Glenn Kimpton

It’s clear from this first chapter of Homeland that Seckou Keita is here to take us on a musical journey; peppered with guest artists, the whole thing is a beautiful, buoyant celebration of life and place. Music this joyous and full of pathos is irresistible.

Featuring two quiet stalwarts of the instrumental scene, American fiddle player Mike Gangloff and British fingerstyle guitar ace C Joynes, the music of ‘Tom Winter, Tom Spring’ is fluid and confident, balancing dense intensity with lighter foot-tappers and spacious abstracts. It’s quite a thing.

Three Cane Whale always fill their recordings with splendid arrangements and Hibernacula is no exception. Recorded in Bristol’s prized St George’s venue by Rob Harbron, it is their most accomplished work to date and the freest representation of their sound thus far. Wonderful.

J.R. Bohannon & Dave Shuford’s ‘Reclined in the Haze’ is a cracker, a daring set that manages to balance Eastern musical influences with country licks and experimental improvisation. I already love this and it’s one I’ll revisit for the foreseeable.

Chasing Light, the new instrumental duo album from Henry Parker & David Ian Roberts is a rich, fulfilling work by two intuitive players operating at a very high level and seemingly enjoying every moment.

at Eulogy, the latest live album from the folk alternative experimental trio ‘Setting’ (ft. Nathan Bowles, Jaime Fennelly & Joe Westerlund) is a hell of a journey…get lost in a strange, mesmerising and quite beautiful soundscape.

Gearing up to release Silver Horizon (out this Friday, 16th August), Sheffield-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Sam Carter talks to us about his distinctive new sound.

Dave Malkin & Louis Campbell’s ‘Bird on a Briar’ EP is a lovely little treat; you’ll find yourself keeping it on repeat and quietly gorging on its beautifully nuanced, balanced playing.

Silver Horizon sounds like nothing Sam Carter has made before. As subtle as it is adventurous and finely nuanced, it’s an excellent album and a career-high for Sam who is also our Artist of the Month.

If you’re after a sharp and tight set of traditional Old-time songs played with plenty of vim and a hefty dose of talent, then look no further than Grant / McGuire / Flaherty, a fun slice of Appalachian magic.

Are Possible, the first full album from the trio Nathan Bowles, Rex McMurray and Casey Toll, is an outstanding slow burner of an album that benefits from repeated listens to unearth its intricate melodic details, phrases, time signatures and rhythmic shifts.

Listening now to Lee Underwood’s California Sigh and its overriding mood of tranquillity, it’s hard to see how this album went unnoticed back in the eighties, being chock full of dynamic playing and interesting musical decision-making.