Folk

The Winter Mountain 2014 UK Tour Interview.

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The outstanding debut ALBUM “Winter Mountain” available NOW on iTunes, Amazon etc.
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/win…

https://www.wintermountain.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/wintermountain
https://twitter.com/winter_mountain
https://twitter.com/CharcoalRecords

Please sign up to their mailing list

filmed in April 2013.
Directed by Jack Liley – http://www.weareseallegs.com
Edited by Duncan Rice – http://www.blood-bank.co.uk
All copyrights for video and audio belong to Charcoal Records 2013

Winter Mountain (Joseph Francis and Martin Smyth) are a folk duo that incorporate a wide gamut of musical influences. It is hard to pigeonhole their style or their alliance to one specific sub-genre. But one thing remains: they are here to deliver high quality music for discriminating ears like you and me.

If you want to read about their interesting history, check this page: https://www.facebook.com/wintermountain/info

Below is the interview with Winter Mountain. Big thanks to my friend Paula who talked to the artists after the Cara Dillon concert she attended with our Gilly.

  1. On the scale of 1 to 10, how’s the UK tour going in terms of the excitement.

It’s extremely exciting. We are loving the opportunity to get out there and play our original music. It’s an honour.

  1. Your new album is out in different formats including CD which I love! How’s the experience recording the tracks.

    Winter Mountain concert. Photo by Paula.

    Winter Mountain concert. Photo by Paula.

Recording is perhaps the most rewarding of all the different components that make up a life in music. You get to witness a song you’ve written at home with an acoustic guitar grow into this enormous sonic piece of art. We recorded at some legendary Studios. Also, we were lucky enough to meet a couple of our heroes whilst recording the album. Robbie McIntosh of the Pretenders, Paul McCartney and John Mayer came and played slide guitar on a few tracks. We were honoured!

  1. Can you cite memorable experiences touring with Cara Dillon?

Touring with Cara is an amazing experience because she has one of the most beautiful voices in the world, and that’s no exaggeration. Between her, her husband/keyboard player/producer Sam Lakeman and her band there is so much that we can learn. Just being able to spend time talking and playing with musicians of that experience and calibre is an honour.

  1. Do you like meeting fans and hearing what they have to say about your music and why do you think it is important?

It’s great to hear from fans. There’s nothing better than hearing about how one of the songs you’ve written may have affected that persons life.

  1. I have many favorites including She a Little Light and Tell me. What pushed the move for both of you to release an album?

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    Onstage with Cara Dillon and crew. Photo by Paula.

We wanted to spread our creative wings. We had recorded an EP which was going down well and we felt like we had more to offer. The album is in a fairly eclectic mix of styles and with both really pleased that we managed to draw on a lot of our individual different musical influences. There simply wasn’t room for that on the EP.

  1. Can you site your musical influences?

Where to begin?! Simon and Garfunkel, the Everly Bros, the Beatles, The Police, Ryan Adams, Cat Stevens, Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor… We could go on and on and on!

  1. What can we expect from Winter Mountain this year?

Touring, touring, touring! We have a full UK tour coming up in November and loads more dates in 2015 to come!

  1. Are you planning to work on another album next year?

We are writing all the time so there will probably be an album in 2015. We have so many live commitments currently that it’s difficult to find time to get in the studio!

  1. Message to your listeners?

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    So proud of the postcard and CD. Thanks to Paula for making these possible.

Thanks to everyone for listening, thanks to everyone who came to our recent shows and to everyone who supported us in any way over the last few years. We hope to see you out on the road again on our November/December 2014 tour of the UK.

Know more about the Winter Mountain Autumn tour here:http://www.wintermountain.co.uk/

Remembering The Late Dave Hum

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Dave Hum was a great banjo player. He added a twist to this traditional instrument by going beyond the styles intended for the banjo. In his last project, he fused electronic sounds with ambient styles to create a marriage between the old a the new, the rural and the urban. It’s sad to announce that he passed away last year as he succumbed to a physical illness. It made me wonder for a while what happened to him. He disappeared from posting on facebook. Then one of his children made the announcement. It was heartbreaking because I used to chat with him. He was so happy with his recordings. He sent me two albums of his Traditional Irish and Scottish banjo music. He had so many things in mind. Then just like that…he disappeared.

I think I know what his family members went through and are and still going through. I lost my mom in the middle of last year. It doesn’t end. The hole of loss is still there. But I know that his music will be like sunshine in the midst of rain. He was an inspiring and beautiful soul. He will be missed. I know I will because I remember him today and I dedicate this post to him.

More from his official website: http://www.davehum.com/

Recording Updates from Moxie and Robert Doyle

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Wow it’s just the middle of the week and more phantasmagorically smashing updates are coming up from the world of music. OUR world of music 😉

Moxie announced their plans of recording a new album late last year. Now, they are in the middle of it and the effort looks and sounds really promising. Check this amazing link. It gives the new meaning to the word busy :

MOXIE http://www.moxiemuso.com https://www.facebook.com/Moxiemuso
https://www.framelight.ie
http://beechpark.com (Studio)

Robert Doyle is releasing his new album next year. Here’s a sneak peak at the tunes he’s making. Arrangement by  Mark Thomson and video by  Alan Lambert .

Sliabh Russell/Out on the Ocean

http://www.robertdoyle.net

 

 

Two Available tracks from Wish by Poitin, via Soundcloud.

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Yes you heard it right. The new album Wish by Poitin is finished. The main reason to rejoice.

Just when the thought the seas have calmed, Poitin brings out a new album called Wish. I am not sure about the details of the album yet, but I know the band have worked in recording tracks around Autumn last year. They uploaded two track via soundcloud: The Broomfield Wager and Toffee Jigs. The former is a vocal track showcasing the versatility of Jeremy King’s voice. It is also an acoustic and bodhran driven song. The latter is an instrumental collection of traditional tunes.

Like I said, I have not listened to the whole album yet, but I can tell this is something new. The poitin flavor is still there. But there is that slick and superb texture that I noticed in these two tracks. It is easy to judge that the album will sound this way. And this is an exciting release!

The album will be available everywhere and I will tell you more about it in my future post about the guys of Poitin.

The Bombadils are recording a new album

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2014-EEx-NEWS-The-Bombadils-CA

The Bombadils are: Sarah Frank Luke Fraser Anh Phung and Evan Stewart

The Canadian quartet The Bombadils are back in the studio. They are recording new tunes for an upcoming album. Release dates haven’t been confirmed yet. Apart from prepping their schedule calendar for more gigs, they are also expanding their fan base. And it will be made possible by the help of a ‘Street Team.” I got coined that term from a Lifehouse fan base during the early years of their album making. Street Teams are a group of loyal and passionate fans who are willing to advertise, blog or do YouTube promotion for the band. This is to ensure that they go viral.

So what about this new album?

Given their background in Classical, Jazz and Folk music, I am sure this will be an amazing treat to those who already heard their previous album.

This is an interesting phase in the music industry where the fans become the managers, promoters and record executives. This is good news right? We don’t have to rely on the powerful few to run the state of the music we are in. But it is still sad that the majority would rather sit and accept whatever is handed to them instead of taking action. Now is the time people. let’s start a revolution. Go out there and voice your opinion. Turn on your computers and start blogging about your favorite bands.

Are you one of those who are fervent supporters of your kind of music? What do you do to promote your favorite band? Feel free to share your views in this matter.