Si Cranstoun
Biography Si Cranstoun
Si Cranstoun
A good record is the cure for a bad day. You might be down on your luck, up the creek or on the skids – but it’s clinically impossible to stay depressed when Si Cranstoun’s Old School plays. In a monochrome world, this album is a spring-heeled burst of technicolor soul, scattering your worries and shaking your feet. “I felt it was time to rip it up, have some all-out retro fun and inject a high-octane dose of energy for the vintage dancefloors,” says the London-born soul man. “I recommend you listen to this album early in the morning to get yourself together – then real late at night to forget yourself!”
Si has already been dubbed “the king of vintage” by The Express and enjoyed rave endorsements from influential DJs like Terry Wogan and Chris Evans (“How good is Si Cranstoun?”). Now, released in 2016 on Ruf Records, Old School ups the ante, with Si setting the controls for the golden era and tipping his hat to formative influences like Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke and Big Joe Turner. “When it comes to taste,” he says, “it’s ’40s, ’50s, ’60s all the way.”
While Old School’s stylings are unashamedly retro, this album’s time is unmistakably now, driven by the original songcraft and acclaimed vocals of a bandleader who’s given the vintage scene fresh impetus. “It’s true to who I am and the rocking rhythm ‘n’ blues that stirs my soul,” says Si. “But all the songs have a quirky slant and they all originate from my colourful mind.”
Indeed, Si’s vision for Old School was so clear that in addition to supplying those golden vocals and multi-instrumentation, he also produced a mix that turns back the clock. “Because I’ve been so hands-on with the recording of these songs,” he remembers, “they’ve all been a giant learning experience into the art of capturing the spirit of that ‘yesterday’ sound.”
Old School defies you not to dance. You’ll be pulled onto the floor by the plinking piano and parping brass of the title track. You’ll stay there for Vegas Baby, which bottles all the sticky thrills of a night on the Sin City Strip, complete with Reet Petite-style rolled syllables. Si nods: “That’s me having melodic and lyrical fun with the blues.”
A cascade of harmony vocals powers the irrepressible Right Girl, while the bluesy bounce and cockney asides of Thames River Song are sure to spark a rave-up on the international vintage circuit, from Viva Las Vegas to Summer Jamboree and Rhythm Riot. “I’m proud of these songs,” says Si, “and I’d be more than willing to put my money where my mouth is and wander out onto any stage after or before whoever and sing them.”
To truly get under the skin of Si Cranstoun, though, try Commoner To King, and the lyric that references “lonely days of scrimping and scraping”. It’s certainly a subject to which Si can relate. As the London-born son of a ska promoter, his formative years were spent busking with his brother in The Dualers. “It’ll always hold a magic for me,” he remembers. “But the not-so-great things were bad weather, competition, the drunks…”
In the post-millennium, Si looked set for a mainstream breakout when he self-released a single – and watched it climb to UK#21 – but when the hit proved a false start, he went through a period of soul-searching. “I’d given up my hopes of the big-time,” he admits, “but I continued to perform my music.”
Thankfully, a mojo-restoring fresh song recorded with his new solo band – Dynamo – pulled Si out of the rut and back into contention, pinging him to the head of the vintage pack and setting him up for 2014’s acclaimed Modern Life (which straddled the iTunes blues chart for months after release).
Now comes Old School. Bottling his irrepressible showmanship and spitting out the best songs of his career, it’s the album that promises to take Si Cranstoun from cult hero to kingpin, and spread the joy across the planet. “I’d just love Old School to be heard by as many people as possible,” says the bandleader. “And when we take this album out on the road, we’ll all be out to bring the house down…”
