Sam Amidon’s Salt River is an album whose full kaleidoscopic experience is revealed through repeated listens. Eclectic is an easily applied word, but here we have an artist releasing a groundbreaking, spirited and adventurous album that is genuinely worthy of the description.
The true genius of Ross Ainslie’s ‘Pool’ lies in how it reconciles its stylistically varied individual tracks with an overall mood that remains consistent—and consistently engaging, something he pulls off with panache, originality, and an often breathtaking range of musical invention.
In terms of lyrical content and musical atmosphere, To Warm the Winter Hearth is a winter (rather than a Christmas) album. Along with Windborne’s almost supernatural grasp of harmony singing, this an impressive, evocative work of art.
Return to Kielderside is, among other things, a document of what has happened between that first Kathryn Tickell release and the present day-It’s like a long-exposure photograph of an important and highly impressive career in constant evolution.
We catch up with Senegalese kora master Seckou Keita to chat about his wonderful new Homeland (Chapter 1) album, a rich, beaming tapestry, and the various aspects of life that inspired it.
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.
Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings’ Parlour Ballads shines a light on an unfairly neglected part of musical history–a collection of beautifully performed, sad and compassionate songs brought to life by one of folk music’s premier performers.
Displaying a real willingness to push boundaries, The Rheingans Sisters’ ‘Start Close In’ is an endlessly fascinating, multi-faceted album steeped in the traditions of European folk dance but equally inspired by the avant-garde leanings of John Cale and twentieth-century minimalism.
Read ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’, a short story by Emma Tricca. For the first time in my life I had grasped Venice and its metaphor: something beautiful but perilous, the hidden danger, a castle in the sand.
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.
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.
Celebrated Scottish fiddle player Laura Jane Wilkie’s debut album ‘Vent’ screams confidence from start to finish. There are surprises and delights throughout its nine tracks that will demand many listens, each bringing something new.
