Album Review: Iona Fyfe – Away From My Window

Iona Fyfe is from Huntly in the North East of Scotland and has been performing folk music since she was a young child. Her debut album Away From My Window is a mix of traditional folk songs, interpretations of modern Scottish songwriters, as well as self-penned work and showcases her stunning vocal talent throughout. Still only twenty years old, Iona has been balancing full time study with her music commitments and was recently awarded the Alasdair Gray Bursary which helped to fund this project. Continue reading “Album Review: Iona Fyfe – Away From My Window” →

March 25, 2018 0

Album Review: Hannah Read – Way Out I’ll Wander

Scottish musician Hannah Read now lives in Brooklyn but on her new album Way Out I’ll Wander she keeps her sounds intimate and rootsy rather than reflecting the bright lights of the city. Listening to her music you feel like you’re walking in the gloaming, along a moorland path somewhere far from civilisation. The simple black and white cover conveys the stark beauty of the folk music contained within this album. Continue reading “Album Review: Hannah Read – Way Out I’ll Wander” →

March 20, 2018 0

Album Review: Haley Heynderickx – I Need To Start A Garden

Taking time to cultivate your music before releasing it into the world is vitally important, especially since albums come out every day and many don’t even get the chance to be heard in the infinite online din. Portland based Haley Heynderickx had some false starts before finally sewing things together on this short collection of songs called I Need to Start A Garden. Continue reading “Album Review: Haley Heynderickx – I Need To Start A Garden” →

March 15, 2018 0

Album Review: Sunny War – With the Sun

As a homeless teenage runaway Sunny War found a way to survive by busking and playing music anywhere she could. She learned guitar from a very young age and now writes songs with a mixture of folk, punk and blues influences. What is most intriguing about this artist is her distinctive fingerpicking guitar playing style, showcased throughout With the Sun. Continue reading “Album Review: Sunny War – With the Sun” →

March 13, 2018 0

Album Review: I’m With Her – See You Around

Aoife O’Donovan, Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz first played together in a bathroom at a bluegrass festival a few years ago, and immediately realised the musical harmony they created was something special. Soon after they formed a group, adopted the name I’m With Her, playing shows and eventually finding time to write songs.

Then something strange happened. Purely by coincidence the band name became the slogan for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Overnight they were a hashtag. For a project that had barely begun to suddenly be associated with something so politically significant must have been surreal. The band themselves appear to be quick to distance themselves from the connection, but at the same time it would have been easy enough for them to record under a different name. ‘I’m With Her’ now reads like a declaration of unity and I’ll See You Around proves how strong you can be when you work together.

Continue reading “Album Review: I’m With Her – See You Around” →

February 20, 2018 0

Album Review: Alela Diane – Cusp

To be always on the cusp of potential death is the horror of the human condition, something Alela Diane felt keenly after the difficult birth of her second child. Her new album Cusp explores what it means to be a mother in a chaotic and often brutal world. Continue reading “Album Review: Alela Diane – Cusp” →

February 18, 2018 0

On ‘Libba’ & How Folk Musician Elizabeth Cotten Inspired Laura Veirs

Acclaimed singer songwriter Laura Veirs is a longtime fan of the music of Elizabeth Cotten, the folk musician known as ‘Libba’, who is the subject of her beautiful picture book published by Chronicle Books. Cotten’s story is astonishing – a self taught guitarist who was only discovered in later life due to an unexpectedly wonderful twist of fate. Continue reading “On ‘Libba’ & How Folk Musician Elizabeth Cotten Inspired Laura Veirs” →

January 20, 2018 0

Album Review : Karine Polwart with Pippa Murphy – A Pocket Of Wind Resistance

On the cover of A Pocket of Wind Resistance Karine Polwart’s profile merges with images of the natural world: birds, trees, leaves seem to be a part of her just like brain, blood and bone. Together with Pippa Murphy’s spellbinding soundscapes she has produced a hymn to motherhood, nature, life and death. A companion piece to her one woman theatre show Wind Resistance, to call this work an ‘album’ barely scratches the surface of the ambition of its songs, stories, poetry and politics. This is a piece of compelling conceptual art. Continue reading “Album Review : Karine Polwart with Pippa Murphy – A Pocket Of Wind Resistance” →

December 5, 2017 0

Album Review: Steph Cameron – Daybreak Over Jackson Street

Steph Cameron hails from Saskatoon, the same Canadian town as Joni Mitchell, she’s been a busker living on the streets and her debut album was called ‘Sad-Eyed Lonesome Lady.’ So far, so perfect. ‘Daybreak Over Jackson Street’ lives up to expectations, proving that honest hearted folk songs can be a powerful force for good in the world. Continue reading “Album Review: Steph Cameron – Daybreak Over Jackson Street” →

November 25, 2017 0