Keaton Henson

Keaton Henson is a London-born English singer-songwriter, folk rock musician, visual artist and poet. Born in 1988, he works mainly with voice and guitar, and his music sits across folk, folk rock, indie folk, alternative rock and classical influences.

Music

Henson starts recording songs alone in his London apartment, initially for his own use, before giving one recording to a close friend and being encouraged to share music online. His debut album, Dear, is released in 2010 on Motive Sounds Recordings in a limited handmade edition. He later forms his own label, Oak Ten Records, and officially reissues Dear in 2012. The album sells more than 7,000 copies, develops a cult following and never charts, but receives positive critical attention.

His breakthrough comes when BBC Radio 1 plays “You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are” for the first time in September 2011. The album Dear also spawns the singles “Charon”, “Small Hands” and “You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are”, each accompanied by a video. “Charon” is shortlisted in the Best Budget Indie/Rock category at the UK Music Video Awards, and “Small Hands” wins Best Music Video at Rushes Soho Shorts 2012.

Other releases include the single “Metaphors” on Porchlight Records and the The Lucky EP in 2012. He also records “Don’t Be Afraid” for the Tormented soundtrack. Several of his songs, including “Charon”, “Corpse Roads”, “To Your Health”, “10AM Gare du Nord” and “You”, appear in the BBC Three zombie drama In the Flesh.

Visual art and writing

Before focusing on music, Henson works as an illustrator and designs artwork for albums including Dananananaykroyd’s Hey Everyone! and Enter Shikari’s Take to the Skies. He also shows visual art at the Pertwee, Anderson & Gold gallery in London in an exhibition titled Hithermost in January 2013. In addition, he releases a wordless graphic novel, Gloaming, published by Pocko and described as a guide to a spirit world beyond ordinary reality.

Background and public profile

Henson is the son of actor Nicky Henson and ballet dancer Marguerite Porter. He is known for serious stage fright and rarely plays concerts. He also designs a T-shirt for the Yellow Bird Project to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust.