Cinder Well and Jim Ghedi are no strangers to these pages, and although Jim played on Cinder Well’s No Summer album, this is the first time they have appeared side-by-side for a joint release. The EP, which was released yesterday, includes two tracks. The first, I Am a Youth That’s Inclined to Ramble, is a traditional song made popular through the likes of Paul Brady but first heard by Amelia of Cinder Well via the Irish Traditional Music Archives, sung by Rosie Stewart, from Co. Fermanagh. The second, Pulling Bracken, was first heard by Jim when a friend sent him a recording by the well-known Scottish singer Isla Cameron who was raised in Newcastle (check her album with Lou Killen – The Waters Of Tyne: Northumbrian Songs and Ballads).
The calibre of both songs is so great that I couldn’t choose between them, so instead, I’ve selected the release as an EP of the week – a first for Folk Radio.
As with their recent respective album releases: Amelia’s No Summer and Jim’s In the Furrows of Common Place, a genuine weighty passion is woven through both songs, the delivery of which is never artificial nor contrived. While both frequently reinterpret songs from the past, there is a strong force at play when they sing, the like of which I can only really compare to that connection I’ve seen when watching a sean-nos singer – they get inside the song. It’s simultaneously haunting and emotionally stirring – as if the song chose them.
The accompanying notes provide an insight into both songs and their interpretations:
Amelia leads on I Am A Youth That’s Inclined to Ramble, with Jim providing harmony. Although the ballad is written from the perspective of the male character who leaves for America, Amelia and Jim chose to sing it with the female voice leading, showing that the experience and emotions of both characters are interwoven. Each verse evolves instrumentally in accordance with the story.
The striking artwork for the single is by Ruth Clinton of the Irish band Landless, the perfect match for this song.
On Pulling Bracken, the song is sung from the perspective of a fairy who falls in love with a person collecting bracken on the moors. Collecting bracken and other foliage for crop insulation was a traditional role for women. ‘Highlander’s Farewell’, the fiddle tune played after, was learned from an Alan Lomax recording of Emmet Lundy (Grayson County, Virginia), in which Lundy explains “the piece was composed in the old country, where they had war in Scotland. And when the Highlanders took their departure from the Lowlands. A Highlander had a sweetheart in the Lowlands, and they just give him so long for to bid her farewell; and the low part of this represents the man and the high part, the lady.”
Jim and Amelia connected while touring in the UK and began collaborating pre-pandemic. The traditional material they chose for this EP resonated with them because of themes that run parallel to their pandemic experience, including travel bans that left families and loved ones stuck on opposite sides of the Atlantic. The two tracks were recorded with Harlan Steinberger at Hen House Studios in Venice Beach, California. While in Venice, Jim ran into Jake Falby (Julie Byrne, Chet Faker), who he had previously toured with in England. Jake joined them in the studio, playing viola and bass.
I recently wrote about them here, following news of their tour together in March 2022 (some dates have been added since we wrote that piece, so please see details below). Don’t miss it.
Tour Dates: Jim Ghedi with Very Special Guest Cinder Well
Please try to book tickets in advance. During this time it helps promoters, venues & musicians.
Ticket links here: https://linktr.ee/jimghedi
March 16th – The New Adelphi Club, Hull
March 17th – Leeds, Hyde Park Book Club
March 18th – The Met, Bury
March 20th – Lexington, London
March 25th – The Arc, Winchester
March 26th – West End Centre, Aldershot
March 27th – Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton on Trent
March 30th – The Greystones, Sheffield
March 31st – St Mary’s Creative, Chester
Order the single via Bandcamp