Grey Reverend is the solo project of songwriter L.D. Brown. He began the project in 2005 while living in Philadelphia P.A, focusing on guitar and voice as a primary means of expression. Raised on a variety of musical genres, L.D. began playing the saxophone at age 9, but didn’t discover the guitar until the age of 22, when he moved into an apartment where someone had serendipitously left one behind. While living in Philadelphia, Brown was also fortunate enough to meet and study music under the instruction and guidance of his mentor and jazz guitar legend, Pat Martino. Soon enough, he was performing in various jazz, rock, and blues outfits throughout the City of Brotherly Love. He immersed himself in the complex language of music theory and jazz improvisation, though a few years into his burgeoning career, he mysteriously began experiencing problems with his hands while performing and practicing.
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Diagnosed with focal dystonia, a neurological disorder that effects fine motor skills, L.D. was forced to cope with the loss of dexterity in his hands and slowly found himself drawn towards more subtle and simplistic folk and blues compositions of songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, John Fahey, Terry Calier and Mississippi John Hurt. The desire to write and sing his own material combined with the knowledge of musicology prompted L.D. to begin crafting subversive and unique chord structures for his deeply visceral compositions. Using a stream-of-consciousness style of writing, L.D. also found inspiration in creating sincere, yet accessible lyrics about life, love,and loss.
In 2006, Brown left Philadelphia for New York City. Shortly after settling in Brooklyn, where he currently resides, he began to meet and collaborate with different artists and songwriters in his neighborhood. This manifested into a friendship with Jason Swinscoe, the founding member and leader of The Cinematic Orchestra. Swinscoe incorporated L.D. into his musical outfit, after he was commissioned to cover the now classic TCO song “To Build a Home”. He has toured with TCO in support of the group’s 2006 studio album Ma Fleur, and has been a contributing member of the group for nearly 6 years. Also while in New York L.D. began busking in the subways, helping him to develop his voice and performance skills and inevitably catching the eye of many record labels and producers.
In 2011 Grey Reverend was signed to Ninja Tune/Motion Audio Records and released it’s first international LP titled Of The Days. L.D has toured the U.K and Europe in support of this album, and has been a featured artist on NPR’s All Things Considered, in the U.S. Grey Reverend’s music has also been showcased on MTV, ABC, NBC, HBO, BBC and other networks worldwide, since the aforementioned release. Currently L.D is in preparation to release a follow up to the critically acclaimed Of The Days LP, scheduled for Summer 2013. Besides working with The Cinematic Orchestra, he has been collaborating with a wide range of artist around the world. He has worked with Bonobo, Fink, Lou Rhodes of Lamb, members of Wilco, Lizz Wright, Tortoise and many others along his journeys, and claims music to be his means of connecting with the rest of the world.
