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.
Katie Spencer - Stirling Ash
www.katiespencer.net
Katie Spencer is best know as a writer of songs relating to the Humber in East Yorkshire where she grew up, but has also shown she has a talent for writing atmospheric instrumentals as well. "Sterling Ash" is the A side of a limited edition 7" vinyl, also available as a download, and at seven minutes long shows a growing ability to not just write music, but compose. "Sterling Ash" was commissioned by the Freedom Festival of Hull, which aims to bring life back to a city still in transition from old industry to new life. Katie's finger-picked acoustic guitar, accompanied by Spencer Cozens on Steinway Piano, has that sense of place seen on her recent album "The Edge Of The Land" with a pace that fits the ebb and flow of the river. It's quite a stark piece, it would be easy to imagine it in a grainy black and white film, but with a timeless feel. Released on 7th May this is another winner from an artist really going places. TB
Jolé - Hopes
www.jolemusic.com
Jolé, London based Joshua Oliver, is a songwriter who has amassed a huge internet following over the last few years. "Hope" is a very touching song, about the last time he saw his Grandmother. He knew this would be the case and the song has the most beautiful and moving line reflecting his thoughts on that time "I'm pulling my hand from your hold but I'm not ready to let go". Jolé is in that folk / indie spectrum where a song has both a message and a meaning, delivered in a clear and confident voice full of emotion, but he's not afraid to broaden the scope and underline the those emotions with luscious strings. Available now as a download it will stir memories, but they will be those of love mixed in with the sadness. TB
Iönä - Take Me To The Sea
open.spotify.com/track/0Hy33GUoZIiO1HXZkahUMp
Iönä is a London based Swedish singer/songwriter/producer, half of Scandipop duo Glashaus, and "Take Me To The Sea" is her first solo release. This electro-pop track has a lush backing well suited to her playful voice that ranges over the octaves, with more than a touch of Kate Bush to the multi-layered vocals. This is a rather dreamscape song of swimming free and being free that has a hypnotic attraction to it and I found myself playing it over and over again just for the sheer exuberance of the sound. TB
Gabriel Moreno - Growing Old
www.gabrielmoreno.co.uk
Gabriel Moreno is a London based Gibraltarian songwriter whose music is as much poetry as song; indeed he is also a published poet and that comes through into his songs with shades of Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave often being noted. "Growing Old", inspired by a line from T S Eliot, is the latest single from upcoming album "Wound In The Night" and will be released on 4th May. It's a song about growing old(er) and how we approach that. "Shall I part my hair at all and leave the war to younger troubadours? " The decision is one we should all adopt; "I am sorry love but I can't give up the fight." With Gabriel's distinctive voice and style, British and Spanish roots fusing with influences from around the globe, this track shows his quality as a writer and promises much for the album. TB
Featherhouse - The Swimmers / Somersault
featherhouse.bandcamp.comFollowing on from "Pull Up Yourself a Chair" and "Above The Trees" Pete Guy, as Featherhouse, releases another double A side on 24th April. "The Swimmers" is based on the true story of Yusra and Sarah Mardini who fled Syria but found themselves having to swim for their lives when their overcrowded boat began to take on water and sink as they tried to get to Greece. Pete's deep voice and the pace of this track puts us in with the girls and we feel their desperation at their plight. Both survived the experience. "Somersault" has a more exuberant feel with lots of drum, both roll and reversed, to capture the feeling of tumbling down a hill, letting go and just enjoying the sensation. The two tracks have a very different sounds to them, but both are related through a desire to find freedom and release from past cares. TB
Joel Brogon - Manicured Gentrified Lawn
www.joelbrogon.com
A blues for all those patches of garden grass that have been weeded, watered, and mowed to within an inch of their lives. He sings "I'd rather build a home for the birds and bees." Joel Brogon is a Folk/Americana artist from South Texas. His "focus as a songwriter is telling stories based on his own life experiences and of those around him, and often uses music to reflect on nature". And that he does most effectively on this rather wonderful protest song against over gardening. TM
Peggy Seeger- The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face
www.peggyseeger.com
Reviewing Peggy Seeger singing a Ewan MacColl song written for her over 60 years ago is just not happening. Singer and song are beyond needing opinions expressed by the likes of me. Now 87, Seeger has reclaimed the song as an older woman reflecting over a lifetime of love and loss. She plays piano over her own singing, with support from sons Neill and Calum MacColl. This is spellbinding, magical music from another time and place. TM
Fergus McNeill - Sandstone & Lime
www.fergusmcneill.com
Fergus McNeill "is an award-winning, singer-songwriter based in Glasgow. He has written a lot and released a little". On the basis of this contemporary folk pop song he should release a lot more. The backing vocals of Outi Smith add another dimension to the song, lifting it out of a fairly ordinary of very finely written song to give it the performance it deserves. He needs to release more. TM
The Lost Messiahs - Brownsfield
www.thelostmessiahs.com
The echo covered guitar sets the tone for this atmospheric song. This leads their third studio album Connected to the Real and continues the dream pop style that they have used to great effect on earlier work. Not as electronic or abstract as some of their songs it is all the better for taking a straight line to the emotional heart of their music. Eagerly awaiting the album now. TM
Alex Etchart - Piedra y Camino
alexetchart.com
'Piedra y Camino' was written by Atahualpa Yupanqui a major Argentinian song writer of 'Con Sur' folk songs. This version was performed by Alex Etchart and Hermanos Millar in Concepción, Chile. Etchart is an Anglo-Uruguayan social artist using theatre, music, film & education to amplify queer, decolonial & environmental communities. This is a fascinating piece of music in a style you may not have come across before, but will certainly have you looking for more of the same. TM
Anyone's Ghost - The Secret History
anyonesgh0st.bandcamp.com
Anyone's Ghost is the solo project of Manchester based musician Wanda Roslyn. She writes about old poems and cold days, and this slice of gothic folk music is intense and has more than a little of PJ Harvey and Bon Iver about it. At nearly six minutes by the time it is over you will have been drawn into its dark reverb laden sound and be ready for a full album from her, which will be along alter this year. TM
Eoin Glackin - The Way You Looked At Me
www.eoinglackin.com/
Eoin Glackin's calendar clearly stopped sometime in the early sixties. Combining vaudeville harmonies, bluegrass banjo and some sharp songwriting there is nothing even remotely contemporary about this, but the mix of old time country and all the rest is enough to send you back to sing along with the chorus again. TM
Still Blue - Honeysuckle Dreams
www.facebook.com/stillbIuemusic
If Dolores O'Riordan had sung with the early Cure, it would have come out somewhere in the same place as Still Blue's chorus guitar pop sound. With a few singles under their belt they have hit a formula that works and singer Nicole Lyons has the Claire Grogan way of making every song fill up with a bouncy joy that is highly infectious. TM
Paper Fishes - I Was 25 EP
paperfishes.bandcamp.com
It's a busy year for Paper Fishes, "I Was 25" the second in a series of three EPs being released before the album "Fear Of Silence". Like it's predecessor, "Turn The Tide", it features tracks from the forthcoming albums and tracks unique to the EP, in this case solo versions of "Burning Out" by band leader Andre Levy, also the key songwriter. Also worth a mention is Fairground Attraction's Simon Edwards on bass. On this and the previous outing, I'd say one to watch AI
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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