Stoney (musician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mark Stoney is a British musician, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Enigmatic British indie songwriter Mark Stoney has been releasing critically acclaimed records under various names since his arrival in his adopted hometown of Sheffield, UK where his idiosyncratic songwriting style has been held in high regard for the last few years, with many of the current trend of emerging “New Yorkshire” bands publicly doffing their caps to Stoney. More recently however, his writing talent has been admired further afield, with Ivor Novello winning writer Guy Chambers, Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner and legendary producer Rick Rubin all declaring themselves big Stoney fans.
While articles in national UK newspapers such as The Independent and The Sunday Times have boldly compared him with some of the greatest British songwriters of the last few decades, he still remains a relatively underground artist compared to the widespread commercial success many feel he could achieve.
[edit] Background
Stoney first appeared on the UK music scene following the release of his debut album Amber in 2001. A quirky collection of songs written in his teens, and recorded in his Sheffield basement following his escape from his hometown of Croydon, it was independently distributed initially through a few local record shops on his own "Holy Moly" label. Stoney played all the instruments on the record and it won much acclaim in the steel city for its inventive and homegrown style.
In response to the positive public reaction, a full band was formed to take the songs to the stage, and a three track EP of songs taken from the album enitled "The Amber EP" was released nationally the next year gaining Stoney his first national radio play. Soon after, Stoney signed to Island Records in 2003, teaming up with producers Kevin Bacon & Jon Quarmby (Longpigs, Richard Hawley, Sugarbabes, Finlay Quaye) to record an album. During this time, he and his band performed under the name of “Stoney Lacuna” to reflect the departure of the singer songwriter feel of Amber, to the bigger, full band sound of the new recordings. However, political wrangles ensued and Stoney parted company with the label the following year without a record ever being released.
A few months later, the limited edition single “Constantly Running” was nationally released on the small Transistor label, but despite some great reviews and a few significant champions at UK radio, momentum had been lost. The band parted company and Stoney Lacuna vanished back into obscurity.
In late 2004, Stoney began putting more time into producing other artists, and set up “lacuna productions”, a record production company with fellow Sheffield producer Sam Jones. Lacuna birthed debut singles from several rising Sheffield indie stars such as Bromheads Jacket & Little Ze.
Stoney had all but stopped performing until early 2005, when Constantly Running was hailed as the “Single of the week” on the iTunes music store, restarting a frenzy of activity . The single achieved over 17,000 downloads in the UK alone in the first week. Stoney followed up with the “Soap in a bathtub” EP, which won him further national exposure, and after forming a new band, landed him as the support for the Arctic Monkeys first sell out UK tour in the Summer of ’05, alongside festival appearances at Glastonbury & Leeds.
He became a regular guest on BBC Radio 2 & BBC 6Music and further shows with high profile acts such as Athlete & Feeder along with his own headline shows quickly gained him a reputation as an exhilarating and charismatic live performer, continuing to win him a steadily growing underground UK fanbase.
A double A-side single featuring fan favourites “Until you leave” and “Holds the Stars” was released at the end of ’05.
In 2006 following an acoustic show at the SXSW festival in Texas, he was flown to Los Angeles by Rick Rubin for a private showcase. At the time of writing, it is unconfirmed if the two will be working together on a future record, but emerging champions of Stoney on US radio such as Nic Harcourt at KCRW are quickly developing a strong fanbase over the Atlantic..
Stoney released the 12 track album The Scene & the Unseen in the Summer of 2006 on the independent Manchester based label Too Nice Recordings and as a download on iTunes. Despite a typically low key and organic release, it prompted widespread critical acclaim from the national UK papers, with notably raving reviews from The Independent, The Sunday Times and the Daily Express.
Stoney continues to work with other artists on a production basis and is currently working on two forthcoming feature film soundtracks. He is also regularly collaborating with award winning songwriter Guy Chambers on various side projects.
[edit] Discography
- Amber (album) - Mark Stoney (2001-Holy Moly Records)
- Amber EP - Mark Stoney (2002- Thunderbird Records)
- Constantly Running - CD Single as Stoneylacuna (Late 2004- Transistor Records)
- Constantly Running - iTunes single as Stoney (Jan 2005- Transistor Records)
- Soap in a Bathtub - CD, 7" and iTunes single (June 2005- Transistor Records)
- Until You Leave / Holds The Stars - Double A-side CD, 7" and iTunes single (Nov 2005- Too Nice Records)
- The Scene And The Unseen (album) - Stoney (2006- Too Nice Records)
