Fabian Holland has been playing music and performing live since he was a youngster. He grew up listening to blues artists. His early influences (drawn from his father’s record collection) were Muddy Waters, R.L Burnside, Son House, Howlinʼ Wolf, Chuck Berry and Skip James (the last’s classic 'Hard Times Killing Floor Blues' is reworked on this album). He started playing guitar at the age of seven, taught by his father who also played harmonica. Fabian later attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, studying under the watchful guidance of the sadly missed guitar virtuoso Eric Roche. After his studies he moved to the mountains of the Abruzzo Region, Italy, where he spent four years developing his musical style, busking, gigging and composing. He later returned to the UK to pursue his music career; he now lives on his narrow boat on London’s canal network...

Fabian Holland's self titled debut album is a treat for those that like bluesy, folk, acoustic sets... but it won't be everyone's cup of tea. There's a familiar edge to this collection of songs - like long forgotten tracks you've heard before in a dream. There's no denying the fact that listening to this album is an enjoyable experience and Holland has a long and bright career ahead of him.

The stripped down tracks sound raw and effortless. It's as though you're in the same room and he's just picked up the guitar for a bit of a play around. The result is a flawless private performance that gets better the more times you hear it.

The album contains 9 tracks, with a running time of around 44 minutes. 'Like Father Like Son' is probably the album's strongest, and most beautiful track.

While this won't be to everyone's taste, if you're a fan of laid back folk music you'll fall in love with these impressive songs.

8

Nick Smithson