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Singer-guitarist Chantel McGregor returning to Cambridge




Chantel McGregor, a virtuoso guitarist and singer who divides her time between her home town of Bradford and Cambridge (where her boyfriend lives), is returning to perform at the Cambridge Junction next Thursday (26 June).

The artist, who released her third studio album, The Healing, on 23 May, has, over the last 15 years, carved out a reliable presence on the British gig circuit, traversing the length and breadth of the country and appearing at some of the UK’s biggest festivals.

Chantel McGregor. Picture: Heather Elliott
Chantel McGregor. Picture: Heather Elliott

Chantel says of the new record: “This is definitely, definitely a rock album – not a blues album. It’s heavy and dark and it introduces elements of prog-rock, which is a form of music I absolutely love.

“It has those ‘wobbly synth vibes’ from the 1980s… [English musician] Steven Wilson went down that route of being disturbing, dark and also slightly wobbly. It’s got a bit of that.”

Besides Chantel, the album features her regular bandmates Colin Sutton on bass and Thom Gardner on drums. Where things depart from the norm is the presence of two newcomers.

Noted UK guitarist Oli Brown handles what Chantel describes as “programming and synth-y things” and is also a co-producer.

“I’ve known Oli for donkey’s years, but when I heard the work he was doing with his band The Dead Collective, I really wanted to see if we could do something together,” says Chantel, who also loves country music.

Wayne Proctor, another member of The Dead Collective, handled production mixing and mastering. In another break with tradition, both Oli and Wayne were heavily involved in the songwriting process.

The album’s first single is the emotive Broken Heartless Liar.

“I grew up listening to Alanis Morissette and I wanted to write one of those angsty songs that she always does so well,” explains Chantel, who, when in Cambridge, lives in Romsey, just off Mill Road.

“So I went back in time and channelled how I felt about every destructive relationship I’ve had.”

The Healing also marks the first time that Chantel has written material of an autobiographical nature.

“I’ve sung about vampires and addiction, but the only things I was ever addicted to were cats and chocolate,” she laughs.

“Making this album, I saved a fortune in therapy.”

Given all of the above, a case could be made for the statement that The Healing is the first time that we have seen the ‘real Chantel McGregor’.

“That’s right,” she states. “This album is a hundred per cent me, like you’ve never seen me before.”

A guitar prodigy from a young age, Chantel enrolled at the Leeds College of Music and became the first student in the college’s history to achieve a 100 per cent pass mark, with 18 distinctions.

She left with a first class honours degree in popular music and a coveted prize – the college’s musician of the year award.

When the talented singer-songwriter-guitarist released her 2011 debut album, Like No Other, one critic said: “Chantel McGregor deserves to be held up as a messiah of blues rock and given her own mountain.

“She doesn’t strum or pick her guitar but almost bends and distorts it, as if she’s channelling the ghost of Hendrix through her fingers.”

Chantel McGregor. Picture: Heather Elliott
Chantel McGregor. Picture: Heather Elliott

Chantel McGregor will be performing at the Cambridge Junction (J2) tomorrow (Thursday, 26 June), with support from classic rock band, Big River. Tickets, priced £22.50, are available from junction.co.uk.

For more on Chantel, go to chantelmcgregor.com.




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