Beyond The 45
Singles, EPs, Downloads
The Fatea office also serves as a home for our weekly Along The Tracks show on Folk Friday 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.
Satori - Walking
www.juretori.com
Satori is a project from Slovenian Keyboardist, Accordionist and songwriter Jure Tori. This has an insistent shuffle beat pushing Organ, Rhodes and guitar solos. Singer Ursula Luthar has a soulful voice somewhere between Aretha and Etta James and attacks the words of this excellent blues. The only fault I can find with it is that it could have been at least another minute or two longer. The groove is just getting going when it all stops at about 3 minutes. Never mind, just play it again! TM
Poppy Ackroyd - The Unknown
poppyackroyd.com
Not a single of the reaching for the charts type, more a sampling of the soundscapes that neo-classical composer Poppy Ackroyd is offering on her latest album Liminal, due in June. She recorded, produced, and mixed all the music herself. Composed of looping piano lines and violin drifting across the top this could come out as insubstantial new age, but it is fact an emotive piece with a harder edge than you might expect. It was written during a period of upheaval and transition for her, and there is a sense of emotional turmoil about this piece that makes the rest of the album and interesting prospect. TM
Luke James Williams - Full Moon
www.lukejameswilliams.co.uk
Cambridge singer songwriter Luke James Williams latest single starts as a routine pop/rock song, until halfway through he shifts the atmosphere with a series of discordant notes which raise the tension of the tune towards almost Kate Bush type levels of random abstract sounds with a wordless vocal taking the song to its conclusion. What starts as ordinary ends up as something exceptional that feels as dark as its subjects of greed and jealousy. TM
Shakey Graves - Time Flies
www.facebook.com/shakeygravesmusic
A resolutely lo-fi recording sees the return of one of the best DIY musicians. Leading a 5th album Fondness, Etc. this country blues has a delightfully languid groove. The drum can sound a little intrusive on first listen, but when you go back and hear the song again, and it is something that you won't want to play just once, the guitar, voice and strings wrap themselves around the percussion producing a song where you can literally hear the room the recorded it in. TM
The Davidson Trio - War
www.facebook.com/thedavidsontrio
The first impression of this song is that they must be fans of 1970s Robin Trower. Heavy blues rock with an obvious Trower influence on the guitar. Singer Owen Davidson has the powerful delivery of many of his Birmingham peers he also has brings the narrative quality to his singing that James Dewar did for Trower. Part of a 5 track EP called Follow You, which I'll definitely be looking out for. They have a previous album Cougar which veers more towards modern rock of the Alterbridge variety, but this is something in an altogether higher league. TM
Julian Taylor - Hunger
juliantaylormusic.ca
Canadian singer songwriter Julian Taylor will shortly commence a UK tour for which I am pleased to say I already have tickets at one of the venues. Julian is a cross-music genre singer, difficult to pigeon hole, as his melodic voice and guitar playing suits most styles of music. For those that are not familiar with his work, this new single "Hunger" will serve as a wonderful introduction to this talented musician. This piece is arguably leaning more towards country than some of his music, with just a touch of John Denver, and has been beautifully produced whilst delivering his message in a subtle but powerful way. He is a sympathetic and thoughtful songwriter and "Hunger" both brings out the best of his lyrics and vocals, whilst once again identifying one of the world's most critical problems, HUNGER. It is sad to say that after 41 years, the message of the internationally watched "Live Aid" concert still needs to be shouted out every day. Part of the proceeds of this single will go towards the Band Aid Charity which is still very active and needing of our support. Julian is doing his bit, now the world must play its part too. RS
Daughter Of A Drum - Simple Love
aoifemcatamney.com
Daughter Of A Drum's new single Simple Love is a warm, quietly radiant piece that shows just how naturally she blends intimacy with strength. The Dublin born singer?songwriter, aka Aoife McAtamney blends lyrical and dance arrangement that lets her voice glow at the centre. What makes the track land is its honesty: she sketches the kind of affection that feels lived?in rather than idealised, turning small moments into something quietly luminous and deeply human. AI
Jones Cooper Scott - She Wrote Her Name Today
www.raycooper.org/she-wrote-her-name-today
When the Oysterband declared at the end of their farewell tour that it wasn't the end, but the start of a new chapter, they weren't kidding. First out of the door was (John)Jones Cooper(aka Chopper) (Al)Scott. First tour completed and first single, "She Wrote Her Name Today" out in the world. A wonderful, vocal lead piece of classic folk rock that is absolutely pulsating and speaks volumes for what, is hopefully to come, in the meantime there is a lot is this single track toi sustain you. NK
Hollie Rogers - Everything's Fine(Feat. Elles Bailey & Beth Neilsen Chapman)
www.hollierogers.com
Seeing Hollie Rogers name on a single is a sure sign of quality, adding on Elles Bailey & Beth Neilsen Chapman is like adding a couple of Michelin Stars to a unique favourite restuarant. This is a fantastic slice of blues by any standards, abolutely not a case of too many chefs but a carefully collated colection of fine ingredients that work incredibly well together bringing their own element to the mix for a single that absolutely tantatlises and then delivers, leaving the senses well and truly ignited. NK
The Corner Laughers - Dusking
cornerlaughers.bandcamp.com
A new name to me, The Corner Laughers, a four piece, hail from Redwood City, California, which goes along way to explaining the sassy, west coast dream pop of latest single "Dusking. The manage to combine elements of a sound that wouldn't have felt out of place in 1967 with more contemporary narrative themes, blending them into a track of timeless qualities has plenty of hooks, but which ultimately needs to find ways of getting those hooks into you, checking this out would be a good start. NK
Little Lore - Evil Eye
littlelore.uk
A regular visitor to this column, Little Lore, aka Tricia Duffy, has just released "Evil Eye" from her forthcoming release "Serafina", an album she describes as "Literally the work of my life!". Like the album, this is partly inspired by Tennessee Williams and you can feel that brooding in the Americana delibvery that borders on gothic and highlights that it's perfectly possible to write a novel in two minutes forty of song. Little Lore is definitely a writer that understands how the song medium works and is ready to squeeze out every last drop. NK
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.
Corsair 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.
Folk Friday Radio
Check out our shows and many other great shows on: