Adrian Roye and the Exiles

Adrian Roye has a longstanding fascination with the hidden and neglected corners of London. Despite a busy schedule with the Exiles, including a stint recording in the US this summer with acclaimed producer Michael Chorney, on those rare days he has to himself, he is as likely to be found exploring an abandoned railway station as writing or rehearsing. There is a connection between the two, as if by exploring these hidden histories he is feeding his imagination for the creative process.At first listen it’s difficult to put your finger on the sound that the Exiles have. Roye’s richly emotive baritone and acoustic guitar lie at the heart of the music, in the vein of artists like Tracy Chapman and Ben Harper. But the band’s versatile arrangements and Roye’s lyrical themes take the music out of the territory of traditional singer-songwriters.There’s a strong folk and afro-beat influence, with cello, mandolin and highlife guitar being a regular feature of the music. Other roots genres make their way into individual tracks: here and there you can hear echoes of blues, funk and even calypso. But their music isn’t obscure, far from it: in fact, like their frontman, it’s deceptively simple; warm and accessible on the surface, yet multi-faceted and layered with complexity.