080115

Intro: Fairport Convention - Medley: The Lark in the Morning/Rakish Paddy/Fox Hunter's Jig/Toss The Feathers - Liege & Lief - A&M Records


Martin Simpson, Andy Cutting Nancy Kerr - Fair Rosamund - Murmurs - Topic Records www.martinsimpson.com/ ~ www.andy-cutting.co.uk/ ~ www.nancykerr.co.uk/
Nancy Kerr &  The Sweet Visitor Band - It Was Red - It Was Red & Gingerbread - www.nancykerr.co.uk/
The Drystones - Van Dieman's Land - A Tale of  Sound And Fury - www.thedrystones.co.uk/

Ana Alcaida - Sono - Tales Of Pangea- ARC Music www.ana-alcaide.squarespace.com/
Maria Ana Bobone - Auto-retrato - fado & piano - ARC Music www.mariaanabobone.com/
The Stray Birds - Loretta - Echo Sessions - www.thestraybirds.com/

Martin Simpson, Andy Cutting Nancy Kerr - The Plains of Waterloo - Murmurs - Topic Records www.martinsimpson.com/ ~ www.andy-cutting.co.uk/ ~ www.nancykerr.co.uk/
Nancy Kerr & The Sweet Visitor Band - Gingerbread - It Was Red & Gingerbread - www.nancykerr.co.uk/
The Drystones - The Queen Victoria - A Tale of  Sound And Fury - www.thedrystones.co.uk

Ana Alcaida - Madenda - Tales Of Pangea- ARC Music www.ana-alcaide.squarespace.com/
Maria Ana Bobone - Twilight - fado & piano - ARC Music www.mariaanabobone.com/
The Stray Birds - I Wish It Would Rain - Echo Sessions - www.thestraybirds.com/


Martin Simpson, Andy Cutting Nancy Kerr - "After a very successful tour and recording schedule over the last six months the wonderful new trio with Martin Simpson, Andy Cutting and Nancy Kerr will release their debut album together on June 8th. Murmurs was recorded in January this year and captures all the excitement of three master musicians having musical fun together. The album will appear on DL, CD and a limited edition Deluxe CD/DVD set. It’s a collection of songs that communicate to the listener a sense of bonded musicianship, a real feeling and empathy for each other’s playing and a collective love and innate understanding of the music. Recorded with award-winning producer Andy Bell, the combination of traditional songs, such as ‘Fair Rosamund’ and a stunning ‘Plains of Waterloo’, and original compositions, including ‘Dark Swift’ and ‘Not Even The Ground’ makes for a compelling listening experience; stories are told with instruments played by these masters of their respective crafts, but this is no showcase, more an expression of the joy of playing and singing between three absolutely intuitive musicians." - Topic Records website www.topicrecords.co.uk/category/news/

Nancy Kerr -  "Already a respected interpreter of traditional material, Nancy’s emergence as a writer of rare style has drawn comparisons to William Blake in her reawakening of a radical folk mythology as a backdrop for contemporary narratives about love and conflict, motherhood, migration, hardship and jubilation, and the tensions between rural and urban life. Nancy is one of the most celebrated folk musicians of her generation, and has to date won 6 Folk Awards from BBC Radio 2: 2015 FOLK SINGER OF THE YEAR • HORIZON AWARD 2000 • BEST DUO 2003 and again in 2011 with James Fagan • BEST GROUP 2014 with The Full English • BEST ALBUM 2014 with The Full English. Nominated Best Original Song 2011 for Queen of Waters. Winner Best Album (Spiral earth 2011) for Twice Reflected Sun (Navigator041)." - Artist's website

The Drystones - "It’s been a few years since The Drystones released their first album - The Album (or what you will) - in late 2012. But the duo are back with twelve sparkling new tracks on a release deservedly funded by their loyal fans through Pledge Music. From the first toe-tapping track, highlighting superb composing skills, to a slightly more melancholic, traditional song telling of the transportation of poachers in the 1800s, A Tale of Sound and Fury sees the band take on bigger and better things. And whilst the Somerset-based lads are now studying almost at opposite ends of the country, their relationship as musicians seems to have grown only stronger and more determined. The new album once again captures perfectly the energy and personality of The Drystones - but this time both the music and the arrangements are certainly more sophisticated, showcasing how both have developed and matured as artists. Ford Collier (guitar, whistles, vocals) and Alex Garden (fiddle, vocals) have certainly been hard at work since their last album. The addition of a couple of songs (Van Diemen’s Land and Rock of Ages) demonstrates how the pair continue to add strings to their bow. Already fine musicians and composers (note, for example, The Hemp Jig), Ford and Alex also appear perfectly comfortable tackling songs which require strong and emotive vocals - and while these songs may be newcomers to the normal repertoire, they break up the tune sets nicely and add variety to the album as a whole. Once again, the duo call upon their adventurous sides to put together unique, hand-crafted arrangements, ensuring that all instruments enjoy a moment in the spotlight. The result is that each track on the new album is wonderfully textured, with individual strands of sound and character so tightly woven together that the end sound is bold and exciting. What continues to be evident on the second album is that the duo really do enjoy playing and working together. In experimenting with different sounds and arrangements the pair steer clear of the norm and do so with real gusto and passion. The Drystones: back and better than ever. With A Tale of Sound and Fury expect the same energetic, dynamic and flawless handling of tunes at break-neck speed, but with an added air of sophistication. Do keep your eyes and ears open for these rising stars as they prepare to take the festivals by storm this summer." Rebekah Foarde - bright young folk review

Ana Alcaida - "Ana Alcaide is a Spanish performer, composer and music producer who carries out research on ancient traditions and cultures. At the age of seven she took up classical violin and began her lifelong journey in music. She studied at the Getafe Conservatory of Music (Madrid) and later at Lund University (Sweden). She has received formal scientific and musical training in several countries (Spain, Sweden and Mexico) and holds a biology degree with a specialization in botany from the University of Complutense in Madrid. Her investigative spirit has led her to carry out a wide range of projects, including the study of mushrooms found in the Baja California Desert and the filming of bird nests in Scandinavian forests. It is this same spirit that fuels her desire to research ancient musical instruments and repertoires. After being awarded a biology scholarship in 2000, Ana travelled to Sweden where she first laid hands on the nyckelharpa, a traditional Swedish instrument that dates from medieval times. Attracted by the complexity and depth of its sound, Ana taught herself how to play the nyckelharpa on the streets of Toledo, far from its traditional setting. In 2005 she returned to Sweden to further pursue her music studies and to specialize in this Swedish folk instrument. During this time she was also influenced by other musical traditions and began studying other instruments and voice. She graduated from Malmö Academy of Music (Bachelor in Performing Arts) after successfully completing a personalized program (Individual Project) in which she focused on world music, combining her interest in traditional music with the study of more modern techniques. This has allowed her to carve out her own path as both a performer and a composer. After listening to her music in Samarkand (Uzbekistan), Indonesian music producer Franki Randen invited Ana Alcaide to travel to Java island (Indonesia) and join the GOTRASAWALA FESTIVAL, which purpose is to integrate Sundanese arts with the international scene. With the objective of a long term music collaboration, Franki gave her all creative freedom to write new music and work with an open group of different musicians and this repertoire was elaborated in two different phases: during November 2013 and October 2014. Both musical and personal interactions among the group generated a natural desire of exchange and an open dialogue that Ana wanted to register, to show the musical complicity that emerged from this encountered and the overcome of the apparent barriers between both worlds." - Artist's website

Maria Ana Bobone - "is unanimously recognized as one of the best of her generation's fadistas. She sings it and she does it in a distinct way: in the tradition of all the great voices. Maria Ana Bobone started singing Fado at age 16, after completing courses in both Piano and Singing at the National Conservatory of Music. Her debut album entitled "Alma Nova", performed in partnership with two other singers, would set the beginning of a brilliant career. She then recorded two albums for MA Recordings: “Luz Destino” and “Senhora da Lapa”, revealing a refined musical taste and where she welcomes new instruments to her fado (harpsichord and saxophone) in addition to the usual presence of the Portuguese guitar. Her career continued with the release of “Nome de Mar”, a project that gave her the deserved public recognition and which collected the most positive reviews from all the "media." The qualities and enormous talent of Maria Ana Bobone led her to make various incursions in other musical projects, constantly engaging in successful partnerships. It were those same qualities that led her to gather around her prestigious guitarists as Ricardo Rocha and Pedro Caldeira Cabral, each contributing with the uniqueness and beauty of their own compositions that reached, in the voice of Maria Ana Bobone, the pursued sonority of it's creators. Performing constantly in Portugal's major venues (Belém's Cultural Centre, Oporto's House of Music, São Luiz Theatre, Culturgest Auditorium, among many others) Maria Ana performs regularly at numerous festivals and concert halls throughout the world, presenting Fado Music and Portuguese culture to other cultures (England, USA, Brazil, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, France, Mexico, Italy, Morocco, Malta, Netherlands, India...) Released June 2012, she presents the album - Fado & Piano. In it, partnering with producer Rodrigo Serrão, Maria Ana explores and reveals the full dimension of her talent: composing, writing, singing, creating musical arrangements and playing all the songs on the piano, she re-defines it as an instrument of choice in accompanying Fado (tradition that dates back to the early twentieth century). Innovating once again, she sustains it in a deep respect and knowledge of old traditions, accompanied as always by the inescapable Portuguese Guitar and the Double-bass." - Artist's website

The Stray Birds - "have been flying high since the 2012 release of their critically acclaimed self-titled album. The band – multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Maya de Vitry, Oliver Craven, and Charlie Muench – hails from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. All three are classically-trained musicians who’ve been making music of all kinds since childhood (before they reconnected through the local music scene, de Vitry and Muench first met in middle school orchestra); however, they were also all raised with a steady diet of music ranging from pioneers like The Carter Family and Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys to the joyous invention of The Beatles and The Band, to the groundbreaking artistry of Jimi Hendrix. After college, Craven was playing with Muench in a bluegrass band called River Wheel when he and de Vitry first met. Craven and de Vitry began sharing their original songs with one another, playing local open mics, and busking regularly at Lancaster’s Central Market. In an effort to preserve their songs before an impending parting, the pair recorded the Borderland EP in a friend’s basement studio in 2010. Muench appeared as a guest bassist on a few tracks. It was only a year before the trio would wrap up other endeavors and reassemble in a recording studio, independently releasing their first full-length album, The Stray Birds, in 2012. “Making that record was a really great process for us to learn how we work together as a band,” explains de Vitry. The album became a critical darling: NPR included it on their 10 Best Folk/Americana Albums of the Year list and several songs from the project were in heavy rotation on taste-making radio stations like WXPN. The 2013 EP, Echo Sessions, consists of covers of songs penned by Townes Van Zandt, The Louvin Brothers, Jimmie Rodgers, Nanci Griffith, and Susanna Clark." - Artists' website



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