Stephen Fretwell

小简介
来自英国小镇Scunthorpe的Stephen Fretwell，称他家乡是一个"No Soul"的地方，自小跟祖父母感情深厚，也在他们收藏的老吉他中找寻到内心喜爱音乐的兴趣，父亲见状，便请求朋友教导Stephen吉他，让他的童年能在愉悦并充满音符的环境下长大，父亲的朋友则引荐Stephen聆听民谣大师Bob Dylan的作品。没多久，被深深感动的Stephen，开始藉由吉他的弹奏练习创作，写些发生在周遭的故事，录制音乐带送给亲朋好友，并幻想这些作品有一天将全面正式发行！搬到Salford念大学的Stephen，一直很希望有天能到曼彻斯特去做音乐；他不但深爱曼彻斯特，更觉得那里是音乐天堂、兴盛发源地，可以尽情在那里玩音乐，认识音乐同好！他开始试著做现场表演，藉机推广自己内敛沉稳的音乐作品；Stephen的动人现场演出，被City Life杂志读者票选为「城中最出色的现场演出乐者」，当时他才21岁！
2002年於独立厂牌发行首张EP『8-Songs』，以Acoustic的方式表现民谣乐的朴实自然风味(现已绝版，除非你愿意花40英镑到Ebay网站试买看看！) 2003年连续再推两张EP，分别是收录三首歌的『Something’s Got To Give』及六首歌的『The Lines』，在乐迷的好评相传下，终於在主流唱片公司正式发行首张完整专辑【Magpie】。全以流畅动人的简单音符贯穿，没有太过繁复的伴奏，Stephen略带沙哑随性如同吟唱诗人般的韵味，打从海浪、海鸥等大自然的音频作开场的"Do You Want To Come With?"起始，吉他轻拨穿绕下，织出一片午后的闲适景象；跟著他的淡然旋律来到"What’s That You Say Little Girl"，完全依附吉他弹奏所谱出之宜人佳作；"Rose"则在缥缈的曲式中，请来柔顺美丽女声协助伴唱；让人不由自主来回听上数遍的"Emily"，来回贯穿Stephen真假音交替、深具旋律的节拍之中；终末无题曲，以钢琴独奏一抹淡淡爵士情调，让人不由得佩服年仅23岁的Stephen Fretwell掌控音乐情感的精准度！
Born in the town of Scunthorpe in 1981, English singer/songwriter Stephen Fretwell was introduced to the music of Bob Dylan at a young age. Using a borrowed guitar from his grandparents, the young artist began writing his own songs and made tapes for his family and friends. After an aborted attempt at university life -- he lasted two days -- Fretwell relocated to Manchester, where his clear northern voice, poetic lyrics, and melodic guitar work soon won him an audience. After landing a much sought-after opening gig with local heroes Elbow, the now 21 year old began releasing his music on a friend's Northern Ambition label. 8 Songs, the Something's Gotta Give EP, and The Lines, all released between 2001 and 2003, became collector's items and brought Fretwell to the attention of the press. He signed to Friction Records in 2003 and released his first full-length, Magpie, in November, recorded at Abbey Road studios in London. Fretwell recorded the follow-up to his debut album, Man on the Roof, in New York City; it was released in 2007.