Award-winning folk singer-songwriter Luke Daniels will be well known to regular readers of Folk Radio UK. Earlier this year, Luke’s album ‘Making Waves’ was chosen as one of our Featured Albums of the Month with Neil McFadyen declaring that it “takes an important step in bridging the gap between traditional music and its contemporary descendants; it’s an outstanding album” (Read the full review here).
This winter, Luke returns with Singing Ways To Feel More Junior (out 24 November 2017), an intriguingly varied selection of smart new songs. We have the pleasure in premiering his new single ahead of release: The House That Jack Built (out on 22 September). Talking about the song, Luke told us “This is a new song about a topic which has been much in the news lately. I think everyone agrees that women have not been treated equally throughout most of human history, but we’d all be in a much better world today if they had?”
Luke teamed up with Paul Savage who has worked with Mogwai and Franz Ferdinand in the past to produce his single “The House That Jack Built”. Given the song’s theme of gender equality and it’s proposition that the world is in it’s current state because of the lack of female influence throughout our history, singer Emma Pollock of the Delgados was asked to guest vocal on the track which also features Louis Abbott of Admiral Fallow on drums and backing vocals and Seamie O’Dowd on electric guitar (Christy Moore, Dervish and The Chieftains). Luke plays piano, fender rhodes and provides the lead vocals on this wonderfully produced piece of acoustic pop.
Beautifully crafted for “grown ups everywhere” each track on Singing Ways To Feel More Junior carves out its own unique space through the clever use of children’s rhymes and female allegory. Issues of gender equality, addiction, upgraded humans, child consumerism and President Trump’s childhood, are all explored via masterful acoustic folk encompassing humble wood notes to syrupy synthesised twists. A salutatory reminder that folk songs can be inspirational, comforting even and needn’t be the preserve of the exponents of authenticity. Like his previous two albums, this is the sound of someone using diverse themes as a vehicle for self-realisation and discovering that the traditional, experimental and personal can combine in such a way so as to harmonise everyday life for all ages.
The album will be released hot off the heels of his latest solo UK tour, joined by guest musicians, and for which Daniels has designed and built his ‘electrophon.’ Part clockwork, part digital this large music box combines Victorian engineering with digital audio via specially manufactured 20” steel discs with which Luke plays guitar, melodeon and sings.
For more information and to Pre-Order the album visit: http://www.lukedanielsmusic.com/