Louis de Beaumont
London-based musician, Louis de Beaumont was heavily influenced by Bert Jansch, Davy Graham and John Martyn. He practiced the way of the plucking balladeer until leaving university, when he began to explore the wider world of musicianship. His inspiration not only comes from the music he hears, but from friends, strangers, and life in the vibrant and quirky city. His playing and love of music has since led him to take inspiration from Frank Zappa, Paco de Lucia, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Andres Segovia, Ravel, and many more. The once loyal acoustic picker now sets sail on a journey through more diverse worldly music (though he will always remain a guitarist).
The Second Hand
A piece by Louis de Beaumont for Bert Jansch
Louis writes: “‘The Second Hand’, arose from a simple riff with the shape of an Am7, played over and over again with elaborations. Only after experimenting for months did I realise the similarity to the Lucky Thirteen riff, from ‘Bert & John’. Undeterred, the piece became and remained a fairly repetitive number, until it was finally set down on paper. It then transformed, journeying away from and back to the main riff with varying depths. I thought this the most appropriate piece for Around the World in 80 Plays, as Bert’s music had sunk in deeply enough for me to be playing with Bert riffs without realising. The tune is in part named ‘The Second Hand’ due to its hand-me-down nature from ‘Lucky Thirteen’. (This Yamaha TransAcoustic was a pleasure to play, though I realise that I didn’t even discover all its special features.)”
“I discovered Bert through recommendations from fellow John Martyn listeners. His raw and honest sound, musical attitude, swing and beauty of the guitar tied me closer to him over the years. It was this, not just his guitar playing, that made me listen for hours on end. For each of Bert’s songs I learnt, I became a better guitar player, until learning a new song would take a matter of hours instead of months. After a great struggle, I managed to take my new-found ability into writing my own songs ultimately to share my own feelings to anyone who might listen. Bert remains a source of constant musical inspiration and discovery.”
