Albums

Joseph Topping, from Wirral, is a multi-instrumentalist / singer / songwriter and by all accounts likes to keep himself busy. As well as gaining a reputation for his own work, he’s also known to use his considerable talent as part of  The John Wright Band, Ashley Hutchings, The Rainbow Chasers and Elbow Jane. Ghosts In The Shadows is his third solo album and first for Fellside Recordings. In this mixed …

One of the greatest things about running Folk Radio UK is the amount of time I get to spend searching out both new and old music. If I was given half the chance, I would happily spend most of the day doing it, OK, and night! I came across this one during another late night hunt. This time I was tracking down old albums through Smithsonian Folkways. The title of …

Bristol based Rachael Dadd’s feet pretty much only touch ground when she hits the stage. For the past two or so years she has been touring almost constantly; playing shows in England and further afield Japan, whilst in-between times; stitching craft things and painting personalised record sleeves for sale at gigs. After the Ant Fight (2009) is a collection of piano ballads and more heavily instrumented tracks with rootsy folk …

Lizzie Nunnery, from Maghull in Merseyside,  has two EP releases under her belt and a string of successful live appearances. Her debut album Company Of Ghosts, released on Fellside Records, provides even more evidence of her performing and song writing prowess. I’m always glad to hear a regional accent in a singing voice and Lizzie’s is an asset from the first line, as is her distinctive vocal style. In the …

Following up 2007’s debut Hopey; Rhode Island-based Allysen Callery released her second album Hobgoblin’s Hat in February this year. The LP’s title tips its hat to Finnish author Tove Jansson, of Moomins fame, who happens to be one of Callery’s favourites. In keeping with this fairytale Moominland, her songs are a collectively dark form of storytelling, with the singer songwriter often reworking her self-written poetry (“Vincenzo Part 1 & 2”). …

You’re unlikely to be familiar with the name T. G. Elias. At present, Elias seems to spend his time travelling between small, select venues who provide valuable opportunities for underground musicians to take their first tentative steps, and reveal their wares to an audience full of expectation and preconception.

Joanna Newsom has come a long way since her 2004 debut The Milk Eyed Mender: a collection of short heartfelt songs, almost nursery rhymes telling of mollusc weddings and dragons. Written by an Elfin-like creature who appears to be a modern incarnation of the Pre-Raphaelite painting The Lady of Shallot, she sings in a shrill accapella voice, commonly likened to that of a child, much to our singer’s dislike. All …

We got a sneak peak of Johnny Flynn’s second LP, Been Listening, due for release on 7th June by UK independent label Transgressive Records; home to folksters on both sides of the Atlantic: Iron & Wine and Jeremy Warmsley most notably.

I just remembered this great track (re-version) of Juana Molina’s, “Salvese Quien Pueda”. It’s taken from the Salvese Quien Pueda ep and includes two Four Tet remixes although this one is “Juanas Epic Re-version”. You can download it here. You’ll be hearing more from Juana soon on our Frukie Channel.

With a recent promise of Songs from the Past we spent some time looking back through our audio library which was very time consuming but a nostalgic experience and came across this: Ali Farka Touré and Ry Cooder – Talking Timbuktu.

Following on from their last release, Carbeth, Trembling Bells return with a well received follow-up, Abandoned Love. Alex Neilson, drummer and creator of the Bells takes the lead on this release which is interesting as it is the drums that Joe boyd first noticed in the interview extract below. That’s not normally a good thing as he points out. But it works…there is no doubt that they give a respectful …

Supporting Joshua Radin, Indie-folk songstress Lissie put on a fantastic performance at The Thekla in Bristol. The Thekla is a floating venue in Bristol, and while the size of the 400-capacity venue is deceiving, it provides an intimate experience thanks to everyone being close to the stage. You can even get away without a mic, as Joshua Radin demonstrated later in the night. Lissie came on after The Staves, a …