EWEN CARRUTHERS
Singer, Songwriter, Poet
ABOUT EWEN CARRUTHERS
A MUSICAL JOURNEY
“The gap left by Ewen Carruthers as a person, musician and friend cannot be closed. We are left with his music and
with it the idea of the transforming power of art and the reality of love.”
Ewen Carruthers was a prolific singer/songwriter.
Born in the North East of England, he moved to Yorkshire in the
70’s and California in the 90’s.
His music and lyrics reflect his family, life experiences and world experiences.
You may have heard him sing in the folk clubs in the UK. In the latter years of his life he recorded many of his songs at
home on his home studio in California but also had the privilege of recording two albums in friends’ music
studios: Mark Parry - “A little bit of me” ,“Secret Lives” with Jon Strong and "Radio Dancer" with Pete Dodds.
Ewen later recorded two albums at
Stockfisch Records in Germany – “When Time Turns Around” and “One Red Shoe” (thank you Gunter and friends).
If you met Ewen you would agree he was a very unassuming person. He never craved fame or fortune, but
through his songs he was able to transport you on a musical journey with lyrics which would always resonate with
you. He loved history but was touched by world events for example whilst living in the USA - “Hurricane Katrina” –
“9-11” inspired him and he had a gift to share these tragedies in the form of a stories.
For example, the single red
shoe on the mountain of World Trade centre rubble is perhaps the best example of this technique, which Ewen
Carruthers perfected on "One Red Shoe", his second album for Stockfisch.
Unfortunately, Ewen died unexpectedly on 4 October 2010 in Rotherham, Yorkshire.
He had returned to the UK to
spend more time with his son, daughter and their families.
We all felt the tremendous loss but he left us a legacy of over 120 wonderful songs some of which are contained in the (soon to be released) audio book “One More Story” narrated by his friend and and ex-wife Sue.
You can still hear his songs in the many folk clubs around the UK by artists and friends such as Allan Taylor,
Mike Silver, Pete Dodds, PipeDream and many more.
I think the following beautiful tributes following his death are a true reflection of a great singer/songwriter - Ewen
Carruthers:
“The gap left by Ewen Carruthers as a person, musician and friend cannot be closed. We are left with his music and
with it the idea of the transforming power of art and the reality of love.”
"I first got to know Ewen in the early seventies when I saw him perform in one of the local folk clubs. The song that impressed me the most was "Paris", and it still is one of my favorites. In the years since then we ́ve had some good times together; times when we were both living alone, when we would meet at my house, eat, drink wine and try to write songs together, some good times in San Francisco and touring along the coast to Oregon. Ewen had an amazing ability to write a song from his imagination. I have to experience what I write about, but Ewen just dug into his imagination and created the most wonderful songs. When I last saw him he had recently returned from America and was looking forward to setting up home in Yorkshire and spending more time with his son David and his family. He was optimistic about the future and we sat in my garden drinking coffee - it was a sunny day and this is the way I will remember him. He was a fine man, a great songwriter and a good friend, and I miss him now, and I'́m sure I always will." Allan Taylor
“English has an apt twist that has no proper equivalent in German. One speaks of an artist as a "musicians'
musician" and by this means a musician whose genius is highly recognized among his colleagues, whose art may be style-defining for an entire genre, but who – for whatever reason – has been denied popularity among the masses.”
"Ewen Carruthers has released one of the most atmospheric albums of the year with "When Time Turns Around". ...
And once again the warm, but completely transparent sound convinces. ... The listener could listen to the beautiful sound, the playful, multifaceted arrangements and the pleasant singing alone and look forward to a successful album. But that would only be half the pleasure. Carruthers is a songwriter who thinks about a lot and knows how to skillfully translate his results into song format. ... The man is really worth a discovery. An expert of the old school, not a staid verse smith." Norbert Neugebauer, www.rocktimes.de