelessly, juggling roles as a builder, landscape gardener, plasterer, decorator, and a songwriter burning the midnight oil.
Releasing "And the Girl with the Strawberry..." in 2003, recorded in the cramped confines of a friend's bedroom using an upturned mattress as a vocal booth, was hailed as a masterpiece of a debut. Anderson's ascent from then was unstoppable.
The move to rural France, physically demanding jobs, and the adoration of a local community set the stage for his third studio album, "Little Glass Box," in 2010, which featured the great Danny Thompson on double bass, whose sound is forever etched in stone on classic records with Nick Drake, John Martyn, and many more.
Returning to the UK in 2013, Bristol became his musical home. Support tours with Joan Armatrading, The Low Anthem, and Pete Doherty solidified his presence. "Under the Cover of Lightness" in 2016 garnered critical acclaim.
2023 saw the release of his latest creation, "All We Are." Anderson's melodies echo life's precarious beauty. "All we are," a stripped-back nod to the desire for human connection.
In Fraser's world, music is an unfiltered celebration of vulnerability—a testament to love amidst impermanence.
As he puts it, "We’re all born with this inherent desire to connect, to love and to be loved. I think that’s pretty much all we are when you strip it all back."
2024 looks set to hear the first Fraser Anderson live album, Live shows in the UK, France and Canada with vocalist Bex Baxter and double Bass player John Parker, the fruits of a surprising new direction through a collaboration with Bristol's DJ Wildb0y, more of Anderson’s films after last years award nominations and a few other surprises.
