Winston's Zen

NEW ACTS MAKING BLIPS ON THE ZENDAR

Tainted as it has been in recent times by the Blunt's, Nuttini's and Rice's of our generation, the singer-song writer genre is traditionally not greatly lauded on these pages. So it's with an unusual amount of pleasure that Winston's Zen would like to draw your esteemed attention to a young Londoner with talent to spare and an arsenal of tender, heartfelt songs that don't induce feelings of physical illness.

In Damien Renouf, Zentrifuge (the gig night brought to you by Winston's Zen) believe we have unearthed something of a gem. That Renouf's catalogue of demo's is already extensive enough for him to eschew the conventional set-list approach to live performances, preferring instead to pick from his body of work to fit each individual show speaks volumes of his obvious passion for lyricism as well as the diversity and adaptability of his music.

Renouf's song writing style may be distinctly more traditional than the only other solo troubadour to have truly captured the Zen's heart recently, but comparisons to a certain Frank Turner withstand close inspection of the everyday down to earthness of Renoufs songs and the simple likeability of the man himself.

But enough of my babbling, here's a couple of videos shot at the Zentrifuge launch night to prove my point.

All credit to Chris Austin of Indigo Video for the excellent and much valued work on the footage.

You can catch Damien this Thursday evening as he returns for a second crack of the Zentrifuge whip at the Good Ship, Kilburn High Road. Those of you with impeccable taste should join the Facebook group for discounted entry.

I’ll see you there.

Back soon,
Winston