LOCAL musician Russell Sinclair will be giving an exclusive unplugged performance in Plymouth next week to launch his new single.

The event in Abbey Hall, Royal Parade, will feature Russell, a former Tavistock College pupil, and a band formed for this event comprising some of the South West’s finest musicians. The unplugged performance will include new arrangements of some of Russell’s songs especially for this band alongside some well established favourites from the blues genre.

The event will also include a exhibition featuring the work of another former Tavistock College pupil, creative photographer Chris Coupland, who has worked with Russell on the artwork for his releases.

‘Damn Your Eyes’, a track written by Steve Bogard and Barbara Wyrick, has been recorded over the years by many artists around the globe – the most well known of these probably being the version by Etta James.

This latest release is a completely re-recorded, mixed and mastered version of the song that appeared first in demo form on Russell’s first solo EP release entitled Plymouth Tapes Volume 1. That version of the song has been one of Russell’s best selling tracks to date and is an established favourite at live gigs.

During the evening, which includes a champagne reception, guests will be able to browse the photography exhibition and chat with Chris about his work prior to the live music performance.

Russell launched his album Bought and Sold last year with a performance at Rumleigh Barn, Bere Alston. The eclectic album includes blues, country and a bit of Latin, with traditional and modern compilations. Russell’s aim in the past has been to get his music ‘out there’ to as many people as possible which he has been doing with his band the Smokin’ Locos.

For more information about Russell see his website russellsinclair.co.uk

Russell and Chris have known each other for over 15 years — staying close mates since those college days.

‘I have always helped Russell out with photography since his early days in bands right up to his present solo work with the Smokin’ Locos,’ said Chris. ‘I myself have been a keen photographer for over 10 years now and in that time have always sought new subjects and ways in which to create different media.

‘Photographing everything from landscapes of Dartmoor to derelict buildings and abstract images I have tried to bring my own style and interpretation to a wide variety of subjects. Most recently this has expanded to include developing techniques to animate historic images.

‘My short film Apollo about the moon landings has been viewed over 100,000 times online and is currently being featured at the Singapore Science Centre. I am also in the process of creating an aerial short film of Dartmoor using a quadcopter and portable field recording equipment which shall be released in the coming months.

‘When Russ first talked to me about the idea of using some of my photography for the artwork of his latest single we both agreed that my ‘Drop’ series of images would fit it perfectly. These images echo Rorschach inkblot tests with people appearing to see and interpret them in different ways, most commonly as faces which seemed to fit the track.’

See more of Chris’ work at chriscouplandphotography.com