insideKENT Magazine Issue 29 - August 2014 | Page 25

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

Dan Clews at The Hop Farm © Mike Reed Photography

ALBUM REVIEW

Dan Clews: Tourist In My Own Backyard
DESCRIBED ON HIS WEBSITE AS 'THE MAN FROM STRAWBERRY FIELDS', DAN CLEWS GREW UP
IN SEVENOAKS, KENT, ON A STRAWBERRY FARM – STONEPITTS IN SEAL, TO BE EXACT. HIS
LATEST ALBUM, TOURIST IN MY OWN BACKYARD, IS BURSTING WITH CHILLED SONGS AND HAS
A FEW JAZZY FOLK TUNES IN THERE TO BOOT. by Sarah Redman

Tourist In My
Own Backyard
is what I would
describe as a
superb
summer listen;
the music fits
comfortably as
a backing to a
summer
evening, but can more than hold its own if you
are in a focused mood.
Dan previously toured the UK’s live circuit,
before moving to Sweden to work on
collaborations with local artists – a step that
ultimately led to him releasing music with backing
band, The Stars Above.
When it comes to his new album, it is a real
mixed bag; effectively combining layers from
different genres to create a unique and creative
sound.
As a child, Clews grew up on a strawberry
farm – rather apt for a musician who lives around
the corner from Sevenoaks' Knole Park, the very
setting for The Beatles’ 1967 "Strawberry Fields
Forever" video.
It would be fair to assume Clews takes
some of his inspiration from the rolling fields and
striking beauty of Kent. In particular, Tourist In
My Own Backyard is packed with country, rock
and folk roots, effortlessly blurring the lines
between the genres from song to song.

Clews' album is a mixture of melodic and
upbeat songs: "Take One Away", "Same Old
Roots", "Only Love" and "My Angels Keep Me
Safe", which has beautiful guitar notes running
throughout, making up the more melodic side of
the album.
Meanwhile, "Broken People" has an
unexpectedly upbeat tune, derived from a song
with fairly solemn lyrics. "That’s Enough For Me"
is also an upbeat number and a personal favourite
of mine. Once again, the guitar riffs pulled me in
and offered a great tune to dance to, with some
catchy lyrics.
"Edge Of The World" tells a similar story;
and refreshingly, although it has been released
as a single and has proved more popular for
more mainstream music listeners, it still doesn't
lose sight of its roots.
To my delight (and slight confusion as to
how, as a Sevenoaks girl, I didn't know before),
I have recently discovered Clews' summer
strawberry and music evenings, Folking in the
Strawberries.
Set up at the family business, Stonepitts
Farm, Folking In The Strawberries is a popular
event that cleverly combines strawberry and
raspberry picking with late-night music played
on the back of a tractor. There is no entrance
fee, but it is hoped you will choose to pay for fruit
you pick. In terms of the night's entertainment,
the music on offer is varied and includes Clews'
work, amongst others.

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In fact, the video for "Edge Of The World"
debuts Clews' singing and guitar playing in a
strawberry field, alongside clips from a previous
Folking In The Strawberries event. This not only
works as a great visual element for the song, but
it will certainly make you feel as though you want
to go strawberry picking!
Clews' video for "That’s Enough For Me"
is also well worth a watch. Maybe it’s just me,
but the quirky style and use of newspaper
clippings made me smile – not what you see
from your every day music video.
In terms of upcoming summer gigs, Clews
will be touring a number of shows and festivals
throughout the county. Upcoming performances
include Tunbridge Wells’ Local and Live event in
Calverly Park (22nd-25th August), as well as The
Hops ‘n’ Harvest Beer Festival at Kent Life,
Maidstone (14th-15th September).
Clews is also very social media prevalent,
with a strong presence on Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube and Instagram \