JOE WILKES

BIOGRAPHY

Spotlight, Joe's debut came out back in 2006, since then he has recorded 2 new albums, Here On This Frontline, which came out this January and another due out January 2009. DJ's Sean Rowley and Iain Anderson in the UK and Luis de Benito on Spanish national Radio are regular players of both records

He's been headlining shows up and down the country with Al Richardson on Harmonica and playing gigs on the continent with Antoine Reininger on Double Bass as well as supporting Bert Jansch, Joan As A Policewoman, Davy Graham, Beth Orton and Songdog amongst others.

The gigs are constantly changing as are the recordings. Long time collaborator Antoine Reininger is always contributing wind and string arrangements for the recordings and many different musicians are feeding the live machine. If you are intersted in real not band wagon music come along to a gig or order a record anytime. All detais on this page or at Joe Wilkes official website

ALBUM REVIEWS

Every now and then something terrific this way comesâ€¦. Wilkes is a major talent. His songs are robustly crafted and he likes to defy convention and take risks with song structures. Great melodies are matched by sharply observed, intelligent lyrics and the albumâ€™s freewheeling arrangements take the listener on journeys beyond the usual folk confinesâ€¦. Wilkes has created his own sound, has his own angle and is very much his own man. Steeped in contemporary issues Here On This Frontline, like its creator, is hugely welcome.

ROCK 'N' REEL Magazine

Time was when all singers at Soho folk hangouts owed debts to Woody Guthrie. Except Wilkes is of today and flavours his songs with French horns and bassoons.

MOJO playlist Dec 2007 issue

Joe Wilkes is one of those all-too-rare musicians who, when they play, make you believe in them instantlyâ€¦.The great beauty of Here On This Frontline is encapsulated perfectly by the title track, which paints an exotic musical backdrop in front of which is played a poignant love song, born out of tragedy. The whole thing is delivered with such delicacy that it canâ€™t fail to move even the most hardened of cynicsâ€¦.Joe Wilkes doesnâ€™t patronize his audience or trivialize his music, this is a serious album that shines bright.

AMERICANA UK

Joe Wilkesâ€™ first album was a breath of fresh air and this follow-up, is just as strong. This is a truly atmospheric set. Garden of The Night and If I Could Change Everything, are both soaked in the singer/songwriterâ€™s unique charm with the latter effortlessly, tunefully soaring into all-out rock. Wilkes is still deserving of the spotlight, even on the frontline.

HI-FI CHOICE CUTS 2008

He is very much an emphatic writer. His great use of strings and accordion on the CD gives that soulful sympathetic feel to the songs. There is a great baroque style to some of the tracks. â€˜Garden Of The Nightâ€™ is a beautifully simple acoustic folk song, with some powerful and poetic lyrics. This is an absolutely beautiful and tragic depiction in words and musicâ€¦. a folk rooted CD, but in the sense of the feeling portrayed throughout, it is Blues and very much a roots album in a modern presentation.

BLUES MATTERS

An aurally challenging collection - in verse and melodyâ€¦utterly addictive.

FOLKWAX

Joe Wilkes faces the difficult â€˜Second Album Syndromeâ€™ with a superb collection of songs. He has a drop dead gorgeous voice. Great stuff.

CLASSIC ROCK SOCIETY

On arguably the best track, he sings If I Could Change Everything, I Wouldn't Change Anything. Which pretty much encapsulates how you should feel after listening to this.

NET RHYTHMS

Contemporary folk isn't, as some would have you believe, just about diary singers with emotional baggage. The singer songwriting scene continues to produce new artists with a keen sense of observation and a desire to tackle issues through song without preaching. Joe Wilkes seems infused with a troubadour spirit. He blends his carefully chosen words into an Americana mix, that has more than a hint of Gaelic charm.

FATEA

Folk,Jazz and Indie influences knit together with surprising cohesion....the entire album offers up a striking melange of tones and textures in true 'it shouldn't work but...' style. Opener Spotlight introduces the indefinable exoticism which hovers around many of these tracks, with a certain mysteriousness conjoured by the taut guitar, arresting gypsy-styled strings, enigmatic melody and stylish woodwind parts....Wilkes' ear for an attractive melody is spot-on from start to finish. Many up-and-coming singer-songwriters produce highly competant first albums but fewer of them couple quality with a genuinely individual sound. ....he has the advantage of being instantly memorable.

MAVERICK MAGAZINE

Joe Wilkes has made the odd recording before, but Spotlight shows a new level of maturity in the work of this twentysomething Brit.Hes happiest spinning out effortlessly charming melodies underpinning his sweet n sour lyrics..A haunting set that deserves to be spot-lit.

HI FI CHOICE

Not for the first time being down and out in Paris makes for startling artistic results....Having decamped to Paris in 2002 to get it together after finding himself 'between houses' in London, whatever Wilkes was running away from he/we were more than compensated with the collection of songs that returned with him across the channel. Influences such as John Martyn, Bert Jansch and Davy Graham are immediatley apparent in Wilkes' dexterous, percusive guitar style, which has an almost European flare to it... Flamenco-Folk? Spotlight as Wilkes did himself, reaches beyond the shores of it's influence....it rewards the listener with an eclectic collection of roots based music, with the stylistic variety a whole album requires yet remaining focused and congruous throughout.

AMERICANA UK

Do you wonder past the CD section in Tesco and wonder why no one makes proper music anymore... Well worry no more....â€™This Time Wonâ€™t Last Foreverâ€™ is the sort of song James Blunt wishes he could write and I wish Radio 2 would play it instead of â€˜Your Beautifulâ€™ - add nausea. Joe Wilkes is a name to look out for.

BLUES MATTERS

It's an unfussy affair....his throaty, smoky voice sounding as sustained by life as you might expect from someone twice his age.'I wish I could sing a good song for you' he says on the encouraging This Time Won't Last Forever. These songs will do for now, Joe, these will do.

NET RHYTHMS

....spinning the kind of poetics that have you hunting for the lyric sheet. Only there isn't one. So you concentrate. These are songs made of enigmatic secrets and oblique tales, painted shadows and time-passages. He's a vagabond heart, a smudged boho, a darkly tousled troubadour.

SOUNDCHECKS.CO.UK

...his music gets under your skin. there's a strong feeling that here is a singer who cares about the world and its sanity.This is a debut album to be recommended if you like acoustic folk-rock and want to hear a talented British musician giving the folk legacy a new British and personal twist.

THE MORNING STAR

An impressive debut album recorded in acoustic style with some impressive fretwork and some beautifully written string parts.... Joe is very much an original. Possessing a throaty, emotive voice, its obvious that Joe has worked hard on his perceptive lyrics. For a debut album, its going to be difficult to follow up. There isnt a dud track on the album, which gets off to a fine start with the title track Spotlight, and continues through nine more songs full of intricate guitar work and haunting melodies. Joe has produced a work of great maturity and is surely going to become a household name.

PLAYING OUT LOUD

LIVE REVIEWS

Joe Wilkes is a young folk guitarist who is starting to generate a well-deserved buzz around his debut album Spotlight. What becomes immediately clear is that Wilkes is a superb guitarist; His intricate finger picking style, incorporates percussive bass and lead, calls to mind John Martyn. As a performer, Joe is equally as engaging, although in a much more self-deprecating manner. he took us on a guided tour of Spotlight, folk music that is English by definition, and although very contemporary you can draw a line from Wilkes through Nick Drake to Bert Jansch with many points in between.

AMERICANA UK

One of the best live acts currently playing the Spitz.

AUDIENCE MAGAZINE

Bubbles floated through the air whilst Joe Wilkes serenaded the masses stretched out before him, his laid back attitude and emotive tunes eked out to the chillers amongst the blades of grass.

BBC CAMBRIDGE

â€œKerouac in song â€“ the leading voice in a new beatnik generation"

CANTERBURY ACOUSTIC

He uses beauty as an inspired weapon. Joe Wilkes is a great artist, a shipwrecked person like many of us on the frontline today.â€ / â€œLa belleza como "arma inspiradora"... Joe Wilkes es grande, un nÃ¡ufrago de los nuestros...En pleno "frente" cotidiano.

ISLAS DE ROBINSON (Radio 3 Nacional EspaÃ±ola)

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Click Buy Now if you would like to buy a copy of Spotlight with paypal or with a credit card. To pay by cheque or cash email [email protected] for a list of stockists and mail order details. All albums come with full artwork, gatefold digipacks and cost Â£12 which includes post and packaging.

Joe has just finished a follow up to his Debut album 'Spotlight' The new Album 'Here On This Frontline' won't be released untill the January 2008 however you can order an advance copy by emailing [email protected] or you can pay for one now using the buy now button below and one will be sent to you within a week.

As well as the free downloads here and at www.joewilkes.co.uk you can pay for downloads of other tracks at www.indiestore.com/joewilkes and itunes.