Band spotlight: Alex Highton
Singer songwriter Alex Highton is in a daze after movie star Ashton Kutcher declared he was a fan.
The father-of-two said he had almost given up hope of making a mark with his music when he moved from London to Woodditton, near Newmarket, about two years ago, and began writing songs by himself for his own pleasure.
But Alex, who has played with a number of bands in the past, has seen a surge of interest in since the Hollywood A-lister stumbled across his MySpace page and messaged him on Twitter to say he was 'digging' his music.
His endorsement led to 20,000 hits in the space of three days on Alex's web page – which previously had roughly 30,000 visitors in a year – and the possibility of seeing his music used a future project with the star's production company, Katalyst Media.
"I didn't believe it was him at first," he said. "I've spoken to him on email since, and when I realised it really was him I had to go and get myself a large whisky."
Alex's self-released album, The Woodditton Wives Club, is a collection of laid-back acoustic songs, many featuring just him and his guitar, that chart his move from the big city to the East Anglian countryside.
The musician said he drifted into folk music after he began listening to artists such as Davey Graham, Pentangle and Harry Nilsson – and he described his debut album as a 'labour of love' that started as a simple spot of self-indulgence.
"I had pretty much decided to withdraw from music," Alex said. "My old band, Mohanski, had an album out with a small label and had really good reviews, but then we split up and I felt I'd had enough.
"We moved to the country and I recorded this album in a bubble for myself. There was no big plan behind it."
With plans for a tour next year and a wealth of material for a second album already – although Alex does not plan to release another record until the end of next year – the future looks bright for the Liverpool-born songwriter.
"I've written something quite personal and it seems to have resonated with people, I don't know why. I'm really amazed by it all," he said.
The Woodditton Wives Club can be downloaded from iTunes, while many of the songs can be heard online at www.myspace.com/alexhighton
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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