Jim Ghedi and Toby Hay share video for new single ‘Gylfinir’

Jim Ghedi & Toby Hay have today released, Gylfinir (‘curlew’ in Welsh), the final single from their self-titled second collaborative record, out May 26th on Topic Records. As with their previous duo album, 2018’s The Hawksworth Grove Sessions (reviewed here by Glenn Kimpton), this new album finds Ghedi on 6-string and Hay on 12-string guitar, recorded live over three days at Giant Wafer Studios, mid-Wales (a favourite studio with lots of analogue gear – as revealed in a recent interview with Toby here on another project).

Gylfinir takes the listener through a series of journey-like movements, opening at a deliberately meditative pace to Ghedi’s gently slow-paced strums accented by Hay’s faster fingerwork. You soon forget there are two players, becoming lost in the dance of cascades and twists that are reminiscent of birds in flight. After the opening, we are greeted with a beautiful melody, followed by a faster-paced traditional-sounding tune, before the again the pace slows for the gentle finale.

Shot in Sheffield’s Abbeydale Picture House and recorded live, the video displays the beautiful interplay of Ghedi & Hay’s unified talents. The song is the perfect finale, serving as the closer to a sublime album. It is dedicated to the memory of Keith How, a dear friend, artist and painter.

Jim Ghedi tells us:

“This track was written for the memory of our close friend Keith How, who sadly passed away in the winter of 2021. Keith was an inspiring artist who was working on a project with Toby at the time, where he was drawing and painting Curlews and Toby would correspond with pieces of music towards the selected paintings. This project sadly would not be completed as Keith passed away during the process; we decided on calling the track ‘Gylfinir’ as it’s Welsh for Curlew. Keith was introduced to mid-Wales through Toby and instantly fell in love with the area and its natural beauty & wildlife.”

Toby Hay also collaborated with Keith How on a much earlier project, along with blacksmiths Nick Buchan and Tom Robinson of Gofannon Forge, combining music, paintings and sculptures, shown as an exhibition entitled Three Perspectives: Birds in 2016. The resulting EP, titled ‘Birds’ (featuring tracks named after the Starling, Raven, Curlew and Red Kite), reviewed here by the late Nick Dellar (also a fingerstyle guitarist), featuring cover artwork that was painted by How during a live performance of the music in Bakewell.

As with previous work, nature and landscape play a large part in their soundworld, which they evoke so beautifully here. We’ll be bringing you more on the album soon.

Jim Ghedi & Toby Hay (CD/Vinyl/digital) is out May 26^th on Topic Records.

Pre-order & pre-save here