About
‘Norman is one of these performers that offers up something a little quirkier than the normal singer/songwriter stuff… a few yarns about things you’d never think to write about, a few animal puns, and a healthy dose of not taking yourself too seriously, mixed with a deep cohenesque vocal and some super catchy hooks.’ (Hannah O’Reilly)
Norman Lamont has been delighting audiences on the Edinburgh songwriter scene since 1990. His trademarks are the diversity of his musical styles, emotionally honest lyrics and a droll sense of humour.
His 2004 album The Wolf Who Snared the Moon featured audience favourites like the award-winning Ballad of Bob Dylan and ranged in style from the epic strings of the title track to the haunting and mysterious atmosphere of A Forest Trail in Autumn. Between 2005 and 2007 he released two Romantic Fiction EPs, the second of which featured another stage favourite Nicole. In 2008 he produced the dark and moody collection called Roadblock. His 2010 release was Waveforms, an album of ambient instrumentals.
A new collection of songs, All The Time in Heaven, will come out early in 2012.
Live, he focuses on the rockier songs, and has always surrounded himself with great musicians, the most popular lineup being Norman Lamont and the Innocents. Since 2010 he has been working with a new band The Invisible Helpers, with himself and violinist Mary Robbs as the focal points.
Reviews >>With The Wolf you had hardly any songs about love, then you put out the two Romantic Fiction EPs which you called ‘you and I’ CDs I didn’t notice that about The Wolf until it was finished and was quite happy about that because I was sensitive about the way a ‘you and I’ song tends to sound as if it’s autobiographical. But I realised I had a lot of good songs of that ilk in the back catalogue so the title Romantic Fiction was there to distance the characters from me. It seemed important at the time, doesn’t really matter now.
What do you prefer – the live gig or the recording process? They both have their rewards and frustrations. More and more, though, I feel more of the frustrations when recording and get more of the reward when playing live.
You work in training for a big company. Do a SWOT analysis on Norman Lamont’s music Strengths – melody, accessibility, depth, humour Weaknesses – overdiversification (like that’s going to change!) Opportunities – the internet, the new band Threats – too many excellent people in Edinburgh competing in the same market.
Why overdiversification? I don’t get to like anything deeply without wanting to do it. Waveforms came out of my love of Robert Fripp’s soundscapes. I played guitar in Bespoke because it let me play with certain aspects of King Crimson without needing to be that level of musician. I enjoy playing bass so when people like Fiona Thom ask me to do that I’m always there. It all dilutes my focus on Norman songs but it’s all music and I wouldn’t be without it. Given more time I’d be doing traditional folk, cajun/bluegrass and old fashioned reggae on different nights.