Our Song of the Day is from Shearwater performing the traditional folk song ‘Black is the Colour’. Although the song was known in the Appalachians it is believed to have originated from Scotland due to the Clyde reference: “I go to the Clyde and I mourn and weep,…”. Th first recording was by a Mrs. Lizzie Roberts in 1916 since when numerous artists have covered it.
The song was recorded for recorded at WNYC for a ‘Colors’ themed show.
New Release
In other Shearwater news Missing Islands is to be a ‘Tour Only’ release which any Shearwater fan will want to get their hands on. It features a 20-track collection of demos and outtakes from the sessions for Rook, The Golden Archipelago, and Animal Joy, spanning the years from 2007 to 2012. The decision to release these tracks wasn’t done without some apprehension judging from Jonathan Meiburg comments:
I feel a little weird letting these recordings out into the world; they were never meant to live there. Songs come from the same place as dreams, and this set catches most of them in their fragile first moments (for some, the only moments they had). I mumble my way through a lot of them, as the lyrics are usually the last part of the song to solidify for me, but even so, I think that the melody of a song is the part that speaks the loudest, so I hope something of their essence comes through even where the words aren’t clear, or aren’t there at all. Maybe the best way to listen to this record is with half an ear, while you’re in another room; that’s probably the closest cousin to the experience of “inspiration” as I can think of anyway. The ideas I like best tend to turn up while I’m doing something completely unrelated to music.
Tour News
For those in the US The Fellow Travelers tour kicks off this month on which they are joined by Jesca Hoop. Shearwater will be in the UK and Europe during April / May:
April 23
Szene, Vienna, Austria
April 24
Beatpol, Dresden, Germany
April 25
Privatclub, Berlin, Germany
April 26
Loppen, Copenhagen, Denmark
April 27
Indra, Hamburg, Germany
April 28
Bitterzoet, Amsterdam, Netherlands
April 29
Botanique, Brussels, Belgium
April 30
XOYO, London, England
May 1
Deaf Institute, Manchester, England
May 2
The Fleece, Bristol, England
May 4
Democrazy, Gent, Belgium
May 6
La Flèche d’Or, Paris, France
May 7
Fri-Son, Fribourg, Switzerland
May 8
La Salumeria della Musica, Milan, Italy
May 9
Bogen F, Zurich, Switzerland