C Duncan

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = C Duncan

| birth_name = Christopher Duncan

| image = C Duncan Lock Tavern Festival 2015 02.jpg

| caption = C Duncan Lock Tavern at a Festival 2015

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1989|07|29|df=y}}

| origin = Glasgow, Scotland

| genre = Indie pop, indie folk, dream pop

| instrument = Keyboards, guitar, vocals

| years_active = 2012–present

| label = Bella Union

| website = {{URL|https://www.cspaceduncan.com}}

}}

Christopher Duncan (born 29 July 1989) is a Scottish composer and musician. His compositions have been featured on various television programmes, including Waterloo Road, and have been performed by Icebreaker and the Sirens of Titan choir.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/19/new-band-of-the-week-c-duncan-no-36|last=Lester|first=Paul|title=New band of the week: C Duncan (No 36) |newspaper=The Guardian|date=19 December 2014|accessdate=9 April 2018}} His first solo single, "For", was released in December 2014.{{cite news|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/news/listen-c-duncan-for|last=Murray|first=Robin|title=Listen: C Duncan - For|publisher=Clash magazine|date=30 October 2014|accessdate=26 January 2015}} He is currently signed to Bella Union.

His debut album Architect was nominated for the 2015 Mercury Music Prize.{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1HwNyl69kmN1fcWlcH7rTfb/mercury-prize-2015-shortlist |title=Mercury Prize 2015 shortlist |publisher=BBC |accessdate=2015-10-16}} In October 2016, he released his second album The Midnight Sun.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/c-duncan-the-midnight-sun|last=Bell|first=John|title=C Duncan eclipses all expectations with The Midnight Sun|newspaper=The Line of Best Fit|date=29 September 2016|access-date=2016-11-15}} On 18 January 2019 Duncan announced his third album, Health, would be released on 29 March 2019.{{cite news|url=https://www.facebook.com/mrchrisduncan/posts/2066862950049793?__tn__=-R|title=Facebook post announcing third album|publisher=Facebook|date=18 January 2019|accessdate=2 February 2019}} On the same day, he released the first single from Health, "Impossible".{{cite news|url=https://www.xsnoize.com/c-duncan-announces-third-album-and-releases-first-single-impossible-listen-now/|title=C DUNCAN Announces third album and releases first single "Impossible" – Listen Now"|last=Millar|first=Mark|publisher=XS Noize|date=18 January 2019|accessdate=2 February 2019}} Health was produced by Elbow's Craig Potter at Blueprint Studios at Salford, Manchester, and will be Duncan's first album he did not record and produce entirely by himself.{{cite news|url=http://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/c_duncan_announces_new_album_shares_new_song_impossible|title=C Duncan Announces New Album, Shares New Song "Impossible"|last=Roberts|first=Christopher|publisher=Under the Radar magazine|date=18 January 2019|accessdate=2 February 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/17374496.listen-mercury-nominated-c-duncan-enlists-parents-abandons-bedroom-for-third-album-health/|title=Listen: Mercury-nominated C Duncan enlists parents & abandons bedroom for third album Health|last=Williams|first=Martin|publisher=The Herald (Glasgow)|date=21 January 2019|accessdate=2 February 2019}} The album was shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year Award 2019.

Life and career

Duncan's parents are both classical musicians. He initially took up piano and viola as instruments, but playing with bands in his teenage years, he also learned to play guitar, bass and drums. He enrolled in Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) to study music composition. His pieces were performed by various ensembles across the UK.

Duncan's solo music takes in both classical and modern music and has been described as combining lush choral harmonies and acoustic instrumentation, textured like contemporary dreampop, and a cross of lo-fi folk with the harmonic width of choral composition. He has toured extensively with his band to support both his albums. Duncan is also an artist and has painted the pictures used as covers for his solo releases.

Duncan is gay and wishes to use his platform as a recording artist to champion LGBT causes. In a 2016 interview with The Seventh Hex, he said, "I hope my music reaches as many people as possible. It might sound cheesy, but I honestly want to use my music to help others. For instance, I’m gay and growing up I didn’t have many gay alternative role models, so I’d like to help out in that way too."{{cite news|url=http://theseventhhex.com/post/139966237550/c-duncan-interview|title=C Duncan Interview|publisher=The Seventh Hex|accessdate=29 March 2019}} In a 2019 interview with Scottish broadsheet newspaper The Herald while promoting his new album Health, he explained to writer Martin Williams that his coming out was difficult intellectually to him and he is eager to contribute his point of view to the alternative music community: "It is still a funny thing to have to do (come out to family and friends) because of the years of nerves before you do it. Before that you try to be something you are not. You kind of have a switch that goes on and off, certainly for me, but I now know exactly who I am...Gay alternative musicians are not that common, so I hope I can add to the group that are already there."{{cite news|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/17540167.c-duncan-on-how-he-came-out-on-his-new-album/|title=C Duncan on how he came out on his new album|last=Williams|first=Martin|publisher=The Herald (Glasgow)|date=6 April 2019|accessdate=7 April 2019}}

Discography

=Albums=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:9em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Details

! scope="col" colspan="4"| Peak chart positions

scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| SCO

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| BE (Wa)

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| NL

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| UK Indie

scope="row"| Architect

Release: 16 July 2015
Label: FatCat Records
Format: Digital download, CD, LP

| 52 || 154 || 99 || 7

scope="row"| The Midnight Sun

Release: 7 October 2016
Label: FatCat Records
Format: Digital download, CD, LP

| 28 || - || - || 9

scope="row"| Health

Release: 29 March 2019
Label: FatCat Records
Format: Digital download, CD, LP

| || || || 21

scope="row"| Alluvium

Release: 6 May 2022
Label: Bella Union
Format: Digital download, CD, LP

| || || ||

scope="row"| It's Only A Love Song

Release: 24 January 2025
Label: Bella Union
Format: Digital download, CD, LP

| || || ||

=Singles=

scope="col"\| Year ! scope="col"\| Title ! scope="col"\| Album
class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
2014 ! scope="row"\| "For" \| rowspan="5"\| Architect
rowspan="4"\| 2015 ! scope="row"\| "Say"
scope="row"\| "Garden"
scope="row"\| "Here to There"
scope="row"\| "For"{{Ref label\|note_a1\|A}} (Autumn Rebuild)
rowspan="3"\| 2016 ! scope="row"\| "Wanted to Want It Too" \| rowspan="4"\| The Midnight Sun
scope="row"\| "On Course"
scope="row"\| "Other Side"
rowspan="1"\| 2017 ! scope="row"\| "Like You Do"
rowspan="2"\| 2019 ! scope="row"\| "Impossible" \| rowspan="2"\| Health
scope="row"\| "Health"