Last month, Rachael McShane & The Cartographers released their new album, Uncharted. In his review of the album, Glenn Kimpton highlighted how with Rachael’s work with the Cartographers, she simplifies the sound…with guitar and melodeon gently entwined with violin or viola and subtle piano. It is delicate music…but played with high skill and creative musicianship, which allows these eight vocal pieces and two instrumentals to soar.
Below, you can read Rachael’s personal Track by Track.
Uncharted (Track by Track)
Rachael McShane & The Cartographers are
Rachael McShane – vocals, fiddle, viola
Ian Stephenson – guitar, double bass, vocals
Julian Sutton – melodeon
with special guests
Andy May – piano
Janice Burns, Benji Kirkpatrick, Jonathan Proud, Sam Sweeney, Amy Thatcher – backing vocals
Uncharted was recorded and produced by Ian Stephenson at Simpson Street Studios, a beautiful converted church in rural Northumberland in the summer of 2024. It’s such a great place to record and I think the album really captures the sound of the three of us us playing live together in that space. We also had the use of a grand piano for when we were joined by guest musician Andy May. This album has been a long time in the making and on more that one occasion it seemed as though it might not happen, but here it is…we made it!
1. Get Up Jack
Words – trad, melody – Rachael McShane
I found this song in Alan Lomax’s Folk Songs of North America, gave it a new tune and re-jigged a few of the lyrics along the way. It’s a song of the sea, a song of getting older, and a song to remind you that you’re only really welcome at the bar with money to spend.
2. Lady and the Sailor
Words – trad, melody R.McShane
I’ve had a copy of this broadside ballad floating around on my computer for ages. I’ve also had this melody going round my head with no words for quite some time. It was a happy day when I realised they’d make a good match. The poor orphaned sailor boy in this song really knows how to tug at the heart strings and things come good for him in the end. We put this arrangement together in the studio and it has become a favourite to play live.
3. The Blacksmith
Words & melody – trad.
Ian and I put this, and a few other songs together for a special concert to celebrate Vaughan Williams 150 years after his birth . It sounds like Vaughan Williams was a fan of The Blacksmith, and collected various different melodies for it. This one is definitely a winner, I just love it. This is a really stripped back arrangement for us but the simplicity gives space for Ian’s guitar playing to really shine.
4. Dusty Jigs
Dancing on a Holly Leaf – Rachael McShane, High Spirits and Short Attention Spans – Julian Sutton, Percy’s Revenge – Julian Sutton
Despite having written these tunes, Julian and I had to dust them off in our minds before playing them in the band. Dancing on a Holly Leaf was written back in my student days in Newcastle. It was then forgotten until a friend played it in a session and reminded me that I’d written it! Julian wrote High Spirits and Short Attention Spans for his daughter Maria and Percy’s Revenge is dedicated to Kathryn Tickell’s cat. We’ve never got the back story out of him but it’s a cracking tune.
5. The Workers’ Song
Words & melody – Ed Pickford
Originally put together for Vision & Revision, an album celebrating the 80th anniversary of Topic Records, we covered this song from the Dick Gaughan album Handful of Earth. It has become a favourite of ours to play live and still feels relevant to today’s audience. We decided it had to be included on our new album so we re-recorded it for Uncharted.
6. Young Roger Esquire
Words & melody – trad.
Young Roger hasn’t decided if he’s in love with the girl in this song or her horse. Both quite rightly want nothing to do with him.
7. Bonny George Campbell
Words & melody – trad.
It’s a very cathartic experience to sing a really depressing song every now and again, and the imagery in this song of the horse returning home from battle without its rider fits the bill. I’ve always enjoyed the line ‘my barn is too big and my baby’s unborn’. It reminds me of the classic Joni Mitchell line ‘the bed’s too big, the frying pan’s too wide’.
8. Banks of Sweet Dundee
Words – trad, melody – Rachael McShane
The poor woman in this song has had a rough time of it. She is orphaned and living with her uncle who is determined to marry her off to a wealthy squire whom she has no interest in whatsoever. I’ve seen this song described as ‘a folk song with a happy ending’, but as she solves the situation by killing them both I’m not sure it’s entirely ‘happy’.
9. Shivering Stone
Shivering Stone – Alistair Anderson, Jungle of Cucumbers – Julian Sutton, Bingo in Bognor – Rachael McShane
The beautiful opening tune in this set was written by Alistair Anderson as part of his album On Cheviot Hills, inspired by the hills that border England and Scotland. Julian wrote Jungle of Cucumbers after feeling rather inadequate about his ‘offerings’ at a country fair. The final tune was inspired by a rare night off on a tour where we found ourselves playing bingo in a particularly seedy hotel in Bognor Regis.
10. Windy Old Weather
Windy Old Weather – words – trad, melody – Rachael McShane, Les Pêcheurs – Gilles Le Bigot, Trip to Skye – John Whelan
I always loved singing this sea song in soundchecks and with children in schools. One day I gave it a new tune and it morphed into a gentler, end of the night type song. We put it with two beautiful sea themed tunes Les Pêcheurs and Trip to Skye.
Uncharted (March 28th, 2025) Self Released
Order Uncharted: https://rachaelmcshane.co.uk/uncharted-pre-sale
