Known as a generous collaborator, fiddler and balladeer from Liverpool, Mikey Kenney’s impressive new single and video ‘Dandelion’ is unlike anything he has done before, hinting at a broadening collaborative musical horizon.
Ahead of his extensive Autumn tour that kicks off in Sheffield on 2nd November, Mike Kenney shares his forthcoming single and video ‘Dandelion‘, described as an antidote to fallout – healing, happy, unwavering in the belief that everything will come full circle, bringing hope and reunion.
Taken from his second album on Penny Fiddle Records (planned for Spring 2024), Mikey is joined by John Ellis on piano, Michael Paul Metcalfe on percussion, Nick Branton on clarinets and Beth Porter on cello and backing vocals.
Just a glance through the names Mikey Kenney has worked with reveals the broad musical world he occupies: Vinicio Capossela, Alabaster De Plume, Hannah Moule and The Moulettes, Owen Spafford & Louis Campbell, Bex Burch, and Beth Porter. Mikey shared the following:
“I come to making these recordings as a producer and, I like to think, an imaginative one. Though I’m known as one who is steeped in traditional fiddle music, I’m a multi-instrumentalist, and there are many other music forms dear to me besides traditional music. The fiddle and its music have been a vehicle for me, and through it, I’ve travelled much and had the opportunity to engage in many other forms of music. As any true artist would, my recordings exhibit me creating for myself; I’m expressing what I feel inside, through my musical vocabulary and experimenting with the many ideas that have fermented inside of me during my journey.
“My last physical release, The Reverie Road, hinted at the collision between the traditional & original music worlds that is happening in my mind. Dandelion is song-form and perhaps the most “commercially” accessible piece on the developing album; the rest hints at traditional music, jazz, cumbia music, samba, country, and experimental. The album will be a journey because that’s my nature; I am constantly journeying, and my compositions are a direct testimony of my experiences.
“I’ve released three full-length physical albums so far: The Quest for Rest, The Counsel of Owls and the Reverie Road. They all truthfully mark various points on my journey. This next album will mark where I am now: older, experienced and embracing my eccentricities- bolder in my art.
“Dandelion as a single is an accurate synopsis of this moment – “Now I am much older and a little bolder too.”… It feels like I’m taking my first steps again; I embark on this new journey, emboldened.”
When we were asked if we’d like to premiere Mikey’s video for Dandelion, I was thrilled. There’s a beautiful freedom expressed in this new single, and it’s so unlike anything he’s done before – it’s emancipating, and that should be celebrated. While Mikey Kenney has made a bold step with his new single, it also serves as a reminder of the personal space from which music evolves. Dandelion is a reflection of who he is and where he’s at – an act of being true to yourself…who doesn’t want to roll in the long grass where the dandelions do grow…
Ruby Ingleheart captures all of that wonderful sentiment in her beautiful animation:
Dandelion is out on 20th October 2023 on Penny Fiddle Records – https://pennyfiddlerecords.bandcamp.com/
Mike Kenney Autun Tour 2023
November
2nd Café #9, Sheffield
3rd LEAF, Liverpool
9th Brewery Arts, Kendal
10th Cobalt Studios, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
11th Centre for Folklore, Myth & Magic, Todmorden
13th The Greys, Brighton
14th The Round Chapel, London
17th Bristol Folk House, Bristol
19th Square & Compass, Worth Matravers
20th The Prince Albert, Stroud
22nd The Hyde Tavern, Winchester
25th The Cornish Bank, Falmouth
December
6th The Atkinson Theatre, Southport
8th The Flowergate Hall, Whitby
Website: https://mikeykenney.co.uk/
