King Creosote is the name used for current solo releases of the musician Kenny Anderson. A popular misconception is that this is the name of the band featuring him and not just his stage name. However, at live shows, he will usually introduce his band members by their similar pseudonyms - some fellow Fence Collective artistes such as "The Pictish Trail" (aka Johnny Lynch), On The Fly and Uncle Beesly, to name but the usual line-up. Anderson was formerly lead singer of Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra and Khartoum Heroes.

Anderson is a prolific songwriter, many of his songs having been released across just under 40 albums in ten years (at last count http://www.fencerecords.com/artists.php?id=1). Most of these are CD-R releases on his own Fence Records label. Earlier versions of those songs that find their way on to "official" releases can be found on these releases. In the discography below, "PF" catalogue numbers refer to Picket Fence mini-albums - sets A to E contain releases by various Fence Collective artists, each set released as one-offs and sold by subscription only http://web.archive.org/web/20060328081746/www.fencerecords.com/tunes/picket_fence.htm, http://www.fencerecords.com/setdetails.php?set_id=7. Picket Fence E has no King Creosote release.

From a musical family, his brothers are also musicians Ian (Een) aka Pip Dylan and Gordon aka Lone Pigeon who is lead singer and main songwriter with The Aliens. Collaborations between the three abound at their live shows and on the CDR releases.

From the Fence Collective website http://www.fencerecords.com/folks/kingcreosote_intro.htm:

In 1994, the singer / songwriter with Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra and Khartoum Heroes realised that an increasing number of his songs were either not folky / bluegrassy enough for the Dubhs, or had too few chords for the Heroes. King Creosote crowned himself to bring to the world - "songs with relatively few chords in a non-bluegrass style", except in those cases where "this song is an over-elaborate bluegrass ditty". In 2005, KC live might, fully clothed, only sport the accordion, with some rare guitar / banjo / box-playing from Pip Dylan of Spain, naturist and ogre of beauty.

King Creosote maintains that the song is more important than the style, and that the performance outweighs recording quality. If a part can't be recorded in one take, scrap it for something simpler. No sample should be longer than four seconds, and although samples should be in tune or in time, not necessarily both. King Creosote detests noodling virtuoso, and thus has a go on whatever instrument is at hand. Anyway, duff tunes strengthen the songs on either side. A KC album starts at the beginning, and don't finish 'til the end - by design. Except where they start in the middle and grow out of control.

In 2006, KC was one of the first artists to contribute a t-shirt to the Yellow Bird Project, to raise money for Greenpeace.

To this end, KC Rules OK was re-released in 2006 with different versions of some songs, and a version of the album called "Chorlton and the Wh'earlies" recorded with The Earlies was available with some purchases. Bombshell was released with an additional disc, a DVD film of King Creosote and friends on tour.

In a June 2008 interview on BBC Radio 6music, mistakenly introduced as "King Creole", he told Tom Robinson that he'd like to play a festival every weekend this Summer and then return home for the weekdays.

Discography (CD)

• KC Rules OK (Names/679, 2005)
• Bombshell (Names/679, 2007)

Discography (CDR)

• Queen Of Brush County (FNC 01, 1998)
• Rain Weekend (FNC 02, 1998)
• Inner Crail To Outer Space (FNC 03, 1998)
• Or Is It? (FNC 04, 1998)
• Gink Scootere (FNC 05, 1998)
• 1999: An Endless Round Of Balls (Parties And Social Events) (FNC 06, 1999)
• Wednesday (FNC 07, 1999)
• Jacques De Fence (FNC JDF, 1999)
• I Am 9 (FNC 09, 1999)
• Planet Eggz (FNC 10, 1999)
• Or Was It? (FNC 11, 2000)
• 12 O'Clock On The Dot (FNC 12, 2000)
• Stinks (FNC 13, 2000)
• G (FNC 14, 2001)
• Radge Weekend Starts Here (FNC 15, 2001)
• King Creosote Says "Buy The Bazouki Hair Oil" (FNC 16, 2001)
• Disclaimer (FNC 17, 2001)
• Squeezebox Set (FNC 18 to 22, 2002) - 5 album boxset containing:-
  Fair Dubhs
  Favourite Girl
  Whelk Of Arse
  More Afraid Of Plastic
  Losing It On The Gyles (very limited http://www.fencerecords.com/setdetails.php?set_id=4)
• Now (Nearly 36) (PF A01, 2003)
• Psalm Clerk (FNC 23, 2003)
• Ideal Rumpus Room Guide (PF B03, 2003)
• Sea Glass (FNC 24, 2004)
• Three Nuns" (PF B10, 2004)
• Kenny And Beth's Musikal Boat Rides (FNC K&B, also Domino Recording Co, 2003)
• Red On Green (FNC 26, 2004)
• Kompanion Cet +1 (PF C06, 2004)
• Rocket D.I.Y. (FNC 27, also Domino Recording Co, 2005)
• Loose tea on his Wynd (2004)
• Vintage Quays (FNC 29, 2004)
• Harbour the Hillfolk (2005)
• demos (2005)
• Yellow On Red (FNC 31, 2005)
• Isle of Lo Fi (FNC 32, 2006)
• Waltzer (FNC 33, 2006)
• Dumps vol.1 (2007) (limited run for 2007 purchasers of the latest release of the aforementioned Squeezebox set)
• They flock like vulcans to see old jupiter eyes on his home craters (FNC 34, 2008) (tour only CD)

other recordings

(2005) He recorded a cover of Jeff Buckley's "Grace" for the tribute album Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley

(2006) He recorded an original song about the biblical plague of frogs, called "Relate The Tale" for the Artangel /4AD project "Plague Songs"

He remixed Badly Drawn Boy's "Nothing's going to change your mind" for the single release (highest chart position in the UK #38)

(2007) He recorded an original song "Where and When" with music by King Creosote and lyrics written by Scottish novellist Laura Hird. This was for the album "Ballads of the Book" a collection of collaborations between Scottish musicians and novellists & poets.

(2008) He recorded a version of Malcolm Middleton's "Choir" which appeared on the b-side of the 7" single version of "Blue Plastic Bags". This was something of a reciprocal deal, with Middleton having covered King Creosote's "Margerita Red" on his 2008 album, "Sleight of Heart" http://www.fencerecords.com/bandstand.php?id=5&bandstand=53

External links

• Official website
• myspace page
• King Creosote on Fence Records
• King Creosote interview on musicOMH.com
• King Creosote interview on Band Weblogs