Thomas Blake recently reviewed Arch Garrison’s new album ‘I Will Be A Pilgrim’ for Folk Radio UK which he described as a clever, understated delight (read the full review). Arch Garrison is the acoustic vehicle of North Sea Radio Orchestra mainstays Craig Fortnam and James Larcombe. One of the songs that made an impression was The Oldest Road which we have the pleasure of premièring the video for below:
I Will Be A Pilgrim sees songwriter and composer Fortnam examine his love for the countryside of southern England, aided by his trusty nylon string guitar and Larcombe’s piano and organ…But I Will Be A Pilgrim is not just about the guitar. The synths that chime with the birdsong at the end of The Oldest Road – a song about the ancient Ridgeway path – are anything but incongruous. Like much of the record it serves as a lesson that ancient landscapes exist alongside, rather than separate from, the technological advances of the modern world.
Release date: May 19th via The Household Mark (Craig’s own label)