Albums

Andrew Vladeck of New York City is releasing not only his EP Passing Knowledge this spring, but a book by the same title. It is also the first edition of the Pocket Songster Series, paying homage to the Pocket Poet Series of San Francisco and through which Beat poet Allen Ginsberg’s works were printed.

Swedish band Mire Kay recently released their debut EP Fortress, it comprises of five songs, tied neatly together with chamber pop arrangements, ethereal vocals and dark often mythical lyrics built out of rich images and hollow, natural sounds which, layer upon layer, create a warmth out of their often sombre subject matters of longing and searching.

Puzzle Muteson is the latest artist to join the Bedroom Community label. His debut recording En Garde plays out a spellbinding and hauntingly evocative fairytale of emotions of one man’s imagination.

Panda Su releases her new EP today, a miniscule four-track but full of deep-bodied yet humbly produced sounds I Begin continues where Sticks & Stones left off.

Marry Waterson and Oliver Knight’s ‘The Days that Shaped Me’ is the result of nearly four years musical collaboration but is ultimately the result of a lifetime of experience. Read our review and hear excerpts below.

Julianna Barwick’s latest release, The Magic Place, has her continuing her graceful inventions, using mainly voice and a loop station. It is an exceptional album where sound and silence intermingle in complete divinity.

C’mon is Low’s follow-up to their 2007 tensely charged Drums & Guns. It is by no stretch of the imagination a crossover, but the balance of the album offers a new vein in their musical explorations.

This is an excellent album, and one that provides a vivid visualisation of salty sea and sunrise. A story of America as narrated by a 21st Century voice that feels so wisely ancestoral in its huskiness.

Oh My Days is the third release from The Memory Band folk collective who tour with often up to as many as ten members, including Adem Ilhan (Adem), acclaimed folk/electronica artist in his own right.

It’s rather a surprise to find this Washington/Seattle harmonica brandishing trio was in fact borne from the disbandment of Pretty Girls Make Graves. Since their 2007 formation, The Cave Singers have been signed to Matador, releasing two records with the New York label before signing to Jagjaguwar in June of last year; and with whom they now release No Witch.

The Loafing Heroes call to mind dreamlike percussive soundscapes, to a lo-fi anti-electronica Efterklang. Where have they gone the amblers of yesteryear? Where have they gone, those loafing heroes of folk song, those vagabonds who wander from one mill to another and bed down under the stars?

Folk Radio UK talks to Californian born musician Alela Diane. Alela gives an intimate insight into her latest album ‘Alela Diane & Wild Divine’. She explains the reasons behind the new sound she has created and what inspires her.