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.
Florence Sommerville - (I'll Be Your) Best Broken Heart
florencesommerville.com
"The song was written during my second ever visit to Nashville, in April 2024, with two incredible writers: Shantell Ogden and Corey Lee Barker. Once we had started, the song just seemed to flow out of us all." And it's an effortless song to listen to. Having seen her live I can say without fear of contradiction that Florence is currently Britain's best Country singer. Make sure you see her before Nashville claims her permanently. TM
Las Fenestras - Cuban Son
www.simonwebster.org.uk/new-release-cuban-son
A new project featuring musicians Simon Webster and Craig Marshall with writer Pete Feenstra. This is a joyful Latin shuffle with an amusing lyric "Sometimes a song can come to you quite quickly in its entirety. In this case the building blocks were the words and the search for suitable rhythms to amplify the story" says Pete. The music is all Cuban piano, Mariachi trumpets, and percussion, carefully crafted to build that authentic Havan sound. TM
Phil Cooper - That Easy Road
phil-cooper.co.uk
As well as being part of the brilliant and hopefully soon to rise again Lost Trades Phil Cooper is a fine singer songwriter on his own account. His exploring songwriting You Tube channel is a fascinating dissection of his art. He crafts delightful folk/pop songs, and this is one of his best. He's an engaging live performer as well with anecdotes and stories, another one to catch when he's in your town, whether solo or in one of his projects with Jamie Hawkins. TM
The Levellers - The Road (Live At Hackney Empire)
www.levellers.co.uk
From their new live album this is another collaboration with fellow Brighton band, The Moulettes. "If people haven't seen this acoustic side of our band yet, the 'Collective Live' album is the place to start." The levellers are one of our finest bands in any configuration, but this single and the whole album show some of their best songs in a new light TM
Reg Meuross - Woody Guthrie's Chains
www.regmeuross.com
Reg Meuross is one of our most important songwriters. Following the astonishing Stolen From God was always going to be a challenge, but when you are commissioned by Pete Townshend to create 'Fire & Dust: The Woody Guthrie Story' a journey into the heart and soul of one of America's finest folk musicians you have to rise to the challenge. And as a taster this single suggests that another 10 out of 10 album is in the offing. TM
Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver - Train Song
www.knappdivermusic.com
With lyrics written by Lisa on a train journey back into London this is a vivid evocation of the potential for riding on a train to be a meditative experience as she recounts the passing sites over a backing that has a heartbeat drum pattern that drifts you into the unreal place that watching the world pass by the window often suggests. Remarkable and compelling listening. TM
Rare Birds - Sell Your Soul
www.facebook.com/therarebirdsofficial
Another trip into Rare Birds' Swedish take on the 90s as filtered through the Beatles. Electric piano and slide guitar gives this another angle from their last 2 singles. Their varied palette makes them an intriguing listen every time, and their album is every bit as good as their singles. TM
Two Man Travelling Medicine Show - I Am Invisible/Ordinary Bloke
www.facebook.com/TheTwoManTravellingMedicineShow
As they told Fatea's Listen Up feature the band describe their music as "fairground and carnival noises with socially aware words." Which is selling themselves short. Folk/Country/Punk is better. If you like The Levellers, then they are your new favourite band. This tribute to the millions of unseen people is a great new single. Both songs are excellent folk-based tunes with ordinary Bloke just taking the prize with its Acoustic Clash feel. If their plan is to put out singles through 2025, then we can look forward to some excellent new music across the year. They play in and around their native Dorset and I'll be looking out for them. TM
Chasing Twisters - Skinny-Dip Creek
www.chasingtwisters.co.uk
More excellent UK based country music from Stoke's finest band. A driving piece of Country rock which adds touches of British pop rock to their Country influences giving a sound that should be super radio friendly, if only that was still a thing. A song it's impossible to only listen to once. So be ready to hit replay at least once on this upbeat single which is a taste for an album and tour due in April. TM
DiElle - Atlas
diellemusic.com
Long a favourite of the Fatea Singles column, Di Elle has produced another great single wither her typical introspective insightful lyrics. "Love is not on the atlas. You can't buy a ticket and just go." This one adds strings to her acoustic sound, building it into a quietly epic song which should only add to her "one to watch" status. TM
Jess Moskaluke - Life For Me
www.jessmoskaluke.com
State of the art contemporary country/pop with all the drum machine clicks and compressed vocals that implies. All of fails to bury an excellent song from a singer who is one of the rising stars of country, and Canadian music in general. If the bells and whistles get her attention then all good, but she is just as good, or better, when singing with a simple backing. TM
Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson - Hook & Line
www.rhiannongiddens.com
A simple Folk/Bluegrass tune with Rhiannon Giddens -on Banjo and Justin Robinson playing Fiddle and singing the brief verse. As two of the best exponents of the old-time, and string band traditions, and reclaiming the Black heritage of the music having an album What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow of 18 traditional North Carolina fiddle and banjo tunes due in April is great news. Watch the video to experience the full joy of this music. TM
Bird - Daddy
www.birdofficial.com
Janie Price aka "Bird" is an award winning, English/Irish singer/songwriter. Here she's offered a song which is epic to almost James Bond theme proportions. Swooping strings make an otherwise straightforward guitar and drum led tune into something big and bold. One of the artists who sits just below the radar for some reason, but none the less very much worth your attention. TM
Iona Lane - Torus
www.ionalane.com
A new single ahead of an album, Torus takes inspiration from the human relationship with basking sharks throughout history. The song starts in the time of folk tales, where sea monsters scare sailors and capsize boats. The song moves right up into the 1960s when we culled basking sharks off our coasts, to near extinction, and up to the present when they are slowly making their way back to our waters. Lovely Scottish folk music from a singer with a true sense of place in her music. TM
Joel David Weir - Good Good Trouble
www.facebook.com/joeldavidweir
He describes himself as existential folk from Indiana. The Dylan and Woody Guthrie influence is clear and as he says, "I wrote this song the week after the election. It seemed just to show up. Well, this one kinda showed up in the form of the sense of Woody Guthrie's ghost shaking me and saying, "get to work!". And he has with a fine song which quietly suggests that there is or going on in the USA than makes it into the news. TM
Forty Elephant Gang - Please Say Goodbye
www.facebook.com/fortyelephantgang
A new single from the always excellent Forty Elephant Gang. In bluesy Waltz mode this time. The words of Please Say Goodbye' reflect heartbreak and yearning, written with poetic simplicity to resonate with universal emotions, and the music takes a diversion into classic Blues. Forty Elephant Gang take their name from a notorious gang of female pickpockets, who sound like they need a TV series… TM
Eva Hillered - Take Me Home
www.evahillered.se
Swedish singer Eva Hillered has a folk/country blend which is unlike anyone else's. This is the title track of her new album and is a melancholy yearning to be home. The strings build that sense of longing and also evoke the touring musician's "longing for the sun, for warmth, and for my husband far away." 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.
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.
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