A.S. Fanning is brooding and Cohen-esque, Berlin’s haunting disciple of gothic folk

He looms on stage like a statue, acoustic guitar in hand and deep, dark Edgar Allan Poe eyes. He mumbles a few words before the strumming starts, and then his rich baritone voice rises and silences the room.

It’s Irish folk alright, but Fanning makes it dark, sad, almost gothic. He has a wit, an intellect and a knowing confidence in his delivery which elevates his music far beyond the worn path of Gaelic ditty – whilst retaining its romance and longing. He wanders into the realms of Leonard Cohen and Mark Lanegan, and seems entirely comfortable in their company.  

A.S Fanning’s music has been a big part of my life in Berlin. His debut album, ‘Second Life’, arrived in 2017 and I was instantly enamoured with its razor-sharp songwriting and dark beauty. He’s toured all over Europe since – including supported ‘99 Luftballons’ star Nena across Germany’s mega-venues. The album’s lead single, ‘Carmelita’, has clocked up over 500,000 listens on Spotify. 

Now embedded in Berlin’s hard-to-break music scene, Fanning is gearing up for the 2020 release of his second album, ‘You Should Go Mad’. 

He and his band are releasing a taster of the album in the form of a single, ‘Abandoned’. 

With subtle, pulsing synth, ‘Abandoned’ is a sidestep from his guitar-based songwriting, bathing his voice in swirling well of sound that somehow finds joy in, well, abandon. 

To accompany the single release, A.S. Fanning will be playing a same-day gig at Kreuzberg’s Privat Club. We can expect a taste of his new album, old favourites and maybe even a Kate Bush cover.

Support comes from Diagram, a new electronica project from Hákon Aðalsteinsson of Berliner psych-rockers The Third Sound. Check out their new video here.

‘Abandoned’ is released on Proper Octopus Records on November 15th, 2019

A.S. Fanning – Live @ Privat Club – Friday 15th November 2019

Support: Diagram

The Facebook event is here.

Tickets are available here.