For all of the enjoyable free expression present across Blake Hornsby’s ‘A Village of Many Springs’, there is also a real sense of musicianship and creativity; it’s an exhilarating listen. Pull up a chair and allow it to wash over you.
Martin Hayes will play a special concert at London’s Union Chapel this month. He will be joined by concertina, bouzouki, and multi-instrumentalist Brian Donnellan, as well as Cellist and Artistic Director of Crash Ensemble Kate Ellis. They are also members of Martin’s Common Ground Ensemble.
Ahead of a live BBC 6 Music session, watch Ida Wenøe performing her new single ‘Walking Mantra’ with Samantha Whates – they perfectly capture the nuance in a moment–an everyday action that suddenly becomes something so vital. Their co-headline tour kicks off this month.
The Ocelots announce their second album and share their new single and video, “About You” – described as a cynical and culturally relevant song as songwriting becomes increasingly more self-involved and narcissistic.
On his album, Nasgino Inagei Nidayulenvi, Oklahoma Cherokee singer and songwriter Agalisiga “Chuj” Mackey makes beautiful country and roots songs that speak of love, death, a reverence for the natural world, all a key part of his personal vision to revitalise the endangered Cherokee language.
On Still + Bright, Amythyst Kiah’s iron-willed music is full of immortal longings, her strident voice radiating warmth and magick. At times, she sounds like a sensual figure going on epic quests, with groove-steeped melodies big enough to span oceans…throughout, she expresses great divinity.
Nadia Reid’s new record ‘Enter Now Brightness’ finds her painting with broader strokes. Watch the video for Baby Bright (featuring New Zealand actress Robyn Malcolm), a beautiful piano ballad with subtle horns – an ode to motherhood.
Nylon string guitar maestro Niwel Tsumbu is a hell of an accomplished player. Throughout Milimo, his tunes sound complex yet are impeccably performed; each song feels like a polished gem, with nothing superfluous or surplus to requirements. What a lovely thing this album is.
A Thousand Pokes is the most potent expression of Stick in the Wheel’s yet. Their songs ring with the joy of specificity and detail, the ferocious joy of marginalised voices making themselves heard, the angry joy of people reclaiming their heritage.
Tunng come full circle on their new album, Love You All Over Again, returning to their folktronica roots, 20 years after their debut. Lead single ‘Didn’t Know Why’ offers some perfect Autumn Wicker Man wyrd-ness.
Tompkins Square have announced a new Robbie Basho 5CD Box Set: Snow Beneath the Belly of a White Swan: The Lost Live Recordings, a live companion to the studio Boxset, Song of the Avatars. Listen to the album track, Himalayan Highlands.
The Ridge Trilogy EPs are tantalising, appetite-whetting snapshots of a work in progress and an atmospheric collection in its own right, Dean Owens is mining gold…
