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Mishaped Pearls - Cornish Girl - thamesis - www.mishapedpearls.org
The Alistair Anderson Band - The Pilgrim's Way~Grass Of Parnassus~The
Oystercatcher~The Pilgrim's Way - A Lindisfarne Gospel - White Meadow Records www.alistairanderson.com
Paul Downes - Down Among The Dead Men - The Boatman's Cure - Wild Goose
Records www.pauldownes.com
9Bach - Pebyll - Tincian - Real World Records www.9bach.com
Duck Soup - Little Brown Jug~Untitled~Bonne Bouche - Open On Sundays - Hebe
Music
Ben Bedford - Vachel - What We Lost - Waterbug Records www.benbedford.com
Mishaped Pearls - Tamesis - thamesis - www.mishapedpearls.org
The Alistair Anderson Band - Eadfrith's Gift~The Red Shank~The Green
Shank~Lindisfarne Horizons - A Lindisfarne Gospel - White Meadow Records www.alistairanderson.com
Paul Downes - The Old Man's Retreat - The Boatman's Cure - Wild Goose Records www.pauldownes.com
9Bach - Ffarwel - Tincian - Real World Records www.9bach.com
Duck Soup - Mr. Turner's Academy Cotillion - Open On Sundays - Hebe Music
Ben Bedford - John The Baptist - What We Lost - Waterbug Records www.benbedford.com
Mishaped Pearls: 3rd release from this London based seven piece band
that has coalesced around English singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
Ged Flood and German-born mezzo soprano Manuela Schutt and now has the added
boost of multi-instrumentalist and ace record producer Gerry Diver (Lisa
Knapp, Sam Lee, Christy Moore, The Beautiful South). With the Thames River as
the undercurrent between the songs, the album is a sumptuous assortment of
original songs both light and dark, some drawing upon traditional sources, and
includes a lovely reworking of Ralph McTell’s First And Last Man, here
presented as First And Last Woman, played on a wide array of acoustic
instruments including guitar, saz baglama, tenor banjo, tenor guitar,
mandolin, bass, violins and cello and with Diver’s imaginative use of loops
in addition to the arsenal of instruments he brings along – magic!
Alistair Anderson Band: Alistair Anderson is an internationally
recognized master of the English concertina, and no slouch on the Northumbrian
pipes either! On this commissioned work, he pays tribute to Eadfrith,
Bishop of Lindisfarne from 715 to 721, a tiny tidal island off the coast of
Northumberland where he created the magnificently illuminated manuscript The
Lindisfarne Gospels. Drawing upon Northumbrian themes to capture the
complex intertwining designs of the manuscript and slow airs to evoke the
ruggedness and isolation of the island, Anderson has produced a masterful
mélange of composition and performance. Aided by Emily Ball fiddle and viola,
Sophie Ball fiddle, Fiona Beyer cello, Andy May Northumbrian pipes and
whistles, Rachel Newton harp, and Anderson on English concertina this is a
musical feast;
Paul Downes: with appearances on ~250 albums over the years as a
member of The Arizona Smoke Review, The Joyce Gang, The Brighton Taverners,
and duos with Phil Beer, Mick Ryan, and Maggie Boyle, this is only Paul’s
5th solo album although he is joined for the occasion by the aforementioned
Beer (violin, mandolin, acoustic bass guitar) and Boyle (flute, whistle,
bodhran), in addition to Issy Emeney on melodeon, Keith Kendrick on
concertina, Jackie Oates on violin and Gill Redmond on cello; performed
flawlessly, the material covers a tasteful selection of trad arr Downes , a
couple of his own instrumentals, and a lovely selection of contemporary songs
including a lovely Kevin Boyle Irish immigrant song about coming to London, a
harrowing Nick Burbridge anti-war song presumably set in the Balkans, a Mick
Ryan gem about poverty, and John Richards' lovely Honour and Praise amongst
songs from Bob Kirkpatrick, Harvey Andrews and George Ward from New York
State;
9Bach: 2nd album from 9Bach hailing from Gerlan, North Wales and
singing exclusively in Welsh tho with lengthy explanations of the each song in
the accompanying CD booklet, regardless of which the music clearly speaks for
itself in terms of gorgeous harmony vocals and shimmering instrumentation
including harp, harmonium, bass, acoustic and electric guitar, keyboards,
drums and percussion. With songs reflecting the beauty and ruggedness of
their mountainous mining region and the people who thrive in such locations to
the fore on this album 9Bach intend to propel the music of Northern Wales to a
wider audience outside Wales while simultaneously stoking the desire for young
Welsh people to speak their own language and appreciate their cultural
identity and common heritage;
Duck Soup: second album from the quirky and very accomplished
English-Canadian nu-folk and roots UK trio comprising Dan Quinn (Flowers &
Frolics, Gas Mark 5) on melodeon and vocals, Ian Kearey (Oysterband, The Blue
Airplanes) on bass, mandolin, dobro and piano, and Adam Bushell (Stocai)
on marimba, phono-fiddle and musical saw. Great admirers of composer and
accordionist Alfred Montmarquette, who rose to fame in the 1920s in Montreal
although born in New York, whose tunes make a goodly number of appearances on
the CD and in their live performances which they perform grandly in the
English country dance fashion! Featuring excellently sung songs and
sprightly tunes… and probably the only touring band featuring marimba,
phono-fiddle and musical saw!
Ben Bedford: 3rd album from this gifted singer-songwriter from Illinois
who writes story-songs that unfold before your eyes like an epic from the
glory years of Hollywood; literate, insightful, and with a gift for melody,
Bedford ploughs through the oft visited fields of literature, the daily news,
and World and American history to bring us people and events that reveal
themselves in close proximity before us - the homeless, the Confederate
soldier's wife during the Civil War, Amelia Earhart, John The Baptist, the
poet Vachel Lindsay, Jack London, the murder of Emmett Till, and the 1973 Pine
Ridge standoff are some of people and events that populate his songs described
by Chicago Tribune writer Eric Zorn as "American Portrait Writing".
Ben Bedford will be in concert with Little Rock Folk club on Sat Jun 7th 2014.
Streaming live Wed 2000h CMT/Thu 0200h GMT
at http:
www.kuar.org/
Archives on line at
http://www.littlerockfolkclub.org/FAAB/faabindex.html
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mail: albion@kuar.org
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