Elliott is living proof that a well-timed whisper can often be more consequential than a shout, and on December songs he takes that aesthetic to its quietly impressive limit. It is hard to see how this album could have come out any better.
We chat to Eliza Marshall, Catrin Finch, Dónal Rogers and Jackie Shave, members of Freedom to Roam, about their album The Rhythms of Migration which will be launched next month at Cecil Sharp House followed by a UK Spring tour.
The Rhythms of Migration is a migratory musical masterpiece and an outstanding album from our Artists of the Month: Freedom to Roam, featuring Eliza Marshall, Catrin Finch, Jackie Shave, Kuljit Bhamra, Donal Rogers, Robert Irvine, Lydia Lowndes-Northcott & Joby Burgess.
Over eleven years of gigs and now four studio albums, Mànran have always shown a healthy appetite for innovation but with Ùrar they’ve taken that to a new level. With a new line-up, they’ve produced an album that sets a fresh benchmark against which to judge contemporary Gaelic music.
Still As Your Sleeping is the stunning new album from singer Karine Polwart and pianist Dave Milligan. Shortly before the record’s release, we sat down with the duo to chat about their new release, babysitting each other’s children and the hunt for patrons with pianos.
On Genius Loci 1: White Peak, The Ciderhouse Rebellion have taken a step further into the unknown, with an album that marries their flawless musicianship with an ever more experimental outlook. The whole album hangs together like a story and is totally captivating.
Karine Polwart and Dave Milligan have crafted an elegantly uncomplicated listen. Dreamy yet thought-provoking at just the right moments, Still As Your Sleeping is an earnest and embracing soundtrack. Thoroughly warm-hearted and beautifully life-affirming. A genuinely gorgeous and magical duet.
Compiled by Lankum’s Ian Lynch, Fire Draw Near is an essential and worthy anthology for anyone with an interest in traditional music and song, it’s also a thoroughly enjoyable, irresistible and inspiring set of songs and tunes.
We chat to John Spiers and Jon Boden (our Artists of the Month) about their new album Fallow Ground that finds them reunited and revelling in the sheer fun of music-making rooted in the English folk tradition.
At the heart of Spiers & Boden’s “Fallow Ground” is the utter joy of two friends making music together. It’s a joyful, exciting, and beautifully produced release and it’s so great to have them back.
David Weir catches up with John Francis Flynn, also our Artist of the Month, to chat about the inspiration behind and making of his debut album ‘I Would Not Live Always’. “…one of the most deeply affecting folk debuts of recent years.”
Taken from his debut album ‘I Would Not Live Always’, watch John Francis Flynn performing ‘Lovely Joan’ live at Connolly’s of Leap. The video, by Director extraordinaire Peadar Ó Goill, cleverly pairs with the story of a local man’s friendship with a cat. Exceptional on all fronts.
