The two sides of David Thomas Broughton

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The two sides of David Thomas Broughton

Posted : 2014-01-21 17:34

Updated : 2014-01-21 17:34

David Thomas Broughton performs Friday at Mudaeruk in Hapjeong, western Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Kim Young-jin

By Kim Young-jin

Watching David Thomas Broughton perform can be unsettling. The British singer-songwriter shuffles around the room during songs, microphone in hand, looking for odd noises for his sound collages.

It could be the clink of a bottle, or a chair lifted a few centimeters and dropped to the floor. Broughton layers such noises with the help of an effects pedal, creating the sound of an ensemble with just a microphone and guitar.

With a mesmerized look on his face, he might wander to the edge of the stage ― while the music plays ― and pour a cup of tea. It's all a part of a persona that leaves the audience laughing politely, or gaping, or appreciating his embrace of the moment.

Broughton's songs can be brooding, but they're rooted in spontaneity. It's an ethos he'll share while living in Seoul, the latest stop in a journey on which he's played across Europe, the United States and even Pyongyang.

While the act may be disconcerting, Broughton comes across as thoughtful and soft-spoken, over coffee in Seoul's artsy Hongdae district.

He confesses, however, that conversation makes him uneasy. He says his improvisational style eases his worries about bantering with the audience, because he meanders from song to song without pause. It also gives him flexibility to explore.

"If you've developed the kind of show I have ― where nobody's expecting anything ―people go, knowing that they're not going to know what's coming next," said Broughton, 32, who performs Friday at Mudaeruk in Hapjeong, western Seoul.

"That gives me the confidence to do whatever I want.

Broughton's "Outbreeding"

"Maybe that's the main thing that keeps me doing music and singing ― because I can feel confident doing that, because there seems to be less pressure than a conversation."

The music has an element of the avant-garde, but it also features strong songwriting. This is apparent in 2011's "Outbreeding," which showcases folky guitar and lyrics that are both confessional and oblique. His voice, rich and operatic, is startling in songs such as "River Lay" and "Apologies."

Born in Otley, a market town outside Leeds, Broughton's earliest influences come from his father, a university art instructor who collected blues guitar records. In high school, it was bands such as Pulp, Salad and Suede, key players in the 1990s Brit-pop movement. Those interests later expanded to artists such as Nick Cave and Vic Chesnutt, the latter of whom is a major influence on his lyrics.

After graduating university, Broughton joined a vibrant indie music scene in Leeds. He sketched out performances based on improvisation, using an effects pedal to layer guitar tracks.

From those sessions, songs emerged. "Sometimes ideas become strong enough to stand up for themselves time after time," he said. In 2005, he released his debut album, "The Complete Guide to Insufficiency," a well-received, five-song collection showcasing his penchant for experimentation and moody lyrics about love, angst and death.

While pursuing his music, Broughton ― an environmental science major ― managed to hold down a variety of jobs, including as a conservation officer. Music's "been a hobby basically," he said. "I could never make any substantial money out of it."

Starting in 2010, he lived for a time in Pyongyang, where he had a job at an international organization.

"Obviously you need the right attitude to be able to spend time with your own company," he said in recalling the experience. While there, he continued to record music in his apartment and once played a small show for the expatriate community.

Seoul's bustling urban environment, he says, provides a sense of "conflict" that's likely to impact his work.

"You can make different kinds of music inspired by different kinds of things," he says. "If you're in a rural place, things become more expansive and relaxed, but when you're in urban environments … everything becomes more urgent and tense. I swing between the two."

Broughton feels fortunate that people have embraced his off-kilter style.

"It's just me doing something I enjoy. It's lucky that people have asked me to do it again and again. There's no real aim ― it's just organic, I suppose.

"I don't like to analyze it," he adds. "It's a strange situation I've got myself into."

For more information about David Thomas Broughton, visit www.davidthomasbroughton.co.uk. For more about Friday's show, visit www.mudaeruk.com

yjk@koreatimes.co.kr