Manchester singer/songwriter Chris Flynn has spent many years performing with bands, but is now releasing solo material of an extremely high quality.
His work has attracted a fair bit of high profile attention too, including I Am Kloot's Peter Jobson
So Ralph thought it'd be a good time to find out about the changes in his life and songwriting.
Ralph: How's the 'solo' life?
Chris: I've enjoyed the whole band/collaboration thing but 20 years of it has affected my songwriting and I want to bring that almost cathartic process to everyones attention, although writing the album has been a slow (two years) process.
Ralph: The video for Dumped looked fun to make and great to have Maxine Peake on board?Chris: Yeah it was, it was partly filmed in The Kings Arms, Salford with a lot of mates in the cast, spending four hours in a pub, what's not to like. Maxine was great too, I love what she stands for and the way she supports local artists.
Ralph: There seems to be an introverted approach to some of your tracks, how much has your own life affected your songwriting?Chris: The new album actually features a lot of 'character songs' with invented scenarious. It's allowed me to be a lot freer with the whole process and it's been very cathartic. There's much more to come too, you've not heard the best yet!
So there you have it, Chris Flynn is like the proverbial great wine, very much improving with age. Dumped is a stylish, well crafted track in the style of Robert Wyatt backed by an atmospheric, well directed video. If there's more and better to come, then we're in for a real treat!
There are some small acoustic shows coming in September before the album is finished so watch this space.
