Lost in Transmission No. 37 Playlist
Sunny War – Gotta Live It
Los Angeles-based street singer, guitarist, and roots music revolutionary Sunny War has always been an outsider, always felt the drive to define her place in the world through music and songwriting. Her new album, With the Sun, out February 2, 2018 on Hen House Studios, is the culmination of years of burning curiosity as an artist, the result of many wandered paths to find some new way to speak her heart.
Fran Wyburn – Foolish Sea
The new single from Fran Wyburn (recently premiered on FRUK) , a rising new folk talent from Yorkshire. It’s the first track to be released off her eagerly awaited debut album ‘Wood for the Trees’ which is due for release soon, produced by York based folk specialist Dan Webster.
Alela Diane – Ether & Wood
The new single from Alela Diane for which we recently shared the new video for here. Taken from her new album ‘Cusp’, an album unapologetically about motherhood, and in turn womanhood. Talking aout the song she said “Ether & Wood’ is a reflection on the different lives that are lived within a lifetime. The doors along the way that often open and close without notice. I live in a very old house, and love thinking about all the people who lived and died within these walls. We’re all in there: the former selves, the lost loves, and the mysterious ones who came before.”
Ross Ainslie – Escaping Gravity
From Ross’ new album Sanctuary, currently one of our Featured Albums of the Month. The spoken words are provided by Poet and Babelfish member Jock Urquhart. In his review of the album, Neil McFadyen concluded “Although unavoidably introspective in places, Sanctuary is by no means a cathartic album. This is no purge, it’s a celebration. The most arresting and impressive aspects of this album are not the message and the direction the music is coming from – it’s the music itself. The writing and musicianship shine in what is easily Ross Ainslie‘s most impressive album so far.” Read the full review here. Sanctuary is available via Bandcamp: https://rossainslie.bandcamp.com/album/sanctuary
Hannah Read – She Took a Gamble
From the much anticipated second album from Brooklyn-based Scottish singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Hannah Read. Way Out I’ll Wander is released on 23 February on Hudson Records. The album was produced in New Hampshire and upstate New York by Charlie Van Kirk and features a cast of musicians including Jefferson Hamer (Anais Mitchell), Jeff Picker and Sarah Jarosz. Hannah has a number of UK solo launch gigs scheduled for February and will tour in April with Kris Drever. Find out more here: www.hannahread.com
Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker – Little Sparrow
Taken from The Birds EP, released in October last year. Order it here.
Elle Mary & The Bad Men – No Baby
From Elle Mary & The Bad Men‘s debut album ‘Constant Unfailing Night’ due for release on 9 March 2017. Currently residing in Manchester where she launched and ran The Folk Cellar for two years, Elle Mary started out as an acoustic folk singer, and her debut album ‘Constant Unfailing Night’ sees her wear her heart and colour her emotions on her sleeve.
Ulaid & Duke Special – Shipyards of Belfast
When contemporary song writing and traditional Irish music meet, the results can be something to be treasured. Such is the case with this new release ‘A Note Let Go’, a collaboration between traditional trio Ulaid, and singer-songwriter extraordinaire Duke Special.
I’m With Her – Game To Lose
The new single from I’m With Her – a kind of folk supergroup featuring multiple Grammy Award winner Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek) and Aoife O’Donovan (Crooked Still). It features on their debut album “See You Around” due for release next month (16 Feb). It has been produced by co-produced by Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Laura Marling, Paul McCartney) and the band and recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath, England.
Matt McGinn – The Right Name
From Irish songwriter, Matt McGinn’s new album ‘The Endof the Common Man’ set for release on 5th March 2018. Recorded between Nashville, Tennessee, and a farmhouse in Co. Down, ‘The End of the Common Man is the 3rd long-play offering from Matt.
‘The End of the Common Man’ features not only the best of local musicians from the north of Ireland, but heavy hitters from all over, namely Nashville’s six string virtuoso Kris Donegan (Rick Rubin/Shania Twain), on the Double Bass from England, Jon Thorne (Yorkston,Thome,Khan/LAMB), and a special appearance from Germany’s Carolina Eyck, one of the world’s foremost Theremin virtuosi.
‘The End of the Common Man’ brings to the fore not only the song writing capabilities of Matt McGinn, but a new found confidence as performer, arranger and producer.
Kenneth J Nash – A Rook and a Dove
From Luna, the latest offering from Kenneth J Nash. Kenneth J Nash has never done things the easy way, but his courage to confront the darker moments of his past has led him to spending his years on the music scene carving out a thriving repertoire of haunting music that stirs the heart and spears the soul. More here: https://kennethjnash.com/
Darlingside – Hold Your Head Up High
The new single from acclaimed alt-folk quartet Darlingside from the February 23rd release of their anticipated new album Extralife (More Doug Records/Thirty Tigers). Extralife finds Darlingside looking to the future, mourning the loss of our world with an almost post-apocalyptic view. While the subject matter may seem bleak, Extralife is not without an underlying sense of hope and optimism. The New Single – HOLD YOUR HEAD UP tackles feelings of loss in the face of change — the idea that nothing lasts forever. When things look bleak, there’s still the possibility of something good up ahead.
Grant-Lee Phillips – Walk in Circles
“I’m drawing from the urgency of the moment,” says acclaimed Nashville-based singer-songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips of Widdershins, his ninth solo album set for February 23, 2018 release on Yep Roc Records. Inspired by “the things that eat away in the late hours,” Phillips invests the insight, nuance and wit in a riveting dissection of today’s fraught social landscape.
Recorded over four days at Sound Emporium in Nashville, the new album, Widdershins was produced by Phillips (guitar/vocals/keyboards) and cut largely live in the studio as a trio with Jerry Roe (drums) and Lex Price (bass). Mixed by Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket) and engineered by Mike Stankiewicz, the album delivers its poetic truths in Phillips’ peerless melodic sensibilities, relayed via vocal performances that balance intensity and vulnerability.
River Matthews – Sunshine
From River Matthews Sunshine EP from last year. This upbeat track also features on his debut album Imogen, due for release on 16th February via Nettwerk Records.
Vivian Leva – Time Is Everything
Vivian Leva’s voice is the sound of living tradition. Raised by parents who paid visits to old-time legends like Tommy Jarrell and Doug Wallin, she grew up steeped in the Appalachian and country music of her Lexington, VA home. With her debut solo recording Time Is Everything, Leva earns a spot in the lineage of great neo-traditional songwriters like Gillian Welch and Sarah Jarosz. It’s clear that Leva possesses a sense of melody and storytelling well beyond her years. She finds inspiration in classic storytellers like Kitty Wells and Texas Gladden, the harmony singing of the Stanley and Everly Brothers, and the pop sensibilities of Mandolin Orange; her originals effortlessly shift between archaic ballads, classic country and honky tonk, and contemporary Americana. Riley Calcagno (The Onlies) and other top-notch collaborators add to the album’s tastefully minimal production, imbuing each story of love and heartbreak with an emotional punch.
The Railsplitters – Jump In
The title track of the latest album offering from The Railsplitters. The Railsplitters’ third album Jump In was released independently in November 2017. Although rooted in traditional bluegrass and old time music, and operating with the instrumentation of a bluegrass band, The Railsplitters are making music unlimited by tradition. With lush harmonies, instrumental virtuosity and non-conformist songwriting, this versatile band draws on influences including folk/roots, Americana, modern pop and rock & roll. Don’t miss their UK Tour which kicks off this month including Celtic Connections. More details here: http://www.therailsplitters.com/
R. Finn – Hard Times Again
Recently premiered on FRUK here. Hard Times Again is the new single from Americana singer/songwriter R. Finn (aka Chris Rondinella), off his forthcoming debut LP, Collecting Trip. Co-produced by legendary drummer Jim Keltner (Bob Dylan, Neil Young, John Lennon), Collecting Trip is an ode to Finn’s deep dive into folk and Americana. The album also features contributions from Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers), Sean & Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek) and more.
The Transports – Roll Down
From our Artist of thre Month – The Transports. The Transports are now on the road with a 14-date tour – aptly bringing the curtain down on January 24 in Norwich – the city from which the story originates. Read our recent interview here and album review here.
…there is nothing else quite like The Transports in the world of folk music, and this new version is if anything even more ambitious than the original. FRUK’s Thomas Blake.
The Transports is out now on Hudson Records.
Available via Hudson Records | Amazon | Propermusic