Rodney Branigan

"Rodney Branigan is one of the most amazing artists you will ever see. Not simply because he's unique, but rather because he's impossibly talented."
Bernard Baur (Music Connection Magazine, June 2005)

We tend to use the word "artist" rather loosely in the musical community. Often they are just technicians who have mastered a specific musical craft as done by many others before them. A true artist does more than simply recreate that which has been similarly created by others - A true artist creates something unique and beautiful that we have not seen before. Such a person is Rodney Branigan.

Like the first man who transformed his Italian violin into an Irish fiddle, Rodney Branigan has redefined the role and limits of his instrument - the guitar. There is simply no way to adequately describe this performance with mere words. He can play two guitars at once better than most can play one! Strumming the body of a twelve-string, while picking the neck of a six-string, Rodney creates music by himself that sounds like it is coming from a trio. His right and left hand frequently seem to be disassociated from each other, performing rhythm and lead parts, independently. And on many occasions, one or both hands become percussionists, utilizing different parts of the guitar as drums.

Rodney Branigan has been a musician for 24 years. Born in Texas he moved to Britain two years ago during which time he’s busked at Covent Garden and played festivals and venues around the country as well as touring Europe. If all this hasn’t kept him occupied he’s also patron for the Re-Play project based in Wimbledon.

Re-Play is a music education and skills program with an emphasis on recycling and learning to repair instruments. They hold free workshops at Glastonbury Festival and are involved with a rehabilitation program at Wandsworth prison, teaching prisoners to repair and play guitars.

Rodney's style is what he calls ‘Full contact folk’! His original songs include ‘Middle Class America’ a non-political observation of the almost narcotizing, predictable mediocrity of suburban American life, while ‘She Bled’ is a heart wrenching musical tale of abuse that touches the audience, and then grips them with a twist of the final verse. But he also covers an eclectic mix of songs from Radiohead to the Beatles.

“My music is progressive folk fusion that is constantly evolving.” Says Rodney.

website: www.rodneybraniganmusic.com
Rodney Branigan's myspace