Urusen
& their new album, One Day In June
Urusen are not quite folk, soul or blues,
nor is it rock, jazz, pop or any of the ‘nu-isms’
of today’s enthusiastic genre defining culture. Mix
all of these together with a dose of sharp lyrics and good
humour and you may be getting close. Years back, two cousins
from Somerset decided to put their guitar and lyrical magic
together to form Urusen. Originally an acoustic guitar driven
duo, Pete Beatty and Ben Please’s Urusen now exists
as a five piece ensemble enriching their sound with cello
(Nick Ullmann), double bass (Jay Darwish), drums (Rob Summers),
and sharing duties on piano, charango, bongos and just about
anything they can get their hands on that makes a tangible
noise.
After completing their first album in 2003 (‘Life
Under Seat’), they took a break to fulfill other creative
pursuits, with Ben working on environmental films and Peter
studying illustration. Milestones checked and wanderlust
satisfied, they decided to put all they had into a committed
musical project that marks their new album ‘One Day
in June’. In a self-made studio composed of everything
from egg boxes to red foam and carpet tiles, random everyday
materials were put to good use to create possibly the best
and most unusual little studio in the world. With a constant
flurry of musicians stopping in to jam with them, Urusen
experimented with new sounds and styles to create a seasoned
mix of songs as influenced by 60s English folk, as by legends
Crosby Stills Nash and Young.
Almost three years of dedication and hard
work later, a second album is born. With support from Peter
Gabriel’s Real World studio who provided mixing direction,
and Jon Astley (The Who, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd)
who mastered the album, Urusen are back on the music circuit,
spreading their guitar-drenched enchantment where ever they
go.
Peter Beatty's rich illustration for the album
artwork is as much a part of the band as their music, where
we see a character by the name of Urusen (an anagram of
'unsure') drifting through different scenarios and experiences,
reflecting the album’s songs.
