At The Helm Presents: Strawberry Guy
When Alex Stephens (A.K.A. Strawberry Guy) self-released his debut single in 2018, he was merely doing it out of a love for songwriting. What he wasn’t expecting was millions of streams and an avid worldwide fanbase.
A one-man impressionist, painting majestic soundscapes, Strawberry Guy blends truthful lyrics with lush arrangements to conjure new emotive worlds. Inspired by composers of the Romantic period, or Debussy, Ravel, and other classical artists of the 1800s, his wonderland moves like a Monet painting where arpeggios dance between meadows of dazzling dynamics and dramatic key changes.
Imitating nature’s effect on emotion, like 70s songwriters, or the fantastical soundtracks accompanying vibrant scenes in the Japanese animated Studio Ghibli films and video games, landscape is brought to the fore. Monet’s picturesque Meadow at Giverny features as the album’s accompanying artwork – perhaps a reminder of the rural Welsh countryside views through his childhood home’s window.
Take it slow, be at one with the wilderness and remember, when life gives you lemons, swap them for Strawberries.
Support for Strawberry Guy: AJ Woods
Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, AJ Woods has been a part of the Southwest music scene for over a decade. He has released three full-length albums (Couch Confessions, 2009, S/T, 2013, The Fence, 2016), a critically-acclaimed EP (Halocline, 2019), as well as singles and live recordings, all of which have earned him comparisons to people such as Jason Molina and Neil Young. Still, “Woods'[s] lyrical style, guitar playing and singing are his own—something that can’t often be said.” (Alibi) He’s played with acts such as Jim Stallings (JJ Light, Sir Douglas Quintet), A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Big Thief and The Handsome Family among many others. With music and lyrics that are “poignant and powerful” (ABQ Free Press), Woods creates not only songs, but “unpretentious poetry.” (Alibi) “As soon as I heard these songs and watched the video, my mind was instantly made up that this was something exceptional, both calming and beautiful to listen to (and watch) and certainly deserving of Song of the Day on Folk Radio UK.” (Folk Radio UK) In times like these, Woods’s music and words are grounding forces. They take us back to the earth on which we live and depend, remind us that we have hearts, bones that break and heal, blood that leaves, blood we can share. They show we are related to, made and capable of many things.
Presented by: At The Helm Presents