Musically, the beginning of 2016 got off to a flying start with some amazing releases which pretty much marked the pace for the remainder of what’s been a great musical year – we needed a counterbalance to everything else that’s been going on. One project which we featured on FRUK was Songs of Separation.
The initial idea for the project came from Jenny Hill‘s; she would later launch the project to bring together ten women folk musicians from Scotland and England, “to create a recording which reflects on the issue of ‘separation’ in its many forms, through traditional song”. The other nine musicians selected for the project were Eliza Carthy, Hannah James, Hannah Read, Hazel Askew, Jenn Butterworth, Karine Polwart, Kate Young, Mary Macmaster and Rowan Rheingans.
In a message to fans and those that supported the release Jenny Hill announced this week:
We are just bringing the project to a close now, and I’ve been thinking about the many hundreds of people who have supported us, shared our music with others, written about us, looked after us at venues, given guidance and support, dealt with admin queries and funding, and helped us with all sorts of other things.
Our gratitude to those who joined us on stage, as performers or technicians! Massive appreciation to those who reviewed the album, or gave us radio-play, or used our music for TV programmes or trailers. Thanks to the volunteer merch sellers, the hosts, the photographers, the community music specialists, the cooks, the industry folk… the list really is endless!
It’s all helped so much, and we appreciate it enormously!
To mark the finale, Songs of Separation commissioned a final film – ‘The Album and Beyond‘. Watch it below:
Without connection there can be no separation and Songs of Separation reminds us in the best ways possible that our strengths, individually and collectively, are to be found in our similarities, the things which connect us. In this encroaching Age of Endarkenment, we can prevail by recognising and accepting our differences, by celebrating our diversity, not using it as a way to separate us. This sense of connection pervades Songs of Separation: that a group of ten musicians, some of whom hadn’t met face to face before, could compose and record a collection of songs that work both as standalone pieces and as part of a much broader tapestry is ample evidence of the power of connection to make an important contribution to an ongoing and significant dialogue. Songs of Separation is a superlative and essential record, from its initial concept through to the final result; it’s a huge accomplishment by anybody’s standards and all involved have every right to feel justifiably proud of their achievement. (Read Helen’s Full Review Here)
Songs of Separation has been shortlisted for ‘Best Album’ at the Scots Trad Awards alongside nine other great bands, all of which have featured on Folk Radio UK. Public voting ends tomorrow. You can read more about the shortlist in our article here.