Aidan Connell

GRIO is The Name Of Aidan Connell’s Spell-Binding Debut Album In Reference To The Poet-Musician Griot Class Of West Africa. 27 Year Old Connell May Have Grown Up In Small-Town Home Counties England But His Music Has A Certain Mythos Of Its Own. Born Into An Irish-Jamaican Family Connell Was Given His First Guitar At The Age Of 11 By His Jewish Grandmother Who Played A Great Part In Raising Him. “It Was A Flying V. But I Had To Spend Two Years On An Acoustic Before I Was Allowed An Electric.” Over The First Few Years Of The New Century He And A Group Of Likeminded Teenage Friends Immersed Themselves In The Sounds Of A Previous Generation Of Suburban Musical Magicians – The Who  Cream  Led Zeppelin With Dash Of Brit-Pop Added To The Mix. But In Aidan’s Case As A Young Black Briton In A Very Conservative Area “there Were No Lynch Mobs No Direct Racism But I Did Feel Isolated”  Jimi Hendrix was Someone He Could Immediately Relate To. His First Band  New Rising Sun Tipped A Nod To Jimi In Their Name And Moved Up To London To Release A Couple Of EPs. Learning More Of His Families Irish Heritage With Close Ties To Rock Legend Phil Lynott provided Further Incentive To Pursue The Rock’n’roll Dream. Connell Made Ends Met By Working On Camden Market And Various Labouring Jobs. He Did A Bit Of Modelling With Kate Moss amongst Others After Being Spotted At A Clothes Shop Where He Served. His Next Musical Incarnation Was As Melody Nelson – A Brash Exciting Poppy Power Trio Who Garnered Rave Live Reviews. Connell Soaked Up Musical Experiences Wherever He Could. He Did Some session guitar Work With Mazzy Star as Well Jamming With The Likes Of Liam Gallagher and The Charlatans He Booked For Various Music Venues And Finally His Indefatigable Work Ethic Got Him His Own East End Studio ‘Goldmine’ under A Bethnal Green Railway Arch Coincidently A Few Streets From His Hero Peter Green’s Birthplace Where He Could Both Make A Living And Record His Own Material. GRIO Is The Result Of This Questing Apprenticeship. The Slow-Walking Hard-Hitting Riffing Of The Immense I Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll Belies The Song’s Title. The Lyrics Rail Against The Clichéd Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle Of The “bigger Bands I’ve Rubbed Shoulders With. People Who Have Read Johnny Thunders‘ Autobiography And Taken It A Bit Too Literally.” Over The Urgent Melodic Velocity Of Everybody Else Connell Sings Of Breaking Free From The “London Habit Of Pigeon-Holing. I Don’t Fit Into The Trad Blues Mould And I Don’t Play Straight Up Rock. I’m Focussed On The Song-Writing.” While The Woozy Requiem For Love – A Throwback To His Teenage Days Of Imbibing Brit-Psych And Arthur Lee – Tells Of Regretfully Cutting Loose Old Friends Who Couldn’t Understand His Commitment To The Studio And Family While They Disappeared In A Haze Of Alcohol. Throughout Connell’s Soulful Yet Understated Voice And His Alchemical Ferociously Inventive Playing Announce A Powerful New Guitar-Slinging Griot. His Energy His Sense Of History And His Skill To Forge Rock Traditions Anew Have Garnered Accolades From The Likes Of Gary Clark Jr – Another Musical Magpie – Who Invited Aidan To Support Him On Several Shows. Seasick Steve Who Described Him As “the Only Rock ‘n’ Roller In Town” And Jeff Beck who Enthused That He Was A “natural Successor To The British Blues-Rock Crown.” High Praise From Kindred Spirits Who Have Never Chosen The Well-Travelled Path. With GRIO Connell Has Set Off On A Similarly Exciting Idiosyncratic Musical Journey. Aidan Connell – Grio Aidan Connell’s Debut Album ‘Grio’ Was Initially Self Released Digitally Having Sold Several Thousand Copies Of The Record It Is Now Being Officially Released Via Republic Of Music/ Universal Who Are Issuing A CD / Vinyl / Download On July 14th 2017. “Reinventing The Heyday Of The Power Trio…” Blues In Britain “Connell’s Voice Is Smooth And Soulful His Melodies Are As Effortless As His Guitar Solos Are Face-Shredding. He Is At His Best When Taking The Best Bits Of Some Of Rock’s Best And Most Disparate Eras And Pasting Them Together. It’s In Finding Novel Combinations Of Older Genres That The Truly New And Unique Arises.” – AfroPunk.Com “Excellent Songwriting And A Must-See Live Act.” – Blues Matters “Connell’s Mastery Of Nuances Make Him A Very Impressive Blues-Rocker.” – The Blues Magazine  Website Aidan Connell read less