Poetry to Song
‘Harry’s Poems (from the loft)’ E.P. Is a concept release that explores the relationship between poetry and music as well as the familial relationship between Harry Owen and Ren Lawton (Conor Owen).
Harry is an accomplished poet with nine published collections to date and was the inaugural Poet Laureate for Cheshire in 2003. Conor writes and performs music under the moniker Ren Lawton and is also Harry’s nephew.
The idea for the E.P was conceived many years ago and formed from deep chats that often ended with questions such as: when can a song or lyrics be classed as poetic? Why aren’t all lyrics poetry? What is the relationship between a poet and the written word and is that different to that of the relationship between a songwriter and lyric? Can all poems be interpreted into songs? Or, do only certain poems lend themselves to be used in such a way?
Conor was recently awarded funding from the Arts Council England to develop his skills in production and mix engineering. Exploring those questions of poetry and lyrics makes up the first release where he has written, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered all of the tracks.