Devonian folk singer Jim Causley is to release his new album Cyprus Well on Folk Police Records on 8th July. The album features poems by Jim’s distant relative Charles Causley which he has set to music with the help of “some very talented friends.” Those friends include FRUK favourites Julie Murphy and Ceri Owen-Jones with whom he is performing a number of dates this year including Sidmouth FolkWeek. He was also joined by Nick Marshall, Hilary Coleman, Neil Davey & Pete Berryman.
Charles Causely’s work has become a strong focus for Jim who first began setting his poetry to music about seven years ago – although the relationship goes back much further than this, to the vivid memories he has of his mum reading him the poems as a child and to his unsuccessful attempts to correspond with Charles as a poetry-writing teenager. Back then, it was assumed Charles was not a relation, but in recent years shared forebears have been uncovered several grandfathers back, and in any case, as Charles’ poem ‘Ancestors’ points out, all Causleys hail from Trusham on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, where Jim’s family originate from.
In the past couple of years, Jim has immersed himself in Charles’ work: listening to LPs of him reciting his poetry, watching old television interviews, pouring through his personal photographs and notebooks in the Special Collections archive at the University of Exeter and, of course, spending time in his hometown, at his home and playing his piano. The album was recorded live in Charles’ home.
There was no hiding Jim’s excitement about this release which he said was “probably the closest I’ll come to having a baby, to give you an idea of just how excited I am!”
My Young Man’s A Cornish Man:
[audio:http://www.folkpolicerecordings.com/uploads/4/8/8/5/4885760/my_young_mans_a_cornishman.mp3|titles=My Young Man’s A Cornish Man|artists=Jim Causely]
Although Jim has some solo dates for most of this year he will be joined on stage by the wonderful Julie Murphy and Ceri Owen-Jones who both appear on the album.
Gig Dates
June
- Thu, 13/06/2013
Islington Folk Club, The Poetry of Charles Causley, London Launch with special guest Mary Hampton - Sat, 15/06/2013
Elsies, The Queens Arms, Cowden Pound, Kent - Fri, 21/06/2013
Teignmouth Folk Festival, Carlton Theatre
July
- Sat, 20/07/2013
Pilton Green Man Day, near Barnstaple, with Entertainingly Different
August
- Sat, 03/08/2013
Sidmouth Folk Week,’Cream of Devon’ concert, Manor Pavillion - Thu, 08/08/2013
Trusham Village Hall, The Poetry of Charles Causley - Fri, 09/08/2013
Sidmouth Folk Week, The Poetry of Charles Causley, Manor Pavillion - Sat, 10/08/2013
Dartmoor Folk Festival - Sat, 17/08/2013
Whitby Folk Week - Fri, 30/08/2013
Lyme Regis Folk Weekend,Solo and Charles Causley Project ‘Cyprus Well’.
Cyprus Well is released on Folk Police Records 15th July 2013
www.jimcausley.co.uk
www.folkpolicerecordings.com