Joseph Arthur’s Going Somewhere Fast

The new fans who have been drawn to singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur recently tend to think of his latest album, “Come to Where I’m From,” as his debut, but in fact he released two earlier, little-noticed albums. “I wouldn’t take away all that work I did before,” says Arthur. “It’s just getting more recognition.”

It’s easy to see why. The Ohio native’s distinctive music combines poetic lyrics and folk aesthetics with ambient, machine-driven backdrops. Arthur’s long-awaited attention from the mainstream is reminiscent of the way such unconventional peers as Elliott Smith and Beck emerged.

Arthur, 28, is focusing on his Los Angeles following with a series of three Wednesday performances at LunaPark in West Hollywood. During last week’s opener, Arthur stood alone on stage with a collection of pedals, knobs, keyboards, guitars and microphones. The rapt, capacity audience grew quiet as he formed mesmerizing layers and looped samples, alternating between haunting musical backdrops and stripping down to spare, acoustic numbers as he sang lyrics that conveyed the singer’s tortured, innermost thoughts.

It was English rock singer and world-music crusader Peter Gabriel who first discovered Arthur, when he received a demo tape handed down through a series of friends. “I gave a tape to my buddy,” Arthur explains. “It wasn’t out of ambition. He didn’t have any industry ties, but it turned out he knew somebody [who knew Gabriel].”

The result: Arthur signed to Gabriel’s label Real World in 1995. The two maintain a close creative relationship--in fact, Gabriel was so taken by his discovery’s visceral expressions that he chose to record Arthur’s “In the Sun” for his contribution to a Princess Diana tribute album. Arthur’s version of the song serves as the opening number of “Come to Where I’m From.”

Arthur began writing during his teen years in Akron, Ohio. “I had friends who were into poets from a young age,” he recalls. “We were into the Beats.”

From Charles Bukowski to songwriters such as Neil Young and Lou Reed, Arthur’s influences put him on a path from poetry into music. He moved to Atlanta and worked in a guitar shop while playing in several rock bands, but that proved unsatisfying.

“I decided to start writing simple songs that were more lyrical and melodically based,” he says. He cites that decision as a “breakthrough,” leading to a new style that allowed him to express himself more freely. “I didn’t have to worry about being ‘rock,’ ” he says. “I could just be mellow and laid-back.”

Music isn’t Arthur’s only artistic endeavor. A compulsive creator, he contributes daily poetic journal entries and paintings from the road to his fan Web site (https://www.lanset.com/kthalken/). His painting, a discipline he began in his early 20s, earned him a Grammy nomination for the packaging on his 1999 album, ‘Vacancy.”

But music is his first love.

“Painting and writing are something I can do all the time. Going in a studio and making music is more of special event, like, ‘Wow, I’m still allowed to do this.’ ”

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* Joseph Arthur plays tonight and next Wednesday at LunaPark, 665 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood, 9:30 p.m. $12.50. (310) 652-0611.

For audio samples of Joseph Arthur go to: https://www.calendarlive.com