Magic Arm

Magic Arm - who, in 2009, you will see erroneously described as a singer-songwriter; laptop-folk troubadour; and more - is otherwise known as Marc Rigelsford. Like Beck, Beta Band or Adem, Magic Arm is a sonically curious soul who fuses folk, rock and effervescent electronics. But, as reference points, none of those three quite hit the spot.

New single 'Widths & Heights' is a masterpiece of modern musicianship, with layers of sounds, bleeps and vocals all fighting for supremacy over each other, yet working side by side to produce a playfully organic gem, whilst at the same time serving the best interests of pop music. B-side ‘Ballad of Melody Nelson’ is a cover of the Serge Gainsbourg classic which has now become a regular in his live show. Marc was invited to perform a song at an evening celebrating the French singer, and heproceeded to leave his unmistakeable stamp all over the classic, to a fantastic response.

Magic Arm was born in Rustington, West Sussex but now lives in Manchester (he studied photography at University there). Previous musical projects include the band Escape Pod, who once put a 10" out on XL offshoot, Rex. Marc claims that he only started making music as Magic Arm in order to help out a film-maker friend who needed some soundtrack music, quick smart. In truth, Magic Arm has spent years painstakingly forging his sound. He plays all the instruments (drums, keyboards, guitars) himself, and has laboriously taught himself how to use Pro-Tools and such, in order to create music that, refreshingly, defies easy categorisation.

Whilst such ambitious projects often shine in the studio, on the stage many a 21st century one-man-band has come unstuck. Not so Magic Arm. Samuel Beam of the much loved Iron & Wine has hailed Marc "the master of the loop pedal" and in this lies the secret of Magic Arm's enthralling live performances. When Magic Arm plays live, he feeds his mic, guitar and keyboard through the aforementioned pedal. To build up his songs, he then has to play different parts from each instrument, through the pedal, sampling and looping the fragments as he goes, in order to weave together the constituent parts of his songs.

So much music is safe, predictable, a commodity, but Magic Arm is here to remind you that it can still be liberating, messy and powerful. Radio 1's Zane Lowe and Huw Stephens, and Marc Riley, are already fans. He has supported the likes of Beirut, Iron & Wine and James Yorkston. Steve Lamacq declared Magic Arm's Glastonbury festival debut a "highlight", while the Manchester Evening News have dubbed him: "The most innovative and sparkling new musician in the city."



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