#estuary songwriting project

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Feature on BBC Radio

The lovely Mike Brocken has featured Leigh Folk Festival and its 25th anniversary vinyl release (which features exclusive music from the Estuary Songwriting Project) on his ‘Folkscene’ BBC Merseyside show. You can listen again here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05330gh

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Terrascope reviews this Leigh Folk Festival compilation, which features his Jamie Foyers, as well as a contribution to the Estuary Songwriting Project.

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Behind The Music with Garmonsway and Cunningham on Severn's Hidden Mysteries

On this Behind The Music episode, Jacqueline Jax speaks with Alan Garmonsway & Anne Cunningham in the UK about their new single Severn's Hidden Mysteries. The song talks about the beautiful yet dangerous Riverbank in Gloucestershire where two tanker barges fell victim to the dangerous tides colliding with the railway bridge. The shells of the ships are still there as a warning to others.

They also talked about social media marketing strategies for indie songwriters and how to use a song to make an impact locally.

Listen to the episode across all podcasting channels including: Anchor fm:

Band Name: Garmonsway and Cunningham Alan Garmonsway - songwriter, keyboards, guitar, bass, percussion, (sometimes vocals). Anne Cunningham - Vocals, guitar

Song name: Severn's Hidden Mysteries

Music Genre: Acoustic/Folk

Alan lives in Berkshire in the UK, close to Oxford, and Anne in Wiltshire, very near to Stonehenge.

Link to play:: https://open.spotify.com/album/2QKGvh6BteNqKnVBKLlR8K Also available on Amazon, iTunes, Apple etc

Wherever you are in the World, we wanted this song to make you feel you are right there in Gloucestershire, walking along the beautiful River Severn. The song started life as a set of great photographs taken by Anne on one of her frequent walks around that area. She posted them on Facebook with the title ‘Big sky over Gloucestershire’. 

Alan picked up on that and decided to write the lyrics and music that would complement the visual beauty of the photos. The Severn is Britain’s longest river, and has two very different aspects; its stunning picturesqueness but also its dangerous tides in the estuary. Some years back, two tanker barges, traveling together in heavy fog and strong tidal current, collided with the railway bridge. The shells of the ships are still there as a warning to others. The song captures all these aspects.

Alan’s songs often tell a story, whether serious or more anecdotal. On this occasion, Anne’s pictures evoked the vibe of a beautiful folk ballad, something that could be listened to live or on-air, and would take you straight to the place and the emotions of being there.

How do you think this release represents your current direction..

Alan and Anne have worked together for many years both as members of the same folk band, Badgers Sett, and also on several other projects, from being part of a worldwide cd project to writing and performing in a home-grown musical play. They also collaborated on an album of new songs ‘Ridgeway’ a couple of years back. 

At the moment, Alan is writing a wide range of material and if the song fits for Anne, they’ll record it. On Severn’s Hidden Mysteries, half was recorded in England and half in France, with Anne on vocals and Alan playing keyboards, acoustic guitar, and bass. A friend, Tom Wildy was also brought in on flute, and we also asked Ali Davis, whose paintings have also been used on Alan’s Northeast ep, to create a special cover painting to add to the atmosphere of the song.

What most inspires you?

For Alan, it’s writing great songs and using the studio and colleagues to get the best possible listening outcome (for technology, playing and arranging). For Anne, it’s singing songs that she loves in folk clubs, open mics, recording or practicing at home. Singing is something that takes her to another place entirely – great therapy!

Favorite Quote:

 A quote from Anne, which we both like: The best thing in the world about being able to play and sing is that there is always a music venue, folk club or open mic somewhere not too far away from where there is always a warm welcome from like-minded folk.

Website & social media links:  www.alangarmonsway.com www.facebook.com/bestroomsongs www.instagram.com/alan_garmonsway www.twitter.com/bestroomsongs https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxNHJZBeYeDpV-nqzvOFHng (BestRoomSongs)

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THE B-SIDE MONDAY MEGAMIX

Every Monday, one of our writers takes a moment to switch off from the horror of everything happening everywhere in the World, and finds something nice to write about.  This week, Seymour Quigley does his best to reassure you that things are probably going to be okay. 

THE GLITTER SHOP - FIZZ

Officially the Bury St Edmunds music scene's worst-kept secret for the last few months, The Glitter Shop are effectively a supergroup (in that two of them - guitarist/producer Barny Cutter and singer/bassist/drummer Harry Dale - used to be in Fortunato and Suburban Minds, both locally popular), but any tiny inklings of "spin-off project" doubt are immediately banished by their debut release.  Three-and-a-half minutes of instantly classic, wonderful pop with an earworm chorus you’ll be humming for weeks, 'Fizz' is an assured introductory salvo indeed.  More please, and soon. See them live at: Bury St Edmunds Hunter Club, 20th Jan. Now listen to: Guitarist/producer Barny Cutter's other project, Blood Talk. Follow: Facebook - Twitter

BRIAN ENO & TOM ROGERSON - IDEA OF ORDER AT KYSON POINT

A perfect meeting of two of Suffolk's finest musical minds, 'Idea Of Order At Kyson Point' is the opening track of 'Finding Shore' - a new, 13-track album (due for release in December) which sees former glam star-turned-ambient/production wizard Eno team up with Three Trapped Tigers founder and renowned improvisational pianist Rogerson to create an album inspired by their childhood experiences (decades apart) in and around Woodbridge.  Eno being Eno, the album is not without its fancy techniques: for the album's creation, Rogerson was encouraged to use a Moog Piano Bar, which uses infra-red beams focussed on each piano key to collect MIDI information, which can then be used to trigger samples and virtual instruments. Technical doohickey aside, though, 'Idea Of Order At Kyson Point' is, quite simply, a beautiful piece of music; Eno and Rogerson's stated aim was to evoke "the strange flat landscape of Eastern England, all heathland, military testing sites, estuary mud and the site of the ancient Sutton Hoo ship burial", on this particular track at least, they resoundingly succeed. See Tom Rogerson live at: London St Pancras Old Church, 4th Dec. Listen to: 'Motion In Field', streaming, out now. Follow Brian Eno: Facebook Follow Tom Rogerson: Facebook - Twitter

CLOWN SMASH EVERYTHING - THE SURFER & THE SHARK

Perhaps surprisingly, given that they feature prog-obsessed former Voter Kernel/Janet Street Slaughter drum punisher Zak Whittaker in their ranks, Norwich-based foursome Clown Smash Everything produce a relatively straightforward, punk-inflected hyper-hard rock, very much in the vein of the Groop Dogdrill track from which they (presumably) purloined their name.  With ginormo-max production, turbo-charged riffage and vocals that screamingly imply that we can all go fuck ourselves, Clown Smash Everything are a Kerrang! cover band waiting for their cover.  Debut album 'The Bombs Are Getting Closer' drops this Friday; their debut gig follows a week later. See them live at: Norwich Waterfront Studio, 7th Dec. Listen to: 'This City Needs Assassins', on YouTube. Follow: Facebook - Twitter

LEMONDAZE - LIQUID RUSH

Utterly outstanding live, Lemondaze cite reformed-and-improved shoegaze legends Slowdive as their key influence, but while Rosie and Isis' chiming, expansive, interweaving guitars and vocals undeniably tick the boxes of their chosen genre, there's an underlying darkness and aggression - in no small part driven by the rumbling, sympatico-but-contrarian John Peel-show growl of bassist Jonty and the openly rock-minded drumming of sticksman Seb (in project Lemondaze, we have no surnames) - more reminiscent of My Vitriol, A Place To Bury Strangers or hugely under-rated shoegaze/industrial envelope-pushers Curve.  All of the band's Soundcloud output to date is loudly and apologetically signposted as DEMOS and HOME RECORDINGS, but they needn't be self-conscious: lo-fi production qualities aside, Lemondaze are clearly brilliant, and they will do amazing things.   See them live at: Bury St Edmunds Hunter Club, 16th Feb. Listen to: 'Demos' EP, on Soundcloud. Follow: Facebook - Twitter

THE INTERESTING TIMES GANG - INTERESTING TIMES 

The only member of gonzo-rock lunatic quintet Voter Kernel absent from (equally lunatic spin-off band) Janet Street Slaughter, songwriting multi-instrumentalist Hannah Cutler's 12-month absence from live music in the wake of VK's abrupt demise, and the possibility that she may never return, felt like a tragedy waiting to happen.  A singular fixture of the East Anglian music scene for over 15 years, even in the oddball context of her various projects - wry comedy-but-not-joking duo Opposite The Hotel, animal-obsessed disco ensemble The Deference Engine, VK's stadium-rock-gone-awry antics - Cutler's otherworldly, heroically intimidating charisma (her ability to silence idiotic hecklers with a single withering stare is the stuff of legend), quiet virtuosity and apparent obliviousness to genre have marked her out as a genuinely unique musical force. So the news of her return, with self-described "genre-straddling" trio The Interesting Times Gang, was heart-warming indeed.  By contrast to Voter Kernel's often-jarring mish-mash schtick, ITG are unfettered and focused, with Cutler's sci-fi obsession (hello, shameless 'Flight Of The Navigator' synth-drum references) brought proudly to the fore.  A bright and shiny future awaits, presumably in SPACE. See them live at: Bury St Edmunds Hunter Club, 20th Jan. Listen to: 'The Sci-Fi Future Outlaw Kids', on Soundcloud. Follow: Facebook 

Photo: The Interesting Times Gang (from Facebook) 

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Feature in EFDSS Magazine!

We were lucky enough to be featured in the English Folk Dance & Song Society magazine thanks to artist Kate Waterfield.

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Upcoming gig at Cecil Sharp House

Here at Leigh Folk Festival HQ we're really excited that our Estuary Songwriting Project is going to be showcased at Cecil Sharp House in London - an iconic venue in the folk world. (We popped in for a coffee recently and it gave us a thrill to see us listed in the programme!) Our artists - Alasdair Roberts, Nick Pynn, MG Boulter, Lucy Farrell, Roshi Nasehi, Kate Waterfield, Hazel Askew and Piers Haslam - are performing in March and you can buy your tickets here: http://cecilsharphouse.org/component/content/article/21-shared/shared-events/3966-the-estuary-songwriting-project 

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Interview with MG Boulter on the Estuary Song experience

We meet MG Boulter, supporter of Leigh Folk Festival, part of the festival's Estuary Songwriting Project, and co-curator of the Harbour Song & Sundown Arts stage at this year's festival. We catch up with him on the Estuary Songwriting Project to find out what it was really like being in a 'Big Brother house' style situation with 7 other musicians in their week-long residency at Chalkwell Hall.

Q: You spent a week writing music inspired by the Thames Estuary. This stretch of water that has provided so much cultural inspiration over the years from Joseph Conrad and Constable all the way through to the likes of Dr Feelgood. Why do you think that is? A: The Thames Estuary is large-scale nature and I think that has a lot to do with it. For artists, that big nature brings out those age-old human questions of what are we actually doing on this planet. So the Thames is a stimulant in that respect. The landscape is diverse throughout the year and can be quiet, picturesque, desolate, industrial and so on. All these facets have been and are still being explored by artists of all genres. Q: How did you find the experience of collaborating with other musicians to write new material? A: At first I was a little apprehensive because although I knew a lot of the musicians who were part of the project I had never collaborated with them in song writing. Looking back I can gladly say it was fantastic and I liked working with the different approaches each of them had. I collaborated significantly with three of the other artists and learnt a lot from that process.  

Q: The project is dedicated to Jack Forbes, the late folk musician who was a local stalwart of the folk community. How do you think the folk tradition will be carried on to new generations? A: I knew Jack and he was always welcoming and supportive of what I was doing. I don’t consider myself a folk musician in the traditional sense but folk to me is the interpretation of human experience and story so I see modern folk music and its progression as musicians cataloguing and telling tale of our times now. Q: The Isle of Grain power station chimney was demolished during your songwriting week and as a group you watched it, which resulted in you writing a song about it. How was that as an experience? A: It was an incredibly fun and spontaneous experience. We watched the chimney fall and then myself and Lucy Farrell got back to Chalkwell Hall and went straight to work on a song that ended up as ‘Explosion Day’. We sat on a bench in Chalkwell Park with the grounds staff cutting hedges all about us. I was obsessed with calling it ‘Execution Day’ but Lucy thankfully steered me in a less gloomy direction. Lucy would play a chord and then I would suggest the next one and then we muddled through the lyrics swapping lines and ideas. It was liberating to just throw ideas against the metaphorical wall and get the song complete.  

MG Boulter appears alongside Alasdair Roberts, Lucy Farrell, Hazel Askew, Roshi Nasehi, Nick Pynn, Kate Waterfield and Piers Haslam on Friday 23 June at Wesley Methodist Church for the final performance of the suite of Estuary Songwriting Project songs. Tickets are available at http://music.leighfolkfestival.com/merch/estuary-songwriting-project-concert-tickets

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Folk Awards winners at Leigh Folk Festival

The Estuary Songwriting Project is proud to announce that 3 out of the 8 artists involved in this project were winners at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2017.

Best Group was awarded to The Furrow Collective (Alasdair Roberts and Lucy Farrell) and Best Album was awarded to Songs of Separation (Hazel Askew).

The artists chosen for our project were deliberately picked for their strong songwriting chops and we’re delighted that three out of the 8 have been recognised by the Folk Awards.

If you’d like to see all 8 musicians perform their incredible body of new music about the Thames Estuary in Leigh-on-Sea, there will be a special final concert taking place as part of Leigh Folk Festival on Friday 23 June, Wesley Church, Leigh on Sea, doors 7.30pm / £10 plus booking fee. Visit music.leighfolkfestival.com .

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Listen now to ‘Tilbury Jack’

▶ Tilbury Jack - The Estuary Song Writing Project by Leigh Folk Festival         

This preview track is one of the many fruits of a LFF Arts Council England funded project, featuring Hazel Askew, M.G. Boulter, Lucy Farrell, Piers Haslam, Roshi Nasehi, Nick Pynn, Alasdair Roberts, and Kate Waterfield. Previously unreleased. Recorded by John Hannon at No Studios, October 2016.

https://soundcloud.com/user-799639862/tilbury-jack

Hear more at our gig at Cecil Sharp House on 22 March: https://cecilsharphouse.org/csh-venue-hire/our-spaces/21-shared/shared-events/3966-the-estuary-songwriting-project

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If you missed this in Southend (like I did) and are in reach of London, the Estuary Songwriting Project is resurfacing there next spring (22 March).

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Tickets now on sale for London 2017 show

If you missed our Southend Pier gig, do not fear because tickets have gone on sale TODAY (14 October) for our next Estuary Songwriting Project event. On 22 March 2017, our 8 musicians will come together to perform their original Thames Estuary-inspired material in full. 

 With huge thanks to Cecil Sharp House for having us, and the support of Arts Council England and the EFDSS!

http://www.cecilsharphouse.org/component/content/article/21-shared/shared-events/3966-the-estuary-songwriting-project

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The project on film

The Estuary Songwriting Project has been put to film by Andy Delaney, film maker and director, and perfectly captures the 8 artists in their songwriting week and the first performance on Southend Pier in October. Take a look... https://vimeo.com/186687650

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Occasional links 2016-09-26

For your listening pleasure, our friends at Library of Aethers broadcast some exclusive recordings from the Estuary Songwriting Project, including Alasdair singing Smugglers Song. Available as a podcast.

Last week in the States, WNYC ran a programme called Songs of St Kilda. You can guess the rest.

The Hamish Henderson documentary that Alasdair wrote about in fRoots recently is available on iPlayer until 25 October.

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Jack Forbes

The Leigh Folk Festival's 'Estuary Songwriting Project' kicked off earlier this month with a residential week involving a crack team of song-writers, all of whom have a previous association with the Festival - Alasdair Roberts, Lucy Farrell, M.G. Boulter, Roshi Nasehi, Piers Haslam, Hazel Askew, Nick Pynn and Kate Waterfield.  Their brief was to come up with a 45 minute performance piece broadly themed around the Thames Estuary - in the end it amounted to something like twice that length, which is a hint as to how productive it all was. And the quality of the work is quite extraordinary. It was a truly collaborative and harmonious time, and a privilege to be a 'fly on the wall' for all those lucky enough to have witnessed it. The project was dedicated to the late Jack Forbes, a local legend (pictured above), and stalwart of the folk scene in Southend. Jack was a prolific composer of songs themed around the estuary, and was particularly known for his 'folk theatre' productions of shows such as 'Down the Hill to the Old Town' and 'Rolling Down the River', which took its name from his most famous song, which has passed into popular tradition and travelled around the world. When the idea for a songwriting residency was first conceived, Jack seemed like a natural choice, and in fact the Festival's Artistic Director, Paul Collier, did contact him early this year, unaware of his fragile state of health, inviting him to take part. Sadly, this wasn't to be, and Jack passed away a few days later. From the outset the team was eager to include some of Jack's words in their work, and so his presence can be keenly felt in the compositions, with everyone feeling that the piece should form a fitting tribute to his memory.

Paul Collier, Artistic Director, Leigh Folk Festival The debut performance of the work will take place on Saturday October 1 in the Royal Pavilion at the 'wet' end of Southend Pier. This starts at 7.30pm, and will be one of the great highlights of the 'Sounds of the Thames Delta' event taking place there that weekend. Tickets are available on the door (space permitting) or in advance from: http://www.estuaryfestival.com/event/detail/the-estuary-songwriting-project-estuaryfestival