Trembling Bells Collaborate with Ed Askew on new album ‘London’

A few years ago I purchased Ed Askew’s ‘Ask the Unicorn‘ (remastered/reissued) on vinyl via Tin Angel. It’s classic acid-folk, released in 1968 on the historic ESP-Disk catalogue (Pearls Before Swine, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler) when Askew was only 27 years old. Whilst it’s the album he’s arguably most recognised for, he has been a prolific artist in the interim, making some of the best music of his career yet managing to remain on the fringe.

Prior to that re-issue, Tin Angel released For the World (2013), produced by Jerry David DeCicca (Black Swans) which featured contributions from Sharon van Etten, Marc Ribot, and Mary Lattimore. Later they released Askew’s Art and Life in 2017. His work has featured on other labels, too many to mention here but a personal favourite is Rose, released on Okraina Records, a gorgeous double LP featuring separate sessions with Joshua Burkett and Steve Gunn. A glance through the collaborators he has teamed up with across his career to date will give you some idea of the high regard his work is still held in.

Back in 2017, Drag City teamed up with Galactic Zoo Disk! to release ‘A Child In the Sun: Radio Sessions 1969-1970’. The album was from four unearthed reels of recordings of radio sessions of songs from Ed’s first two albums (including a previously unreleased track) Ask the Unicorn and Little Eyes – the title track from the latter is released as a new single today – more on this below.

This latest collaboration came out the 50th Anniversary of the revolutionary Summer of Love. In 2017, Alex Neilson (Alex Rex) booked Mike Heron (Incredible String Band) and Ed Askew for a tour with his own psych-folk darlings Trembling Bells and set off on a Summer of Love Tour.

The groups soon began to mingle. By the end, everybody sang back up on the Sikh dharma quoted in Heron’s ‘A Very Cellular Song.’ And early on Ed Askew’s set included Neilson on drums and Mike Hasting of the Bells on guitar, in addition, Askew’s keyboardist Jay Pluck.

Prior to what would be an iconic show at Cafe Oto in London, this group went to Flesh and Bone Studio in Hackney to record a session live-to-track with Owen Pratt. They were joined by friend and collaborator, violinist Jordan Hunt (The Irrespressibles, Theo Adams Company). 

This album, titled London (out on 19 June), is that live-to-track afternoon session. The songs, all of them from the tour setlist, cover the range of Askew’s career. Just listen below…

The title track from his 1968 masterpiece is there; and also ‘Little Eyes’, which was originally recorded the same year but remained unreleased until 2007 (DeStijl).

Stream it here: https://orcd.co/littleeyes

‘Coast to Coast’ and ‘Little Clouds’ are brand new songs. ‘Starlight in Brooklyn’ was written the night Askew got home from his very first tour in 2012. And ‘Roadio Rose’ remains Askew’s most played and one of his most amazing songs. Watch the accompanying video below: