Beyond The 45
Singles, EPs, Downloads
The Fatea office also serves as a home for our weekly Along The Tracks show on Blues & Roots Radio and as a rule singles and Eps have generally gone in that direction whilst Fatea generally concentrates on albums and live reviews for our full length feature, but with more artists going back down the single route to keep themselves in the public eye, we thought it was time to reflect that in our offerings and as rules are made to be broken or at the very least adapted, welcome to the Singles Round Up.
Jon Boden, Seth Lakeman, Ben Nicholls, Emily Portman, Jack Rutter - The Rambling Sailor
www.propermusic.com/tscd612-sea-song-sessions.html
The lead single from an album called Sea Song Sessions. This is a collection of British maritime folk songs and sea shanties. With a cast list like the one above you know that you are getting traditional folk of the highest quality. Topic Records who are releasing this album produced a number of similarly themed albums in the Sixties and it's great to see them reviving the tradition in such fine style. TM
John Blek - Lyric & Air
johnblek.com
A duet with (I think) Cathy Davey, this is a low-key piano led song with a string quartet adding a chamber pop feel to the middle section. Blek is an interesting singer, and this sits somewhere close to the better bits of The Beautiful South. Try his four albums built around the themes of air, water, embers, and earth as well. TM
DiElle - Here Is My Heart
www.diellemusic.com
This is genuinely a golden time for solo female singer songwriters. And here is DiElle to add to the mix. An occasional wobble in the voice doesn't detract from the appeal of this gentle intimate song. Starting a 26 release series called 'One Girl, One Guitar', and full of what she describes as "brutally honest lyrics, and a voice that could bring a tear to the eye of the most stone hearted souls" this is the first in the series of singles that are going to be release fortnightly. Worth seeking them out on Bandcamp. TM
The Barefoot Bandit - At The River
www.wearetbb.comA cover of the Groove Armada song with Charlene Soraia taking the vocal. They call their sound a “blend of modern roots reggae, deep dark dub and a sprinkling of experimental soundscapes”. This is in the best tradition of 80s style Lovers Rock, a lazy voice somewhere close to Astrud Gilberto meets a Ska Trombone with the song hitting a danceable groove halfway through. They have taken the song and done something unexpected with it. A great late summer song. TM
Skipinnish - Summer Call
www.skipinnish.com
A band who have defined the modern Celtic sound release their first music for some time. This is a bright breezy sing that us going to sound as sunny in October as it does on a warm August morning. Electric Guitar mixed with Accordion doesn’t always work but having seen them live I would say get to one of their Autumn gigs, they put on a great show, and even manage to make the pipes play nicely in a band setting, which so many others fail to do. TM
Helen Counts – Firefly
www.helencounts.com
A singer songwriter from Madison, Wisconsin, Firefly has, she says, a “powerful Indie rock vibe”. For me it’s more of a pop country feel. The slightly odd recording with her voice very high in the mix and some curiously flat drums let down a good song. Her previous single ‘That Look’ a more acoustic folk number shows her true quality as a writer and singer better. TM
Larry Efaw And The Bluegrass Mountaineers - Fling Ding
bluegrassmountaineers.net
A terrific remake of one of Ralph Stanley’s classic banjo tunes. You have to be very sure of your skills to attempt something like this and the banjo and guitar solos show Curtis Coleman and Logan Leab are well up to the task. If you like a bit of Bluegrass this is where to go. If you’ve never tried listening to it this may be the tune to get you dancing around the room. TM
Bella Gaffney - Blood In The Earth
www.bellagaffneymusic.com
A Celtic Connections regular and member of the cracking band The Magpies, Gaffney’s new single is a traditionally styled folk song. A collaboration between Gaffney and Australian singer Leesa Gentz that explores the changing climate and natural disasters that have affected Australia badly. The song features “scorching vocals by Leesa and Bella and soulful banjo and cello”. The Cello in place of a more usual fiddle gives a darker feel to the song. Another gig added to the list to see in September. TM
Jim Ghedi - What Will Become Of England
www.jimghedi.com
It’s hard to do much but shake your head in amazement at the state of the country in 2022, whatever your political persuasion. Ghedi offers an alternative & progressive take on folk and song writing, exploring themes on social politics. A lot of his precious work ahs been instrumental, but here he gives us a rather bleak summing up of the state of the nation. The imagery of the song is rooted in his native Yorkshire, and it comes as no surprise that he lists the author of Kes, Barry Hines as an influence in his writing. TM
Analise – Trust Me
analisemmusic.wixsite.com/my-site
New England folk pop singer Analise has a softly sung gem in ‘Trust Me’. Part of an upcoming EP, she has also joined Berklee College of Music to study her craft. An acoustic ballad that is lyrically a good summing up of teenage angst from the frontline. While it is early days for her at 18, there is loads of promise in this song, her voice is very much her own, a little bit of Bjork at the start gives way to a more typically folk delivery. I would guess we will be hearing a lot more of Analise once she is out of college in a few years. TM
Marc Woosnam – Prosperity
marcwoosnam.com
A single from his latest album ‘Some Remedy’, ‘Prosperity’ sounds like a folky Rage Against The Machine with slap bass over grungy guitars that are still recognisably out of his acoustic folk beginnings. I’m sure this is just a powerful played solo on acoustic guitar. It crashes in gets the job done and is out in 2 and a half minutes finishing in a squeal of feedback. As good a hard rock song as you will hear this year. TM
The Magpies - Galileo
www.themagpiesmusic.com
Having looked at Bella Gaffney’s single earlier here she is with the aforementioned Magpies. Rightly called “fast rising”, they blend Gaffney and fiddle-player Holly Brandon’s British folk roots with Kate Griffin’s Bluegrass style Banjo. The mix is one made in heaven. Galileo is the lead single from an album to be called Undertow. They tour in support of it in October I’ll see you at Chapel Arts in Bath on the 26th… TM
Blackbeard’s Tea Party - Roll And Go
www.blackbeardsteaparty.comBlackbeard's Tea Party are “a contemporary Folk Rock band based in York”. There is a certain sea shanty, shiver me timbers flavour to this single that could end up in novelty song land if it wasn’t played and sung so well. Somewhere between The Levellers and The Pogues in the mix of folk competence and chaotic partying that fills ‘Roll and Go’. Their web page offering “unforgettable folk rock wedding Ceilidhs” sounds like the best way to get married. TM
Frankie Archer - Lucy Wan
www.frankiearchermusic.com
This is Archer’s third single, and it proves the point that this is a fine time to be listening to new female singers. She has taken a traditional murder ballad and twisted it provide the victim with vengeance for her murder. Plucked violin, delicate strings, and snare drum rimshots make up the sparse instrumentation. She is Northumberland based and mostly seems to gig around her home area, but on the basis of this and her remarkable previous single ‘Over the Border’ I suspect the offers will be arriving from further afield, watch out for her in your town. TM
Emma Gale - In Out Up
www.emmagale.com
Gale hails from Weymouth and has delivered a delightful pop folk song. It kicks in with a relaxed groove that crosses over into soft rock territory in places. Her first single ‘Let’s See What The Earth Has To Say’ got fair bit of attention over lockdown, and her fine first album earlier this year was rather more Country based than this song. What this does show is that her writing continues to develop, and her next album will be rather special of this single is a taste of it. TM
Lunar Bird – Venilia
ttps://lunarbird.wixsite.com/website-1
Formed in 2017 Lunar Bird have been delivering ethereal Dream Pop over a number of singles EPs and an album since then. This is their best yet with an orchestral sheen that compliments the breathy vocal perfectly. Beach House and Men I Trust do something similar but there is a unique quality to what Lunar Bird offer that sets them apart from the occasionally lacklustre feel that those bands can have occasionally. Every song is an adventure with Lunar Bird and if you haven’t found them you need to remedy that now. TM
Chris Cleverley – Chlorophyll
www.chriscleverley.com
An acoustic indie pop song that drifts along pleasantly, revealing its charms slowly. The distant Banjo at the start and string drone further into the song lift this above standard pop folk. He claims influence from Elliott Smith and Sufjan Stevens and calls himself dream folk, which is a pretty good description. Currently working on his 4th album for release in November 2022. He says, “it promises to be a bold leap forward, stylistically and lyrically”, and a quick check back at his earlier work finds this to be true. Watch out for the album. TM
Allison Russell, Brandi Carlile - You're Not Alone
allisonrussellmusic.com
Russell continues her tradition of recreating songs for single release, and this is the latest brilliant result. After her continuing work with the fine Birds Of Chicago the recognition has finally arrived for her solo material. The strings from SistaStrings and the French verse give this version a New Orleans gospel feel. If you haven’t yet caught up with just how transcendent and magical Russell’s music can be this may be the place to start. You’ve just missed her tour in the UK, the show with the equally wonderful Lady Nade at Omeara London was by all accounts a highlight of the year. Let’s hope she comes back soon. TM
6th Crowd – Mamenika
6thcrowd.bandcamp.com/track/mamenika
Ukrainian electronic producer 6th Crowd (a.k.a. Dari Maksymova) presents her new single 'Mamenika'. This started life as an old Ukrainian folk song, but the radical reworking turns it into a twenty first century dub piece. The “song touches on the lives of refugees fleeing Russian aggression. With more than half of Ukraine's children displaced from their homes, the war has suspended their childhood.” While all proceeds will go to the humanitarian mission Vostok SOS, this is a cracking slice of downtempo electronica that you can buy on its own merits. TM
Fatea Showcase Sessions
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.
Pirate is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy
www.fatea-showcase-sessions.co.uk for all the artist information.
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