by Sharon MawerSam Newton Battenberg Faulkner was born in Surrey on the 11th of January 1985 and attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, studying the guitar and graduating at the age of 17. He played bass guitar in a Green Day cover band and, before going solo under the fuller name of Newton Battenburg Faulkner, he formed the funk-rock band Half a Guy with Matt Buchanan, Dave Elvy, and Nicola Crawshaw. The band released a live self-titled EP with no success and, rather than play angry metal music in church halls like everyone else, they decided to attempt uplifting happy sounds -- but playing guitar, singing, writing the songs, and arranging the gigs eventually took its toll and led to him making a break on his own. His first solo gigs were at the London Troubadour club and led to a publishing deal for his original songs with Peermusic UK and appearances at the South by Southwest music festival. Faulkner secured a recording deal with BMG Records and released a second EP, U.F.O., featuring solo material, and he appeared to have found his niche with the rise of such recording artists as Jack Johnson, James Morrison, and Paolo Nutini. He appeared twice at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2007, both on the acoustic stage on the Friday and on the Left Field stage on Sunday. Faulkner's debut album, Hand Built by Robots, was released in July 2007 and, after entering the charts at number three, climbed to the top during September. ◎ 如同英国版的杰克强森，靠着一把吉他弹奏出最为舒适的都会新民谣 ◎ 请到红牌制作人 Mike Spencer (Kylie Minogue、Erasure、Jamiroquai) 主镇操盘 ◎ 专辑蝉连英国金榜两周冠军，首支主攻「Dream Catch Me」爬伸至 Top7，翻唱英国 Trip-Hop 大团 Massive Attack 的「Teardrop」 这位小子 Newton Faulkner 就像很多爱作梦的年轻人般，脑中浮现许多奇形幻想，可以很卡通、很色彩鲜艳、很阴郁灰色也很跳跃活泼。一把吉他、一副好嗓、满脑创意点子，虽然来自英国，却像美国的 Jack Jockson 亦或 John Mayer，替摇滚乐添加些许灵魂味觉，同时弹奏出舒适都会新民谣。 今年才 22 岁的 Newton 留了一头超级有型的雷鬼卷长发，加上蓄胡的酷模样，虽然让他的外型看来比实际年纪大很多，但是当他开口唱歌、弹着吉他，相当成熟与满满自信即刻涌现，我们更需要一个有型的歌手，不光只是乾乾净净、斯斯文文或漂漂亮亮的偶像气质包装。15 岁开始学吉他，并进入培养摇滚和流行乐派的 The Academy of Contemporary Music 英国着名音乐学院就读。Newton 的第一个团体是专门翻唱 Green Day 之庞克队伍，有了些许舞台经验後，自组放克摇滚团 Half A Guy，录制出的两张独立 DEMO，让他们成为相当受欢迎的尚未签约乐团。随後以 Newton Battenberg Faulkner 之名四处表演，顺势贩卖自制的创作 EP，引起广泛讨论的 Newton，不仅受邀上 BBC Radio 2 节目，更入主 SONYBMG 国际音乐大厂旗下。 在独立界打滚许久的 Newton，终於如愿以偿的发行首张完整大碟『Hand Build By Robots』，请到红牌制作人 Mike Spencer (Kylie Minogue、Erasure、Jamiroquai) 主镇操盘，首周空降英国金榜季军，隔周却猛跳上冠军宝座，蝉连两周之久。打从「To The Light」开始，都建构在吉他简单的驱动；接着「I Need Something」以及「All I Got」，皆是令人心情为之一开的轻松作品，如同 Jack Johnson 冲了一天浪後，坐在海边迎着夕阳，自弹自唱的引出这些歌曲曼妙音符；首支主攻「Dream Catch Me」，挟带大量顺畅旋律搭配 Newton 平实且感染力强的嗓音诠释，充满活力与阳光，已爬伸至英国金榜 Top7；翻唱英国 Trip-Hop 大团 Massive Attack 的 1998 年 Top10 名作「Teardrop」，虽然没有发行成单曲，却已是乐迷争相下载的大热门，登陆下载榜 Top60 之林中；感人的抒情小品「Straight Towards The Sun」，则换上钢琴柔美键音拉出序幕，吉他的偶而播奏反退居幕後成润饰。Newton 的音乐会让你将聆听成为一种享受与乐趣，更能轻易让你嘴角微微上扬！