Here’s the latest single from London singer-songwriter Adrian Roye. In the video for Dance of the Keeper, recorded live from Dancers End, Roye delivers light, fluttering guitar that flows through a captivating tune. Over the understated folk-instrumentation, Roye’s voice is full of soul, ranging high with sweet, plaintive notes. The brightness of the melody and the seeming ease in Roye’s performance contrast with serious words and a deeper message. Lyrically, Roye explores the idea of gatekeeping culture: “The dance of the keeper’s keeping me down // They watch that gate when we’re coming round!” The ‘keeper’ is a symbolic figure who watches, judges and decides who is excluded, who belongs and who doesn’t. Dance of the Keeper is a quiet anthem for the excluded and dispossessed; there’s a sense of defiance and resilience as Roye sings of challenging the keeper and pushing back.
After years of writing songs for other musicians, Roye has teamed up with Fred Abbott, ex-member of Noah and the Whale, whose production gives the studio version of Dance of the Keeper a rich warmth. Additional depth and stirring energy are provided by Abbott’s former bandmate Tom Hobden, whose sweeping, flying fiddle lifts the song, giving it a jaunty feel that belies the frustration of having to challenge pre-set expectations and overcome the barriers that cultural gatekeepers erect to exclude those who don’t belong.
Drawing on his North London roots and his personal observations of life, Adrian Roye tells engaging stories through his engaging blend of folk, americana and soulful songwriting. Explore more of Roye’s sensitive song craft on Bandcamp, but first absorb this sweetly melodic, acoustic version of Dance of the Keeper. Enjoy.
