Our Song of the Day comes from Amy May Ellis who, while now based in Bristol, was raised in a remote dale in the middle of the North York Moors. Bristol is a vibrant cultural city with a thriving independent music scene, and while it may feel far removed from her roots, the culture, scenery, folklore and wildlife of the countryside loom large in Amy’s music which has an alt-folk leaning that is sure to appeal to fans of This is the Kit and Rachael Dadd who have both featured in our ‘Off the Shelf’ feature. Rachael is also among the choir of singers in this live video for Aud Mother, taken from her recently released debut album Over Ling and Bell, which is available now on eco-friendly 12″ vinyl available directly from Lost Map. Aud Mother is also our Song of the Day, a dreamy delight from start to finish that I haven’t tired of hearing. You can also hear the album version in our Mellow Folk Playlist.
Shaped by sinister folktales, ‘Aud Mother’ celebrates witches, mothers, and the power of friendship.
Amy says of the song:
I was reading a book called Folk Tales from the North York Moors by Peter N. Walker. In it, he mentions the several witches who supposedly lived in the Moors. People believed that these women could shape shift into animals. There is a story about a farmer who was being tormented by a black dog which kept attacking his livestock. One night he waited hidden in the shadows, and when the dog came, he shot it in its hind leg. The next day he went to the house of the local witch and found her in bed with a shot wound in her leg. There are other stories around north Yorkshire of witches turning into hares and causing mischief, they have similarly dark endings. All of these women would have been shunned from the communities they lived in, while at the same time, people would come to them for medicines, advice and love potions. This song is an imagining of the witches coming together at night, drinking tea and spinning thread. It’s also an ode to mothers and the power of friendship.
Featuring:
Beni Evans – Drums and vocals / Jemima Coulter – Guitar and vocals / Alex Heane – Bass and vocals / Rachael Dadd – vocals / Pearl Love – vocals / Lucy Collins – vocals / Rachel Böhlen – vocals
Video Credits:
Edited and filmed by Alex Wilson / 2nd Camera and snack provider Kitty Rowe / Recorded and mixing by Mel Pereira /Assistant sound engineer Emily Andrews.
Over Ling and Bell is out now.
“It’s named after two types of heather that grow on the Moors,” writes Amy, of the story behind Over Ling and Bell. “When I started writing for this album I went for walks with my uncle around the dale and unearthed a whole load of history which rooted itself in the songs. I’d always thought of the Moors as wild, but during that time I started to see how they had been tamed by everyone who had lived on them. From the miners, farmers and peat diggers to the Mesolithic hunters who settled on the hilltops.
“The history of the Moors led me to think about the taming of the wild things and everything we have done as humans to gain a sense of control over our surroundings and our lives. I wondered what we have lost with this taming. A lot of the songs are about illness, an inevitable product of a world where rest is a privilege and crisis is a constant. During the making and recording of the album, I had periods of feeling very lost and paralysingly scared. I found solace in ideas around navigating rather than taming wildness, and became obsessed with maps. I read Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain, Robert Macfarlane’s The Old Ways and dipped a toe into various philosophies. I still feel lost sometimes, but I’ve started finding things to orientate myself with.”
More: https://linktr.ee/amymayellis