[rating=5] Quickbeam are a six piece acoustic/atmospheric band based in Glasgow Scotland. They were formed in 2009 by Monika Gromek, she was later joined by Andrew Thomson after discovering a mutual kinship and love for sparse arranagements. The band has since grown to six members. My first introduction to their music was their debut music video for Seven Hundred Birds which was made by BAFTA short film nominated director Mat …

The next instalment from Simple Folk Radio will be broadcast this Saturday (April 7) at 5.00pm on Folk Radio UK which will feature an exclusive session courtesy of Tony Decker, lead singer of the Great Lake Swimmers. Marking the release of their latest album ‘New Wild Everything‘, we have what is quite simply one of the most beautiful session we could possibly ever air, courtesy of Tony Decker, lead singer …

Allysen Callery will be taking a little time away from tours for April to relax and record her new album which is due out late Summer/early Fall! For those lucky enough to be in right place at the right time she still has a couple of shows for April (details below). For those who are not so lucky here is a great video recording of one of her shows from …

We’ve been playing Sam Amidon’s music on Folk Radio UK since our concept in 2004 and during that time Sam has become a key artist that has helped define and push the boundaries of what we play and introduce to listeners. So we could hardly resist the opportunity of an interview in the lead up to his show at Westminster Reference Library, London on Friday 13th April. Sam Amidon has …

Dan Mangan has just arrived in France and is also about to play shows throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom! This month long venture is in part supported by The Crackling (video below) – the incredible, thoughtful and beautiful project led by Dan’s drummer Kenton Loewen. They also have the pleasure of being supported for many of the shows by Toronto’s Zeus. In this great …

Following the February release of Put Your Back N 2 It (review here), Perfume Genius have already released the great video for Hood, but now they’ve followed that with a far more intimate session, playing 3 songs for La Blogotheque in Paris. Supported by his backing band and swapping between piano and acoustic guitar, Mike knocks out some flawless renditions of Dark Parts, Hood and Normal Song. With the latest …

Jazz-rock quartet Get The Blessing is a heterogenous beast at the best of times. Bassist and leader Jim Barr hails from Portishead while trumpeter Pete Judge and saxophonist Jake McMurchie are both National Youth Orchestra alumni. Tonight, with Goldfrapp’s Daisy Palmer replacing Clive Deamer on drums, they were more chimerical than ever. But the band take an almost schizophrenic joy in opposites and, slinking onto stage in identical evening wear, …

Watch this great video feature of Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell live at The Lexington which was recorded by Mosaiclawns on 27 March 2012. Watch out for how Jonny makes good use of a ticket stub to dampen his guitar strings on ‘Just Like the Old Days’. Just Like the Old Days Down In Adairsville Jack & Jill Dixon Street Benjamin Brown Stand Up Show Song For A Sweetheart Jonny …

Scott Rudd is currently based in New York City where he is working on a series of lo-fi 4-track cassette demos. There is a rawness and exposed fragility to his music that is mirrored in his photography work. His images are stark, real and often overshadowed by poverty and despair. It is this type of vision and honesty that often makes people feel uncomfortable, where some reel in the artificial …

Trampled by Turtles grew out of a desire to play acoustic and roots music, a break for the band members from playing the rock music they had became accustomed to playing in their individual bands. Those first sessions made a big impact, big enough for each band memeber to decide this wasn’t going to be just a side project granting them some temporary release. That was back in 2003 and …

[rating=3] American singer songwriter Will Stratton says that his albums are ‘most comprehensible in fall or early winter’. Perhaps it’s because we’re across the pond, but Post Empire feels entirely suited for Summer. It has the sound of the mid-west, with adept and agile fingerstyle guitar that places itself in the middle of a dusty desert sunset, bouncing off rocks and into the ether. ‘You Divers’ begins with swooning filmic …

[rating=3] Two narratives will dominate discussion of Hannah Cohen’s Child Bride. The first situates her within a lineage of female singer-songwriters. The second recounts Cohen’s past life as a model before explaining the album’s emergence from a dizzyingly fashionable New York scene comprising artists like Ryan McGinley and Terry Richardson as well as a stable of the city’s finest musicians. But both approaches, straying too far from her music, fail …