Artist description Neil Dixon, backed by his band Automatic Earth,is creating the freshest sound on the Edinburgh music scene, a unique blending of folk, pop, and rock. Neil's gifts as a songwriter,singer, and musician shine through on the band's self-titled debut CD. Delicate guitar work lies comfortably alongside propulsive double-bass and drum lines, skipping deftly across complex shifts in rhythm. Over it all, Neil's voice soars and sinks, alternating by turns between sweet moodiness and cool observation. The band turns in a subtle, shifting performance, full of colour and groove. The future looks bright for this creative ensemble !

Musical Influences Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Paul Simon, Coldplay, the Lapels

Similar Artists Neil's music is uniquely his own, but he has been reluctantly compared to Jeff Buckley, Thom Yorke, Paul Simon, and other great singer/songwriters

Artist History Orkney born singer songwriter Neil Dixon, 25, moved to Edinburgh in 1997 to pursue his musical career. He soon made his mark on the acoustic scene as part of the Edinburgh Songwriters Showcase and was selected to headline the Little Nimo Music Writers' Block CD. With a style that has been favourably compared to the late Jeff Buckley, Neil's well penned songs and outstanding vocal range blended with his easy-going attitude win him an appreciative audience wherever he plays. This guy lives for music. Whether playing solo with an acoustic guitar or as the front man for the promising new outfit Cloth Cat, Neil grabs everyone's attention - not through gimmicks but through solid performance. Whilst regularly gigging, Neil has been in the studio working hard. His amazing debut 5-track solo EP entitled "What doesn't kill you ..." was released earlier this year. A show-reel of both his solo and band performances is available from Little Nimo Music.

Group Members Neil Dixon - vocals, guitars

Instruments guitars, double bass, drums

Albums Automatic Earth

Press Reviews Neil Dixon is arguably the best resident singer/songwriter/musician Edinburgh boasts, an over-achiever in each of these fields, and it's something of a curiosity to many of the local musical fraternity that he's not better known outside his regular gigging haunts about town. He's been playing at various venues during August, and if you want to hear one of the purest voices you've heard sing some startlingly good original material, it would be a smart move to make a note in your diary for next year - or pop along and find him next time you're in town. Comparisons to Jeff Buckley irk him sometimes, and on first few listens there are similarities in the vocal range and style - a kind of Christmassy warmth - that can't be overlooked. Neil has, however developed his own niche and tends more towards the 'folk camp'. Not that he's a diddly-dee merchant (God forbid); he even has his own band now, Automatic Earth. It's a tough call to write a one-off gig about an artist who never fails to make you gasp so I won't bother; his is a genuine, natural gift which I would love more people to discover for themselves. - Carol Francis, reviewer for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Location Edinburgh, Scotland - United Kingdom

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