Allman Brown is a London-based singer-songwriter who announced himself back in 2013 with the wonderfully emotive and poignant single “Sons And Daughters,” a collaboration with fellow Londoner Liz Lawrence. To date, the song remains the bedrock of Allman Brown’s ever expanding catalogue, with over three million Spotify streams, half a million numerous online cover versions and a raft of notable placements on U.S. TV dramas, including the likes of Parenthood, Reign and Beauty And The Beast.

Inspired by fellow, ever-changing male troubadours such as  Ryan Adams, James Vincent McMorrow and Sufjan Stevens, as well as groups such as Bombay Bicycle Club and Bon Iver, Brown is never afraid to try new things and incorporate different styles into his music.
2016 has seen Brown finally get down to recording his full length debut album with longtime friend and producer Ian Barter (Paloma Faith, Izzy Bizzu). The ten-song record, a combination of old favorites and new songs, represents an artist exploring his past, present and future with an ever expanding set of musical tools anchored by a beautiful, rich and distinctive voice. The album will be self-released in February 2017.
Ghettoblaster recently caught up with Brown to get his best of 2016 list. He was kind enough to make this Spotify playlist. Enjoy.
https://open.spotify.com/user/richardallman-brown/playlist/5FG4OuhNAmod278z5Qa4Vr
“Each of these songs really hit home for me in what has been a tumultuous year.”
Kicking off with Gallant, he’s an artist with serious swagger and a voice from outer space.
Then comes the late great David Bowie using his own impending death to craft his last album, using his artistry to the very end to amaze us all.
Nick Cave in a similar vein suffered the terrible tragedy of losing his teenage son and he channels part of his grief into “Magneto.” which is a song that absolutely floors me.
The next three acts Bon Iver, Radiohead and Local Natives are old favourites that all produced three awesome albums this year (it was hard to choose these ones!). Bon Iver’s 22 a Million is my favourite album of the year, an artist in full creative swing giving us something new and intimate once again. “Identitkit” by Radiohead just has the best breakdown ever and “Fountains of Youth” by Local Natives displays the band’s usual innovation.
“We Used To Be In Love” is a song by some great friends of mine, Clean Cut Kid and is pure pop bliss.
“Gun Song” by The Lumineers just gets my foot tapping.
The last two songs come from my love of films- La La Land (Damien Chazelle’s follow up to Whiplash) is one of the best films I’ve seen for a while and this song perfectly captures the melancholy marvel it is. The last track is a bit sneaky as it was released in 2014 but it was used in the recent film Arrival and is by my favourite composer ever Max Richter. Listen to all of his work, but “On The Nature Of Daylight” is a perfect way in.”
(Visit Allman Brown here: https://www.facebook.com/AllmanBrownMusic/)