Introducing Cyrano - a hidden gem emerging from eclectic Edinburgh
While some cities get associated with a particular ‘sound’ or scene (Bristol trip hop, Detroit techno, Glasgow indie bands etc), Edinburgh has always been pretty eclectic.
A look back through the decades shows that it’s definitely not a common thread running through the likes of The Rezillos, The Proclaimers, Boards of Canada, Idlewild, Young Fathers and Retro Video Club.
To this day, Edinburgh remains a fertile breeding ground for eclectic artists and music, from 6 Music favourite Hamish Hawk who we wrote about in February and now someone who will a new name to many - Cyrano, aka 25-year-old Edinburgh-based songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist James Vettese.
EML gets sent a fair amount of new music, but Cyrano’s debut single ‘White Wine’ really stood out. After repeated listens, its melancholy late-night electronic vibes (think Maribou State, Nilufer Yanya, James Blake) strike me as the sound of an artist of real talent and substance. So much so that we met for a socially distanced coffee and a chat recently.
As a result, here’s our lowdown of 8 things to know about this exciting new Edinburgh-based artist…
1) James was born in Aberdeen, but grew up in London and returned to Scotland to study Maths & Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh between 2014 and 2018. During that spell, he briefly found fame for being the only person on a Maths for Music Technology course. After spells in London and Singapore, James moved back to Edinburgh in 2020.
2) During his time at Edinburgh University, James drummed in some bands including one called Fur during his first year. They only ever played one gig, a battle of the bands at La Belle Angele, but they won it and the prize money (£1000) paid for his ticket to Glastonbury that summer! He also went to a lot of gigs, with his favourite venues being Henry Cellar’s Bar, Summerhall and Sneaky Pete’s, which he ended up playing in 2019 with Leif Erikson, the indie band he’s a touring member of.
3) His debut single ‘White Wine’ has been a long time brewing. The inspiration for the song was borne during a trip to Los Angeles in summer 2017 and many late nights making spontaneous new friendships over a few drinks. The bones of the track came together in his bedroom in London and he made the first studio demo in in late 2018. In 2019, James sought out producer Oli Barton-Wood whose work with Nilufer Yanya he loved. Barton-Wood, who has also worked with the likes of James Blake and Porridge Radio, introduced James to Jazzi Bobbi, who plays sax with Nilufer Yanya and adds the distinctive sax line and backing vocals to White Wine. The track was finally finished in 2020 after James asked Sam Johnston from Leif Erikson to add guitar to it.
4) James has worked with the rapidly-rising Arlo Parks, who guested on EML’s That Music Feeling podcast, around the time she released her early single, Cola, back in 2018. He had originally intended to work on the first demo of White Wine with Arlo, but they decided to do something from scratch on the day, which may or may not see the light of day sometime…
5) James’s impressive connections continue with the fact that he has recorded the tracks for his forthcoming EP at Foals’ studio in Oxford with touring member Kit Monteith and Luke Smith, who produced their revered album, Total Life Forever. One of the tracks has also been remixed by a former founding member of a certain much-loved English indie band.
6) James shares EML’s interest in the benefits of music and mental health. His forthcoming EP is inspired by Alain de Botton’s book The Consolations of Philosophy. Covering themes of anxiety, depression, love and ageing, each track aims to console the listener who might have felt or be feeling the same things.
7) If you listen very closely to White Wine, there are some special sounds in the track – for example, at 0.46 there’s a voice note recording of his dad playing the piano when he first heard the track.
8) If you want to catch Cyrano playing live, he’s touring the UK with Leif Erikson at the end of the year, with a date at King Tut’s in Glasgow on 1st December, though obviously we hope there’ll be an Edinburgh date at some point too!
Listen to White Wine on Spotify
Listen to the tracks, artists and music that inspired and influenced White Wine and Cyrano’s forthcoming EP in this Spotify playlist
Find out more and follow Cyrano: