Confessions from 'a scholar of roots music history'
Three-time Canadian Folk Music Award nominee, Sarah Jane Scouten releases new album, Confessions on November 22nd; including singles 'Ballad Of A Southern Midwife' and 'You Are The Medicine'.
Steeped in North American and British Folk music, Sarah Jane's music delivers a signature mix of vintage folk and country, with modern sounds and subjects. It has ticked boxes with folk and American press on both sides of the Atlantic. “Observant, outspoken, and at the top of her craft ... a gifted songwriter, a scholar of roots music history and travelling musician, ” said Folk Radio UK
Originally written for Sarah Jane's first album ten years ago, first single, Ballad of a Southern Midwife (released in August) comes from the imagination of a young and naïve songwriter, cured with age, and once again released with more hell-fire than ever.
“It is also one of the most relevant songs I've written. ... This song is about the overlap of religious intolerance and sexual oppression and a woman's fight to live on her own terms, regardless of the consequences,” said Sarah Jane.
Like any songwriter worthy of the name, Sarah Jane easily explores love with a fine-toothed comb, although not limited to romantic love, she confesses ... Perhaps more than I'd like to admit, Confessions is a break up record. There was a quick change over from letting go of a past love and making room for a new one which would end up becoming my marriage. Her classic country soul epitomised in love song You Are The Medicine, an ode to her healing medicine, her husband.
Raised in a musical family on Bowen Island BC, where harmony singing was more common than watching television, Sarah Jane commits to her roots, using her warbling voice and knack for storytelling to captivate and transport her audiences. Her songs run the emotional gamut, creating a world of characters who come alive in her often haunting and equally whimsical ballads.
Sarah Jane's fourth album, "Confessions" was recorded in Toronto with veteran producer Andre Wahl (Light Organ Records), and is a further exploration of Americana sounds and song forms. It is a collection of revelatory songs -- a series of confessions -- which valorise, condemn and eulogise the most important relationships of her life to new harrowing heights.
Sarah will be in Glasgow for Celtic Connections in January 2020, before heading out to pplay a series of gigs in Germany and The Netherlands during the Spring. For more information visit the website www.sarahjanescouten.com
Steeped in North American and British Folk music, Sarah Jane's music delivers a signature mix of vintage folk and country, with modern sounds and subjects. It has ticked boxes with folk and American press on both sides of the Atlantic. “Observant, outspoken, and at the top of her craft ... a gifted songwriter, a scholar of roots music history and travelling musician, ” said Folk Radio UK
Originally written for Sarah Jane's first album ten years ago, first single, Ballad of a Southern Midwife (released in August) comes from the imagination of a young and naïve songwriter, cured with age, and once again released with more hell-fire than ever.
“It is also one of the most relevant songs I've written. ... This song is about the overlap of religious intolerance and sexual oppression and a woman's fight to live on her own terms, regardless of the consequences,” said Sarah Jane.
Like any songwriter worthy of the name, Sarah Jane easily explores love with a fine-toothed comb, although not limited to romantic love, she confesses ... Perhaps more than I'd like to admit, Confessions is a break up record. There was a quick change over from letting go of a past love and making room for a new one which would end up becoming my marriage. Her classic country soul epitomised in love song You Are The Medicine, an ode to her healing medicine, her husband.
Raised in a musical family on Bowen Island BC, where harmony singing was more common than watching television, Sarah Jane commits to her roots, using her warbling voice and knack for storytelling to captivate and transport her audiences. Her songs run the emotional gamut, creating a world of characters who come alive in her often haunting and equally whimsical ballads.
Sarah Jane's fourth album, "Confessions" was recorded in Toronto with veteran producer Andre Wahl (Light Organ Records), and is a further exploration of Americana sounds and song forms. It is a collection of revelatory songs -- a series of confessions -- which valorise, condemn and eulogise the most important relationships of her life to new harrowing heights.
Sarah will be in Glasgow for Celtic Connections in January 2020, before heading out to pplay a series of gigs in Germany and The Netherlands during the Spring. For more information visit the website www.sarahjanescouten.com
Special new offering from Ireland's Tommy Sands
A new album release from Tommy Sands is always a special event but “Fair Play To You All” on Spring Records is perhaps one of his most special offerings of all.
One glance at the cover or a single listen to the music will immediately delight of course but there is so much behind the cover and between the lines that you will find yourself slowly feasting on the contents for a long time to come. The title itself is an oft used throwaway line in Ireland but in the pen-hand of Tommy Sands it becomes much more profound and an overture to the album itself.
Tommy Sands, Co Down's singer, songwriter and social activist has achieved something akin to legendary status in his own lifetime. From the pioneering days with the highly influential Sands Family, bringing Irish Music from New York's Carnegie Hall to Moscow's Olympic Stadium, he has developed into one of the most powerful songwriters and enchanting solo performers in Ireland today.
His song writing, which draws the admiration of Nobel Poet Laureate Seamus Heaney and father of folk music Pete Seeger, prompts respected US magazine "Sing Out" to regard him as "the most powerful songwriter in Ireland, if not the rest of the world".
His songs, like There were Roses, and Daughters and Sons, which have been recorded by Joan Baez, Kathy Matthea, Dolores Keane, Sean Keane, Frank Patterson, Dick Gaughan, The Dubliners and many others have been translated into many languages and are currently included in the English language syllabus in German secondary schools.
In May 2002 Tommy Sands received an honorary doctorate of Letters from The University of Nevada for his outstanding work as musician and ambassador for peace and understanding and, May 18th was pronounced "Tommy Sands Day in Reno".
In December 2002 although the Northern Ireland Assembly had been stood down, Sands managed to persuade the Members to return for a special Christmas musical party together.
As one political after another joined him on stage for a song, Loyalist leader David Ervine was heard to remark, "Tommy Sands is the only man, without a private army, who can intimidate me." The concert which was recorded for the Sands weekly radio programme, later received a special award at the "World Festival of TV and Radio" in New York.
The song "Music of Healing" co-written with Pete Seeger in 1994 has inspired and given title to an annual seminar to create a "Higher Quality of Disagreement" between opposing Political and Religious leaders of Northern Ireland continues at Rostrevor’s Fiddlers Green Festival to this day.
In 2009 his performance at Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday in Madison Square Garden was among the best in a steller line up which included Bruce Springsteen and Joan Baez In 2019 he wrote the music and performed in the verbatim play “Blood Red Lines” featuring victims and those bereaved in the “Troubles”.
His much-awaited new CD “Fair Play To You” has finally arrived and is released 27th Sept 2019.
For more information and tour dates, visit www.tommysands.com
One glance at the cover or a single listen to the music will immediately delight of course but there is so much behind the cover and between the lines that you will find yourself slowly feasting on the contents for a long time to come. The title itself is an oft used throwaway line in Ireland but in the pen-hand of Tommy Sands it becomes much more profound and an overture to the album itself.
Tommy Sands, Co Down's singer, songwriter and social activist has achieved something akin to legendary status in his own lifetime. From the pioneering days with the highly influential Sands Family, bringing Irish Music from New York's Carnegie Hall to Moscow's Olympic Stadium, he has developed into one of the most powerful songwriters and enchanting solo performers in Ireland today.
His song writing, which draws the admiration of Nobel Poet Laureate Seamus Heaney and father of folk music Pete Seeger, prompts respected US magazine "Sing Out" to regard him as "the most powerful songwriter in Ireland, if not the rest of the world".
His songs, like There were Roses, and Daughters and Sons, which have been recorded by Joan Baez, Kathy Matthea, Dolores Keane, Sean Keane, Frank Patterson, Dick Gaughan, The Dubliners and many others have been translated into many languages and are currently included in the English language syllabus in German secondary schools.
In May 2002 Tommy Sands received an honorary doctorate of Letters from The University of Nevada for his outstanding work as musician and ambassador for peace and understanding and, May 18th was pronounced "Tommy Sands Day in Reno".
In December 2002 although the Northern Ireland Assembly had been stood down, Sands managed to persuade the Members to return for a special Christmas musical party together.
As one political after another joined him on stage for a song, Loyalist leader David Ervine was heard to remark, "Tommy Sands is the only man, without a private army, who can intimidate me." The concert which was recorded for the Sands weekly radio programme, later received a special award at the "World Festival of TV and Radio" in New York.
The song "Music of Healing" co-written with Pete Seeger in 1994 has inspired and given title to an annual seminar to create a "Higher Quality of Disagreement" between opposing Political and Religious leaders of Northern Ireland continues at Rostrevor’s Fiddlers Green Festival to this day.
In 2009 his performance at Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday in Madison Square Garden was among the best in a steller line up which included Bruce Springsteen and Joan Baez In 2019 he wrote the music and performed in the verbatim play “Blood Red Lines” featuring victims and those bereaved in the “Troubles”.
His much-awaited new CD “Fair Play To You” has finally arrived and is released 27th Sept 2019.
For more information and tour dates, visit www.tommysands.com
Third album for 'Singing Social Worker' Edd
Edd Donovan,acclaimed singer-songwriter, is releasing his third studio album, 'Guardians Of Our Time', on Tuesday 19th November 2019.
Edd is a highly distinctive singer and songwriter with a rare, original talent. His sound is heartfelt - comforting, yet challenging – wise. He’s a folk songwriter in the most contemporary sense. He crafts songs that tell stories of modern life; a lyrical alchemist weaving meaning with glorious melodies.
His début album, Something To Take The Edge Off, was released in April 2014. The album garnered high praise in the press and radio. Edd’s professional experience as a Social Worker has inspired a number of his songs (he continues to work as a Mental Health Social Worker) and The Guardian’s article on Edd, “The Singing Social Worker” gained his songwriting international attention.
Edd released his second album, Making Mountains (Vol. 1), in June 2016. A remarkable piece of originality, it contained tracks such as ‘I Am’ which was selected by Reg Meuross for his Radio 2 Folk show playlist in January 2018 with the words, ‘Edd Donovan isn’t famous, but with songs like this he should be’. Edd has toured extensively throughout the UK since 2014, playing everything from solo shows to ten piece band concerts, including support slots for John Smith, Reg Meuross, Ralph McTell, Boo Hewerdine, Megan Henwood, Devon Sproule, Emily Barker and many more.
Guardians Of Our Time was recorded at Edd’s home throughout 2018 and 2019 and is a marked contrast to the full band sound and production of his last album ‘Making Mountains Vol 1’ (2016). Edd has self produced using mostly what he can create with his voice, guitar and keyboards (even iPhone recordings). There is a subtle influence of the more experimental albums that Edd was inspired by during this period, such as Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Carrie and Lowell’, John Southworth’s ‘Niagara’ and Father John Misty’s ‘Pure Comedy’.
For more information, visit the website www.edddonovan.co.uk
Edd is a highly distinctive singer and songwriter with a rare, original talent. His sound is heartfelt - comforting, yet challenging – wise. He’s a folk songwriter in the most contemporary sense. He crafts songs that tell stories of modern life; a lyrical alchemist weaving meaning with glorious melodies.
His début album, Something To Take The Edge Off, was released in April 2014. The album garnered high praise in the press and radio. Edd’s professional experience as a Social Worker has inspired a number of his songs (he continues to work as a Mental Health Social Worker) and The Guardian’s article on Edd, “The Singing Social Worker” gained his songwriting international attention.
Edd released his second album, Making Mountains (Vol. 1), in June 2016. A remarkable piece of originality, it contained tracks such as ‘I Am’ which was selected by Reg Meuross for his Radio 2 Folk show playlist in January 2018 with the words, ‘Edd Donovan isn’t famous, but with songs like this he should be’. Edd has toured extensively throughout the UK since 2014, playing everything from solo shows to ten piece band concerts, including support slots for John Smith, Reg Meuross, Ralph McTell, Boo Hewerdine, Megan Henwood, Devon Sproule, Emily Barker and many more.
Guardians Of Our Time was recorded at Edd’s home throughout 2018 and 2019 and is a marked contrast to the full band sound and production of his last album ‘Making Mountains Vol 1’ (2016). Edd has self produced using mostly what he can create with his voice, guitar and keyboards (even iPhone recordings). There is a subtle influence of the more experimental albums that Edd was inspired by during this period, such as Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Carrie and Lowell’, John Southworth’s ‘Niagara’ and Father John Misty’s ‘Pure Comedy’.
For more information, visit the website www.edddonovan.co.uk
New album and UK tour for Belgian Trio Dhoore
Trio Dhoore are a young and talented band of musical brothers from Flanders in Belgium; they formed their trio in 2010.
Their extensive repertoire of traditional Flemish tunes is punctuated by song and many of their own compositions. This mix all goes to provide their audiences -- Classical, World, Folk -- with a soundscape where traditional and contemporary music, melancholy melodies and intuitive interplay merge to unique effect. The brothers Dhoore, Koen, Hartwin & Ward present their instrumental music in a very dynamic way - writing and playing many of their own compositions - whilst at the same time they breathe life and energy into traditional Flemish music with a skill that belies their ages.
Their new album “August” consists of nine instrumental chapters and tells about the story of a Flemish fisherman called August who survived over thirty three dangerous journeys between Flanders and Iceland in the 18th century in order to feed his family back home.
A man who never gave up and in doing so became an inspiration to many. August is a purified collection of self-written tunes by the Dhoore-brothers; the result of making music together for almost ten years. Diatonic accordion, hurdy gurdy, guitar, and electronic effects complement each other seamlessly in the musical soundscape that this album is set.
For more information and full tour dates, visit triodhoore.com
Their extensive repertoire of traditional Flemish tunes is punctuated by song and many of their own compositions. This mix all goes to provide their audiences -- Classical, World, Folk -- with a soundscape where traditional and contemporary music, melancholy melodies and intuitive interplay merge to unique effect. The brothers Dhoore, Koen, Hartwin & Ward present their instrumental music in a very dynamic way - writing and playing many of their own compositions - whilst at the same time they breathe life and energy into traditional Flemish music with a skill that belies their ages.
Their new album “August” consists of nine instrumental chapters and tells about the story of a Flemish fisherman called August who survived over thirty three dangerous journeys between Flanders and Iceland in the 18th century in order to feed his family back home.
A man who never gave up and in doing so became an inspiration to many. August is a purified collection of self-written tunes by the Dhoore-brothers; the result of making music together for almost ten years. Diatonic accordion, hurdy gurdy, guitar, and electronic effects complement each other seamlessly in the musical soundscape that this album is set.
For more information and full tour dates, visit triodhoore.com
Jesse Marchant announces European tour dates
Jesse Marchant is a Swiss-Canadian multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and record producer based in New York City. Marchant, who has released four studio albums to date, is excited to announce a European tour - with UK dates in December, in support of his most recent album Illusion Of Love.
Illusion of Love is the sound of awakening and emergence, from crises both personal and political. It’s a farewell to isolation, ushering in an album full of buoyant, triumphant Indie–folk-rock anthems.
Jesse has completed numerous headline tours of the US and Canada, whilst performing high profile support slots for the likes of Mercury Prize-winning group Alt-J, Other Lives, Nathaniel Ratecliff, Sondre Lerche, Rogue Wave, Cloud Cult, Heartless Bastards, Local Natives, AA Bondy, Damien Jurado, and many more. Marchant's songs have also featured on several Emmy Award-winning shows including Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, Shameless, The Blacklist, Eyewitness, and Bones.
Jesse also produced several of his own music videos, including two live in studio video albums and a trilogy starring Christopher Abbott and Amanda Seyfried. In 2018 Marchant produced the Official Video for Sister, I, directed by Brady Corbet, winner of two Golden Lions at the Venice film festival.
His short UK tour starts in London on Tuesday 10th December and concludes in Glasgow on Friday 13th December. For more information and full tour dates visit www.jessemarchant.com
Illusion of Love is the sound of awakening and emergence, from crises both personal and political. It’s a farewell to isolation, ushering in an album full of buoyant, triumphant Indie–folk-rock anthems.
Jesse has completed numerous headline tours of the US and Canada, whilst performing high profile support slots for the likes of Mercury Prize-winning group Alt-J, Other Lives, Nathaniel Ratecliff, Sondre Lerche, Rogue Wave, Cloud Cult, Heartless Bastards, Local Natives, AA Bondy, Damien Jurado, and many more. Marchant's songs have also featured on several Emmy Award-winning shows including Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, Shameless, The Blacklist, Eyewitness, and Bones.
Jesse also produced several of his own music videos, including two live in studio video albums and a trilogy starring Christopher Abbott and Amanda Seyfried. In 2018 Marchant produced the Official Video for Sister, I, directed by Brady Corbet, winner of two Golden Lions at the Venice film festival.
His short UK tour starts in London on Tuesday 10th December and concludes in Glasgow on Friday 13th December. For more information and full tour dates visit www.jessemarchant.com
Portraits release album inspired by uncertainty
Married acoustic duo Lorraine and Jeremy Millington, aka The Portraits, are releasing a new album of songs inspired by the uncertain times we’re all living through.
‘For Our Times’ is an album of thirteen songs inspired by 2019, snapshots of today’s world and reflections of our inability to find true peace, to resolve the sharp divides in wealth in rich western nations and of a history we should study but perhaps not be quite so keen to revisit.
Galway-born singer Lorraine and her Bristolian husband Jeremy, who performed at 2019’s Glastonbury Festival, say that they are not trying to preach with their new songs.
“Not at all, no, said Jeremy. "This is an album that is critical of where we are, but hopeful that who we are will find us a path through: an inspirational, connected human race that stops itself just in the nick of time before it strays too far back to a past from which we’ve spent decades, centuries even, extricating ourselves.
"This is just the viewpoint of two people whose songwriting has long been inspired by the world around them. It feels like a mirror of humanity in 2019 through our eyes.”
The album will be released on 25th October 2019 on iTunes, Spotify and all popular platforms and on CD and Vinyl, available from the duo’s website. For more information visit www.theportraitsmusic.com
‘For Our Times’ is an album of thirteen songs inspired by 2019, snapshots of today’s world and reflections of our inability to find true peace, to resolve the sharp divides in wealth in rich western nations and of a history we should study but perhaps not be quite so keen to revisit.
Galway-born singer Lorraine and her Bristolian husband Jeremy, who performed at 2019’s Glastonbury Festival, say that they are not trying to preach with their new songs.
“Not at all, no, said Jeremy. "This is an album that is critical of where we are, but hopeful that who we are will find us a path through: an inspirational, connected human race that stops itself just in the nick of time before it strays too far back to a past from which we’ve spent decades, centuries even, extricating ourselves.
"This is just the viewpoint of two people whose songwriting has long been inspired by the world around them. It feels like a mirror of humanity in 2019 through our eyes.”
The album will be released on 25th October 2019 on iTunes, Spotify and all popular platforms and on CD and Vinyl, available from the duo’s website. For more information visit www.theportraitsmusic.com
57 date Autumn US and UK tour for Sarah McQuaid
Spain-born, American-raised and UK-based singer/songwriter Sarah McQuaid is out on the road again for twelve solid weeks of touring, with 35 shows in the USA and 22 in the UK, winding up back in her adopted home county of Cornwall on November 30th.
Produced by guitar legend Michael Chapman, Sarah’s fifth solo album If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous is distributed worldwide by Proper on LP as well as CD, and has received rave reviews worldwide: Dutch music magazine Heaven hailed it as “an early contender for folk album of 2018,” the UK’s fRoots said it was “a collection to savour” and the USA’s PopMatters called it “a gateway into a true innovator’s soul.”
“I’m really looking forward to getting out on the road again,” says the singer, who recently won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ards International Guitar Festival; electric guitar, piano and drum also feature in her arsenal of instruments onstage.
“After the intensity of last year’s album-release touring, I made the decision not to do any long tours in the first half of this year,” Sarah continues, “although I did manage to get over to Ireland to perform at the Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival, which was fantastic, and I’ve just come back from playing at a folk festival in Belgium.
“But it’s all been short little trips out, so it’ll be great to be finally getting my teeth into a proper tour. The US tour is coast-to-coast — we start off in North Carolina, then head northwest to Colorado via St Louis and on to Idaho and Oregon, then down into California, then back east again through Wyoming, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana to South Carolina and Virginia, then north up the east coast, finishing with a week of New England gigs – so we’ll see a massive range of different terrains and landscapes. I can’t wait!”
For full tour dates and further information, visit www.sarahmcquaid.com/tour
Produced by guitar legend Michael Chapman, Sarah’s fifth solo album If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous is distributed worldwide by Proper on LP as well as CD, and has received rave reviews worldwide: Dutch music magazine Heaven hailed it as “an early contender for folk album of 2018,” the UK’s fRoots said it was “a collection to savour” and the USA’s PopMatters called it “a gateway into a true innovator’s soul.”
“I’m really looking forward to getting out on the road again,” says the singer, who recently won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ards International Guitar Festival; electric guitar, piano and drum also feature in her arsenal of instruments onstage.
“After the intensity of last year’s album-release touring, I made the decision not to do any long tours in the first half of this year,” Sarah continues, “although I did manage to get over to Ireland to perform at the Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival, which was fantastic, and I’ve just come back from playing at a folk festival in Belgium.
“But it’s all been short little trips out, so it’ll be great to be finally getting my teeth into a proper tour. The US tour is coast-to-coast — we start off in North Carolina, then head northwest to Colorado via St Louis and on to Idaho and Oregon, then down into California, then back east again through Wyoming, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana to South Carolina and Virginia, then north up the east coast, finishing with a week of New England gigs – so we’ll see a massive range of different terrains and landscapes. I can’t wait!”
For full tour dates and further information, visit www.sarahmcquaid.com/tour
The Kilpecks - folk from the fringes of the Celtic World
The Kilpecks were formed from the splintered shins of folk-funk favourites the Lonesome Stampede. Although the Kilpecks are rawer and are keen to allow the stories to take the listener past the shadows of this world.
Their debut single; Haunted Man, does just that. It’s a song of betrayal and revenge, but these seemingly timeless themes hide the fact that it was penned in the wake of #MeToo Movement, for there still many modern stories to tell.
Their new single, Dead Drovers tells the story of two brothers, whose father dies at Cricklade, en-route to driving their cattle from the Welsh hills to an English market. They wish to bury him next to their mothers grave, so they tie his body to the bull, earning them the infamous name; the Dead Drovers.
Some of The Kilpecks members, the main vocalists and songwriter, dwell not far from our namesake, the incredible Kilpeck Church in Herefordshire, which is full of Norman Romanesque carvings that have to be seen to be believed. Other members, guitarist and violinist, live within in the warm embrace of the Celtic World of Wales and Cornwall.
The Kilpecks are excited to add their sound and stories to the folk and roots music of this varied and beautiful land. If you’re interested in playing their music or asking them to perform please email thekilpecks@yahoo.com or check out https://soundcloud.com/user-965355191
Their debut single; Haunted Man, does just that. It’s a song of betrayal and revenge, but these seemingly timeless themes hide the fact that it was penned in the wake of #MeToo Movement, for there still many modern stories to tell.
Their new single, Dead Drovers tells the story of two brothers, whose father dies at Cricklade, en-route to driving their cattle from the Welsh hills to an English market. They wish to bury him next to their mothers grave, so they tie his body to the bull, earning them the infamous name; the Dead Drovers.
Some of The Kilpecks members, the main vocalists and songwriter, dwell not far from our namesake, the incredible Kilpeck Church in Herefordshire, which is full of Norman Romanesque carvings that have to be seen to be believed. Other members, guitarist and violinist, live within in the warm embrace of the Celtic World of Wales and Cornwall.
The Kilpecks are excited to add their sound and stories to the folk and roots music of this varied and beautiful land. If you’re interested in playing their music or asking them to perform please email thekilpecks@yahoo.com or check out https://soundcloud.com/user-965355191
Stroll On, Steve's acclaimed debut album, was first released in 1974.
In the early 1980s Steve made two albums for the UK Peace Movement called the 'Demo' Tapes. They were released on cassette only.
The 1990 album Mysterious Ways featured the Steve Ashley Band.
Stroll On, reissued in 1999 with a new cover and extra tracks.
Everyday Lives, album number seven, was released on Topic Records in 2001.
Time and Tide was Steve's ninth solo album, released in 2007.
Fire and Wine: An Armchair Guide to
Steve Ashley by Dave Thompson (Biography, paperback, published 2013) Covering Steve’s fifty year journey, the book includes interviews with many old friends, including Fairporters, Dave Pegg, Chris Leslie, Bruce Rowland and Maartin Allcock, plus Shirley Collins, Linda Thompson and Colin Irwin. Now he has a book to sell on gigs along with his many albums, and after successful duos with Al Fenn and Dik Cadbury he’s made a renewed commitment to live performance, pared down now to just the man and his guitar. For further details visit steveashley.co.uk |
Steve Ashley: still strolling on, 40 years on!
 Simon Nicol and Steve Ashley at Dave Pegg's 60th birthday concert
Steve Ashley is one of the most enduring singer-songwriters on the contemporary folk scene. It's now forty years since the release of his groundbreaking album Stroll On - a collection of thoughtful self-penned songs which drew on the tradition of English folk, but added a cutting edge and reached out to an entirely different audience.
Over the years Steve's material has been covered by many leading folk artists including Fairport Convention, Martin & Jessica Simpson, Anne Briggs, Maggie Boyle, Grace Notes, Wizz Jones, The Bushwackers, St Agnes Fountain, Phil Beer and The Owl Service. The songs are just as relevant today - and four decades on he is still writing, performing and considering recording 'one last album.' I first interviewed Steve in the late 1970s, before a concert in Cheltenham which previewed his forthcoming album Rare Old Men. He was still at the vanguard of the British singer-songwriter scene, yet the album was never released; after meeting him again forty years later, I found out why. "The first two albums, Stroll On (1974) and Speedy Return (1975) were put out on the Gull label, which was a subsidiary of DECCA. Then, to my great surprise, the company did a marketing and distribution deal with Motown in the USA. So both albums were released in the states through Motown. And two extensive tours of America were arranged for me.” said Steve. “I supported Gene Clark, The Chris Hillman Band, Tracey Nelson, Jimmy Buffet, Leon Redbone and many others. The gigs were mostly along the east coast and down into the south. There were also a couple of nights in Toronto.” "But just after the release of Speedy Return and immediately before the start of my second US tour, Motown pulled out of its agreement with Gull. Shortly after that the label had to cut back on its commitments, so along with others on the label I lost my contract with them and the project was shelved. But quite a few of the songs made it on to later albums." Yet his solo performances in the States didn't go un-noticed. After his 1975 solo performance in Greenwich Village, Variety Magazine said "Steve Ashley of London is a delightful surprise ... The performer not only sings his originals well, but has one of the funniest of dry stage raps. His voice is good. His originals are sensitive, ex-of the Albion Country Band, Ashley can hold an audience." But getting himself heard in America wasn't always easy. "I found myself in Dallas, singing a song about an English winter in a state where the seasons and weather patterns are very different . A few songs in, there was an awful lot of noise and I was beginning to wonder how I could get them to listen. I tried a blues number on the harmonica, but even that failed to cut through. Then I lowered the volume and quietly sang 'The Foggy Dew' unaccompanied. There was complete silence for that with solid applause at the end. From then on, once I’d got their attention, the rest of the songs went down well." Listening is the key to appreciating Steve's music. The songs are always delicately structured, under-pinned with a strong message delivered through thought-provoking lyrics. He was an active peace campaigner in the 1980s, and his gently persuasive messages still cut through his music today. His present live tour features a diverse set with songs about Iraq, Trident, racial harmony, atheism, apples, orchards and loving relationships, all couched in his irrepressible good humour. "Although many of my songs are controversial, I try to present them in a way that makes them accessible to everyone. But inevitably there are challenging moments. After one gig where I sang the Trident song, ‘Ships of Shame’ I was approached by a former submariner who had served on one of the subs and to my amazement he was very courteous and friendly. He said he felt no shame on board but then said he thought it was a very good song." After a career in which he secured the respect of his peers, played in various bands and wrote music for a number of projects - including television - Steve took an eight-year break from live performance in 1992. After his return one of his best-loved songs Best Wishes, was written as a blessing to his fellow musicians, many of whom had seen their careers grow and prosper during his long absence. "The folk scene had lost its edge for me at that time and I stopped recording and performing, turning my attention to writing and designing campaigns for various charities and pressure groups. But in the end, with the reissue of Stroll On I was drawn back to the stage and now I’m happy to be on it again. When I turned sixty I had a big concert party with many old musical chums. Just prior to their arrival I realised how important those friendships were to me and the value that live music held for us all and I managed to express that in Best Wishes." Fairport Convention later concluded two albums with the song, first on Sense of Occasion and then a live version on Live At Cropredy 08. In 1999, the re-issue of Stroll On was welcomed by the music press, especially Mojo, who said "The passing of time has confirmed two things about Steve Ashley's debut. First, it's up there with Liege and Lief, the first Steeleye Album and Christy Moore's Prosperous, a masterpiece of its kind. Second, it is still a best-kept-secret. A beautiful, rich and deeply atmospheric collection of songs, very English - like a musical impression of Dickens, Victorian Christmas cards and Thomas Hardy's Wessex..." Following the re-release of the album, Steve contacted Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention. "Peggy” - he said, I'm coming back. Can you put me on at Cropredy?" "I'm afraid we're fully booked, said Peggy, but why don't you join us on stage." "So I did...” Steve explained: "...first at the traditional warm-up gig in the Mill Arts Centre at Banbury, and then on the Saturday night headliner. After an eight-year break I was very apprehensive facing 20,000 people gathered in the field - but it was great to be up there with Fairport to sing Fire and Wine." Two years later, Steve's seventh album Everyday Lives was released on Topic. "I was pleasantly surprised when they took it on. I’d always admired Topic but it is the quintessential traditional label, and the purists hadn't always been open to my songs. In the early days it was very difficult for young songwriters to break into traditional folk clubs, and although things have improved, there is still a lot of daft prejudice towards original songs. However, Topic were very supportive and enthusiastic about both the albums I made for them and I think they are among the best I’ve made" The second one for Topic was Steve's ninth solo album in 2007 (the eighth was a live one, released the previous year). The ninth - Time and Tide - was described as 'a modern day masterpiece' by fRoots magazine. The Guardian said "... sturdy melodies are matched with a rare blend of emotion and anger. Ashley may not be prolific but his songs are worth the wait." A fresh interest in Steve's music generated thereafter and resulted in many more artists covering his songs. He marked forty years of recording with a special concert at Cheltenham Town Hall in 2009 - with strings arranged by Nick Drake’s arranger, his old friend Robert Kirby, a long-time musical collaborator, who sadly died later that year. In 2013 the respected rock author Dave Thompson published a musical biography called Fire and Wine - an armchair guide to Steve Ashley; the title taken from one of Steve's most popular songs. (See column left for further information). "I'm back where I was in the Stroll On days, just me and the guitar out on the road. But I’m 68 now, and like everyone at my age things aren't quite what they once were. I’ve developed a circulatory disorder called Raynaud's which affects the finger tips in cold weather. So it makes it difficult to play a full set during the winter." But Steve is on the road this side of Christmas - and will be out there again next Spring and through to the Autumn. That one last album seems to call. He played me his latest song, ‘People In Love’ which is quite wonderful. There are, I am convinced, a lot more where that came from. "I've been thinking of doing another album. And if I do it will probably just be me and the guitar; that's more or less how I play now. I've done many big productions on previous albums but the new songs are very direct and intimate and if I can, I’d like to present them in that way - stripped back, clear and simple." Finally: the state of the nation. Who is out there to take up the baton and carry it forward? "Oh, I don’t know. There are lots of hugely skilled young musicians out there and some talented songwriters too. There are college courses in traditional music now, and a high level of musicianship is emerging. In many ways these are exciting times for lovers of folk music. But a surprising amount of young folkies seem to focus on the past and disconnect from contemporary life. When I was young we were fortunate to have some brilliant elder song writers in the British folk scene like Ewan MacColl, Sidney Carter and Ian Campbell. All of them loved traditional songs as well. But they took on big contemporary issues in their songs and they inspired a passionate political and ethical engagement with the world. Our great traditional repertoire is still there of course but for the folk tradition to make any real sense in today’s world it needs to foster radical contemporary songs. From what I’ve heard in the clubs you’re still more likely to hear a song about Napoleon than a song about Iraq. There are some notable exceptions of course – and more power to them - but we are living in hard and dangerous times. And songs can bear powerful witness to them. Folk songs are songs of the people and we the people need new songs that engage with the real challenges we face today. I still believe that songs can make a real difference to the world and influence change. And we need them now more than ever.” Steve Ashley's influence is still powerful. His ability to write a song that will move your heart and make you think is as strong as it ever was. I, for one, can't wait to hear the next album (This Little Game - due for release in February 2015) Mike Weaver (August 2014) For more information visit www.steveashley.co.uk |
Bright Morning Star will shine again this Christmas
It's one of our favourite Christmas traditions (well, since last year): listening to Bella Hardy's wonderful album Bright Morning Star. The good news is that Bella is on the festive road again this December. She took time out of her busy schedule to talk to Armandaleg Music's Mike Weaver. (Interview: Dec 2013)
MW: For me, Bright Morning Star was one of the musical highlights of last Christmas, with some magical interpretations of classic songs. Will this year's tour feature any new material?
BH: Well that's very kind of you! Yes, there's some new material this year; I've actually finally managed to write my own original Christmas song! This is the fourth year of the tour, so it's taken a while…There's so many Christmas songs that I love, I try to include a few different ones each year so there's always something new. So many of them encapsulate the emotions of the season so well. I think Christmas itself causes a kind of concentration of feeling, be that positive or negative sensation. The job of any great song is to translate these feelings, so I think Christmas music has an amazing head start, and this results in very powerful songs.
MW: Battleplan seemed to take your songwriting into a new, more personal direction.Will the upcoming Christmas tour reflect this too, or are you sticking to a more traditional flavour?
BH: Battleplan is definitely more overtly personal than my previous records, but actually the songs I've recorded have always been very personal to me, I just tend to hide myself into lyrics so you can't tell! In every song, be it one of my own, traditional, or a cover, I'm putting myself into the character or the story, finding Stanislavski's 'chink in the armour'. If I can't do that, I don't sing it. I make every song about myself, I'm very egocentric! But hopefully I'm taking the listener with me as well, and they're putting themselves into the story too. I think it's the only way to achieve any suspension of disbelief. And nobody wants to watch a faker. I don't think I've every managed to sing 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' without fighting back tears.
MW: So, what influenced your choice of songs for Bright Morning Star? Are they tunes which remind you of family Christmas traditions or songs which have any particular nostalgic connections?
BH: There's a whole mix of influences when it comes to the Bright Morning Star songs. The first is definitely the festive traditions back home, the carols of South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. Castleton is my local traditional carol village, it's just over the hill from Edale. I recorded 'Down In Yon Forest', collected in Castleton by Vaughan Williams in 1908, on my debut CD Night Visiting, and then another Castleton song 'All In The Morning' on 'In The Shadow of Mountains'.
It seemed only natural to take these carols on the road. Christmas and the singing that goes hand in hand with it is very much a community experience for me; we've always sung in the village choir, and done carols door to door back home; I'm really just trying to take this great feeling of community and home and belonging on the road with me. I pick any songs, old or new, that can communicate that.
MW: You've just returned from a grand musical tour of Canada; did you learn anything of Christmas traditions there?
BH: I'm afraid not! I was there September to October, I really missed the season! Well actually Cara Luft sang a couple of beautiful Canadian Christmas songs to me, so who knows what Christmas crossovers the future holds...
MW: The Bright Morning Star tour looks like a heavy schedule up and down the country, in a variety of different venues. Do you try and select more intimate settings to add to the atmosphere?
BH: There's always a great variety of venues, from front rooms to churches to formal theatre spaces. We create the intimacy with the music (of course), but I give it a helping hand with a ridiculous amount of baubles and fairy lights! I basically spend the whole month untangling the things! But that's an important Christmas tradition, right?
MW: Right! But will you be 'Christmassed Out' by the end of the tour, or will you still be up for more songs around the piano in Edale?
BH: I have never managed to get 'Christmassed Out'. Not a chance. I try and put off any festivities until advent starts to avoid over stretching it. Well, apart from tour preparations, plum brandy and Christmas Cake making in November that is. OK, who am I kidding!
MW: So is it back to Edinburgh for Hogmanay, and straight back to work in the New Year?
BH: New Year's Day 2013, I wrote a newsletter and made my sister Emma design the 'Battleplan' CD cover with me… maybe we'll take the day off this time!
MW: You will be 30 next year (sorry!) and I think a special milestone tour is planned to mark the occasion. Will there be a new album to go with it?
BH: Please don't be sorry! I'm not! I'm very excited about the whole thing. Yes, I turn 30 in May, and I'm hitting the road with my band The Midnight Watch for a tour called 'Thirty for 30'; thirty gigs for my 30th birthday! There won't be an album with it, I think you've all heard quite enough from me for a while! But I will have a little EP of birthday songs to celebrate the occasion.
MW: Thanks for finding the time to talk to us, Bella. Every success with Bright Morning Star and your future projects. (December 2013)
For more information and tour dates go to www.bellahardy.com
MW: For me, Bright Morning Star was one of the musical highlights of last Christmas, with some magical interpretations of classic songs. Will this year's tour feature any new material?
BH: Well that's very kind of you! Yes, there's some new material this year; I've actually finally managed to write my own original Christmas song! This is the fourth year of the tour, so it's taken a while…There's so many Christmas songs that I love, I try to include a few different ones each year so there's always something new. So many of them encapsulate the emotions of the season so well. I think Christmas itself causes a kind of concentration of feeling, be that positive or negative sensation. The job of any great song is to translate these feelings, so I think Christmas music has an amazing head start, and this results in very powerful songs.
MW: Battleplan seemed to take your songwriting into a new, more personal direction.Will the upcoming Christmas tour reflect this too, or are you sticking to a more traditional flavour?
BH: Battleplan is definitely more overtly personal than my previous records, but actually the songs I've recorded have always been very personal to me, I just tend to hide myself into lyrics so you can't tell! In every song, be it one of my own, traditional, or a cover, I'm putting myself into the character or the story, finding Stanislavski's 'chink in the armour'. If I can't do that, I don't sing it. I make every song about myself, I'm very egocentric! But hopefully I'm taking the listener with me as well, and they're putting themselves into the story too. I think it's the only way to achieve any suspension of disbelief. And nobody wants to watch a faker. I don't think I've every managed to sing 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' without fighting back tears.
MW: So, what influenced your choice of songs for Bright Morning Star? Are they tunes which remind you of family Christmas traditions or songs which have any particular nostalgic connections?
BH: There's a whole mix of influences when it comes to the Bright Morning Star songs. The first is definitely the festive traditions back home, the carols of South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. Castleton is my local traditional carol village, it's just over the hill from Edale. I recorded 'Down In Yon Forest', collected in Castleton by Vaughan Williams in 1908, on my debut CD Night Visiting, and then another Castleton song 'All In The Morning' on 'In The Shadow of Mountains'.
It seemed only natural to take these carols on the road. Christmas and the singing that goes hand in hand with it is very much a community experience for me; we've always sung in the village choir, and done carols door to door back home; I'm really just trying to take this great feeling of community and home and belonging on the road with me. I pick any songs, old or new, that can communicate that.
MW: You've just returned from a grand musical tour of Canada; did you learn anything of Christmas traditions there?
BH: I'm afraid not! I was there September to October, I really missed the season! Well actually Cara Luft sang a couple of beautiful Canadian Christmas songs to me, so who knows what Christmas crossovers the future holds...
MW: The Bright Morning Star tour looks like a heavy schedule up and down the country, in a variety of different venues. Do you try and select more intimate settings to add to the atmosphere?
BH: There's always a great variety of venues, from front rooms to churches to formal theatre spaces. We create the intimacy with the music (of course), but I give it a helping hand with a ridiculous amount of baubles and fairy lights! I basically spend the whole month untangling the things! But that's an important Christmas tradition, right?
MW: Right! But will you be 'Christmassed Out' by the end of the tour, or will you still be up for more songs around the piano in Edale?
BH: I have never managed to get 'Christmassed Out'. Not a chance. I try and put off any festivities until advent starts to avoid over stretching it. Well, apart from tour preparations, plum brandy and Christmas Cake making in November that is. OK, who am I kidding!
MW: So is it back to Edinburgh for Hogmanay, and straight back to work in the New Year?
BH: New Year's Day 2013, I wrote a newsletter and made my sister Emma design the 'Battleplan' CD cover with me… maybe we'll take the day off this time!
MW: You will be 30 next year (sorry!) and I think a special milestone tour is planned to mark the occasion. Will there be a new album to go with it?
BH: Please don't be sorry! I'm not! I'm very excited about the whole thing. Yes, I turn 30 in May, and I'm hitting the road with my band The Midnight Watch for a tour called 'Thirty for 30'; thirty gigs for my 30th birthday! There won't be an album with it, I think you've all heard quite enough from me for a while! But I will have a little EP of birthday songs to celebrate the occasion.
MW: Thanks for finding the time to talk to us, Bella. Every success with Bright Morning Star and your future projects. (December 2013)
For more information and tour dates go to www.bellahardy.com