Michael Roulston: Composing for Cabaret

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Michael Roulston

Composing for Cabaret

By Fiona Coffey for Cabaret Scenes

June 10, 2015

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Photo: Zoe White

The diversity and dynamism of London’s cabaret scene is a source of pride and inspiration for both artists and devotees, though few appear to embrace its possibilities as wholeheartedly as Michael Roulston. As a pianist, singer, composer, arranger, performer and recording artist with a self-declared “passion for cabaret,” Roulston’s creative output spans mainstream and alternative genres, and shapes artistic endeavors all over the capital. His work ethic can only be described as heroic. As Musical Director for the Black Cat Cabaret and as accompanist at the prestigious Crazy Coqs Open Mic Night, he is a constant presence on the London scene. And to watch Roulston perform is to witness a man who clearly loves his work.

Cabaret is Roulston’s chosen art form, and it seems to evoke an extraordinary degree of craft, imagination, joy and dedication. Given that he is the composer and arranger of choice for so many London artists, I wanted to understand more about his approach to developing music for cabaret and why cabaret in all its forms had been such a rich source of inspiration.

Michael Roulston & Sarah-Louise Young
Michael Roulston & Sarah-Louise Young

We began by talking about Roulston’s current projects. This year alone sees the launch of three CDs in quick succession that testify to the range of his work. The critically acclaimed Two-Faced, with long-term collaborator Sarah-Louise Young, is an album of songs in the classic comedy cabaret tradition. Grin, with Dusty Limits, to be presented at the London Wonderground in June, is located in the visceral and darker world of alternative cabaret. For Lily La Scala’s album Siren, Roulston has set a nine-minute epic poem inspired by The Wreck of the Hesperus in a “classical style infused with sea shanties.” Roulston rationalizes this diverse body of work in a matter of fact way: “I just know that I’m different with different people in the room. I find it really interesting to have a range of styles going on.”

His versatility ensures that his music can be heard in every cabaret venue across town; whether some raunchy burlesque numbers for Polly Rae, or a hip-hop spoof for Fascinating Aida or when various hosts open their show with the Roulston-penned “Tonight.” His arrangements have also helped to create highly successful shows for cabaret artists such as Shoo Shoo Baby, Harold Sanditen and Christine Bovill.

The immediacy of cabaret clearly energizes Roulston. “It’s a particular pleasure to write something, then perform it — and cabaret gave me the opportunity to write and have things performed pretty quickly. You can write something and then perform it that week, or even that day.” And tellingly, it is the prospect of live cabaret performance, and often an immediate deadline, that triggers his creativity. “I’ve rarely written anything in isolation. It’s usually because there’s a situation I can write for, or somebody’s said to me, ‘I’d love you to write me a song’ and the idea comes.”

Michael Roulston, Harold Sanditen, Jonty Fisher
Michael Roulston, Harold Sanditen, Jonty Fisher
Photo: Zoe White

The collaborative partnerships forged over many years with Sarah-Louise Young and Dusty Limits provide the most visible container for Roulston’s original work, much of it focused on songs for particular characters and personae that these artists adopt. But Roulston is also a pragmatist, who recognizes that on any given night, a host needs a great opening number and singers are always on the lookout for upbeat songs. “I just adore comedy. A lot of what I write is comic. And if you discover a cracking comedy number, you’re just going to want to put that in your show.”

Inevitably the demand for original work is dependent on a supply of cabaret artists with an appetite for innovation who can also stretch their audiences into new territory. In sub-genres of cabaret that are focused on storytelling and character, artists who have composed with Roulston, such as Valerie Cutko, will readily accept his view that in cabaret, as in musical theater, “there is nothing as powerful as having your story written into the fabric of the songs.” But not all artists can work in this way, at least at first.

Nevertheless, artists who choose to work with Roulston as an arranger will still experience an approach that, for him, arises from the “composing side of the brain.” This combines a drive for innovation with a deep curiosity about how a singer is going to connect most successfully in live performance. Roulston’s interest therefore extends beyond whether or not a singer has a great top F, or whether he or she wants a jazz waltz or bossa. “It’s great if we’ve done a couple of gigs together before I start doing very personalized arrangements because it’s really nice to see what their energy with an audience is like, and what kind of things they do really well before we start arranging.”

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Maestro Michael

A preference for improvising first, then notating later, derives from Roulston’s experience that the best arrangements emerge from engaged performance. “One’s sense of balance, form, shape and density in the arrangement are much better made when you’re really listening and you’re in the moment with the singer.” This process is constantly evolving, particularly with singers who are open to new ideas. “In performance, the pleasure is to keep looking for the connection to the song in myself, the connection with the singer, and what grows out of that.” Innovation in this setting occurs naturally, at a pace that each artist can handle, and as a direct outcome of collaboration in real time.

The collaborative skills and artistic range implicit in this approach are somewhat underplayed in Roulston’s account. However, the potential contribution that it can make to an artist’s journey is not to be underestimated. The opportunity to grow as a cabaret artist arises from a willingness to become more aware of one’s unique capacities and impact, and to amplify and develop these in performance.  As a cross-pollinator of ideas, and someone who is excited by the realization of artistic possibilities in others, Roulston’s presence ensures that no one is obliged to remain stuck in a cabaret rut unless absolutely determined to do so.

For Roulston, cabaret offers a vehicle for a constant stream of new ideas, realized through collaboration with others. His craft and working method is shaped by a view of cabaret as something that is “alive and spontaneous, and a dialogue with the audience on that evening.” These principles drive Roulston’s work, his contribution to other artists and London cabaret as a whole. He invites us not to be stuck in a rut, but to search for new and exciting ways to delight audiences, to stretch and grow as an artist, and never to forget that it all happens in the moment, in the room. As Roulston’s reputation grows, and his influence spreads, cabaret devotees can feel reassured that London cabaret is in safe, adventurous hands.

Editor’s Note:
For more on Michael, visit michaelroulston.wordpress.com/

Fiona Coffey

Fiona Coffey joins our review team as a cabaret enthusiast and jazz singer, just as she makes her sell-out debut on the London cabaret scene with a self-devised tribute to her alter-ego Mrs. Robinson. She has hosted jazz evenings and performed at a number of venues including The Crazy Coqs, The Pheasantry, and 606 Club. In her day job she is a leadership development coach, travelling around the globe, working with a hugely diverse population of executives, as they grapple with the challenges of leadership and organizational change. Having recently expended most of her writing energies on her doctoral thesis, she welcomes the opportunity to entertain and inform a different audience through Cabaret Scenes.