The long-awaited second album from Breabach titled The Desperate Battle of the Birds is due for release on 22nd March. Breabach caught the attention of Folk Radio UK and many celtic folk music fans back in 2007 with release of their debut album “The Big Spree”. They had a very clear Scottish stamp on their work thanks to a great line-up as well as a double bagpipes.

A new mix with a Celtic Roots theme this week! Plenty of my favourites in here which I’m sure many of you are familiar with. It goes without saying there are plenty more for future mixes. Treat this as a warm up. Enjoy.

The artwork for Salamander greets you with a vibrant warmth: a glowing and alluring amalgam of reds and oranges that is both classy and intense. It is therefore the perfect visual embodiment of the aural splendour that awaits the listener, for the music presented on Salamander is all of these things… and so much more.

Another new Frukie mix is out. Endure was inspired by Poet and Songwriter Gil Scott-Heron which got me thinking about Vic Chesnutt who passed away over Christmas. The mix is like a journey…there are both joyous and contemplative moments…and a couple of mad ones! Enjoy

Ether – Southbank Centre’s annual music festival of innovation, art, technology and cross-arts experimentation – has long been presenting one-off collaborations and groundbreaking work from the likes of Kraftwerk, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke, and David Byrne.

Some of you may, or may not, have heard about Commuinon which is both a record label and club night which is getting a lot of attention right now. The label are about to release a compilation album which we recently featured in a mix. The artists that feature on the album have a massive creative force that, for me at least, places Communion in a spotlight.

Midlake have just released their third album The Courage of Others which has already been primed by Mojo as possibly the album of the year. They have spent the last three years making this album which has led them on a musical journey they have never been on before. They have discovered Fairport, Steeleye Span and ’70s British Folk, all of which has been an influence on this album.

If you haven’t yet heard My Brightest Diamond then this will be a treat. If you have, I’m sure this performance will be rated amongst her best. With simple lyrics that unfold through a mesmerising voice, this ranks amongst my favourite tracks:

To the opening strains of Sheema Mukerjhee’s sitar joined by Mr Carthy’s trademark guitar the Imagined Village cross fertilisation of different cultures continues apace with a clever re-interpretation of the ballad “My Son John” utilising a more chilling, modern ‘take’ on the song’s powerful anti-war

Balmorhea’s previous album All is Wild, All is Silent explored the freedom and isolation of settlers learning to live on an untamed frontier. It was an intensely physical album, dealing with the struggles of man on earth. By contrast, their new album Constellations shifts our focus to the cosmos and beyond, meditating solemnly on the mystical and metaphysical.

Roan Press are excited to announce the launch of Visions of Joanna Newsom, a book of essays, poems, and art responding to Joanna Newsom’s evocative, controversial work.

When I first heard Sharon Van Etten’s “Because I Was In Love”, I was moved beyond words. On my first listen I held my breath in stunned silence. How do you even begin to describe in words something that moves you beyond them. There is an underlying beauty to her voice and music that can move people in an unintelligible way. So after seeing the release of this video yesterday, …