The Latest
Hailing from south Yorkshire, growing up in Sheffield and Barnsley, Richard Kitson has quietly emerged as one of the best guitar pickers of his generation, one who marries blues and folk styles into a fresh new sound. His latest album also proves that he has the songs and a storyteller’s gift. All of us need our time to escape and 40 minutes on ‘Hermit Hill’ is as good a place …
Our Song of the Day is a track premiere from Swedish songwriter Jenny Lysander. Northern Folk is the title track of her highly anticipated debut album which was produced and arranged by Piers Faccini. Jenny is both a confident and unique voice and her debut album will hopefully giver her the spotlight she so richly deserves, we are all the richer for her music.
We have a video premiere today from Dan Walsh for ‘Whiplash Reel’, a track that features on his latest album ‘Incidents & Accidents’, one of our featured albums of the month. Dan also shares with us the story behind this tune which is rooted in his obsession with Indian classical music which culminated in an amazing trip to India in February 2013.
Da Fishing Hands is a resounding creative success on a number of levels. Inge Thomson and her collaborators have painted a vivid picture of a changed and changing community. It’s as much an important historical document as it is a powerful artistic statement and, above all, a mesmerisingly beautiful record with top class musicians including Sarah Hayes, Fraser Fifield, Steven Polwart and Graeme Smillie.
This is a short film featuring Blair Somerville, a New Zealand based inventor, artist and self-confessed tinkerer. His inventions are made from recycled parts, his mortgage free and he relies on solar power. He has a very simple philosophy that has been driving his creative juices for years, as testified by his Lost Gypsy Gallery, a wonderland of homegrown wizardry and a playground for kids and adults alike.
Here’s a nice exclusive and Song of the Day, with a video for Scott Matthews’ 86 Floors From Heaven created by his good friend Adam Bulley. The intimate solo performance captures the comparatively rare sight of Matthews at the piano and was shot in the shed that is the creative epicentre of Scott’s music making.
Our Song of the Day is a Child ballad (210) from Anglo-American folk music duo Cath and Phil Tyler. Bonnie George Campbell is from their new 6-track CD The Song-Crowned King which is available now and was recorded with Phil Begg in Newcastle upon Tyne. You’ll be hearing more from in the Folk Radio UK playlist.
So who are False Lights, how were they formed? We have the answers in an exclusive video feature today in which Sam Carter and Jim Moray talk about the formation of False Lights, the other musicians in the band, and how they could have been called “Sam and Jim’s Special Relationship”. How can you possibly not want to find out…
Ryley Walker writes songs that reach deep, and sings them from the depth of his own soul. On Primrose Green he plays guitar like he was born clutching a fret board and has never let go. Driven to perform and hungry for an outlet, he delivers bursts of nostalgia, strongly spiced with passages (not moments) of true genius, through contemporary media and with utter sincerity.
We have a great video premiere from Simi Stone who describes her soulful sound as Mountain Motown. Good Friend is taken from her forthcoming self-titled debut album on Reveal Records. You may well recognise the name as Simi was part of The Duke and The King, the quartet, for whom she sang and also played violin, in a line-up which also featured Simone Felice.
Paul heads out on a Monday evening in North London to visit The Islington to catch Vikesh Kapoor and John Blek who have been touring Ireland and the UK together recently. Their British and American themes blending well over the course of a tour that provides cultural counterpoint for the listener to discuss in the bar afterwards.