Undersong - Salt House (02/02/18)

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• Artist: Salt House
• Release Date: 2nd February, 2018
• Genre: Folk, Scottish Folk
• Record Label:
• Tracks: 10
• Website: https://www.salthousemusic.com

'Undersong' is the new album from Scottish folk trio Salt House. Produced by folk scene heavyweight Andy Bell (Martin Simpson, Songs of Separation, Furrow Collective), the album instills a special sense of place, recorded in a restored Telford Church on the island of Berneray, Outer Hebrides.

Whether its setting old words to new melodies, re-working ancient ballads or writing their own - Salt House marry all their musical strands with a deep understanding for the British song tradition and an empathy for a story. Recent recruit, singer-songwriter Jenny Sturgeon joins multi-instrumentalist and songsmith Ewan MacPherson and violist and fiddler Lauren MacColl to weave stories of landscape, place and time.

A Pocket Of Wind Resistance - Karine Polwart with Pippa Murphy (17/11/17)

• Artist: Karine Polwart with Pippa Murphy
• Release Date: 17th November, 2017
• Genre: Folk, Scottish Music, Singer-Songwriter
• Record Label : hudson Records
• Tracks: 14
• Website: https://www.karinepolwart.com/

Karine Polwart is a multi-award-winning Scottish songwriter and musician, as well as a theatre maker, storyteller, spoken-word performer and published essayist. Her songs combine folk influences and myth with themes as diverse as Donald Trump’s corporate megalomania, Charles Darwin’s family life and the complexities of modern parenthood. She sings traditional songs too and writes to commission for theatre, animation and thematic collaborative projects. Karine is five-times winner at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, including twice for Best Original Song.  

In association with The Royal Lyceum Theatre and Edinburgh International Festival 2016, Karine wrote, musically directed, and performed Wind Resistance, her critically acclaimed debut work for theatre. A poetic meditation on midwifery, ecology, sanctuary, and solidarity, it combines elements of memoir, essay, myth, sound art and song. Wind Resistance won the BEST MUSIC & SOUND AWARD at the CATS (Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland) 2017 and Karine was also been shortlisted for the BEST ACTOR 'Scottish Oscar' in the Sunday Herald Culture Awards.

Alterum - Julie Fowlis (27/10/17)

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• Artist: Julie Fowlis
• Genre: Traditional folk, Gaelic Folk, Scottish Music
• Release Date: 27th October, 2017
• Record Label: Machair Records Ltd
• Tracks: 11
• Website: www.juliefowlis.com

'Fowlis's ascent to international stardom, putting Gaelic folk on the world music map, is evidence that a sublime voice transcends language and culture' - Guardian

Julie Fowlis originally hails from North Uist in the Outer Hebrides and is now based in the Highlands of Scotland. Firmly established as a world music artist with a natural interest and ability to cross-over into other genres and styles, she will forever be known as the singing voice of Merida, the female protagonist in the Disney-Pixar Oscar/Bafta/Golden Globe winning movie 'Brave'.

During an impressive career spanning more than a decade, with multiple awards, accolades and four studio albums, she has until now, sung primarily in Scottish Gaelic. The Latin title of her fifth studio album 'Alterum' gently suggests that this record is a departure from what has gone before.

Blue Rose Code - The Waters Of Leith (27/10/12)

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• Artist: Blue Rose Code
• Genre: Celticana, Folk Singer-Songwriter
• Release Date: 27th October, 2017
• Record Label: Navigator Records
• Tracks: 12
• Website: http://www.bluerosecode.com/

A nomad both geographically and musically, Ross Wilson, aka Blue Rose Code, writes from the heart eschewing any specific genre and the twelve new songs on his new album 'The Water Of Leith', addressing themes of love, loss, travel, home, accepting the past and embracing the future, are painted with colours of folk, jazz, soul and pop; an eclecticism that has become a hallmark of Blue Rose Code and has seen him compared to John Martyn, Van Morrison and Tom Waits.

Underlining the sense of movement and place in Ross's work, The Water Of Leith is rooted in his return to his Scottish homeland. There, he reconnected with the stellar musicians who were to become an integral part of the new album's sound: multi award-winning singer Julie Fowlis, celebrated Gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes, BBC Folk Award Winner, Ross Ainslie, 2017's Scottish Jazz Awards' instrumentalist of the year Konrad Wiszniewski, leading violinist Seonaid Aitken and three of Scotland's finest jazz musicians; John Lowrie, Colin Steele and James Lindsay, to name just some of the contributors. Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman features on the opening track. Ross co-produced the album with Angus Lyon.

In the space of a few short years and the release of well-received albums North Ten, The Ballads Of Peckham Rye, and And Lo The Bird Is On The Wing, Blue Rose Code has built a growing reputation as a powerful writer and performer, gaining extensive radio play and the praise of key broadcasters including Edith Bowman, Mary Ann Kennedy, Bob Harris and also actor Ewan McGregor who made a cameo appearance on And Lo The Bird Is On The Wing after commenting: "My uncle Denis Lawson (star of Local Hero) gave me a copy of The Ballads Of Peckham Rye, it's beautiful and I can't stop listening to it."

Jenn & Laura-Beth - Bound (20/11/16)

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• Artist: Jenn & Laura Beth
• Genre: Folk
• Release Date:
• Record Label: JBLB
• Tracks: 11
• Website: http://www.jennandlb.com/

Jenn Butterworth (guitar and voice) and Laura-Beth Salter (mandolin and voice) have each been a presence on the UK folk scene for a number of years. They were brought together by the close-knit and progressive Glasgow folk music community, spending lots of their time jamming an eclectic mix of folk music from across the globe, particularly the UK, Scandinavia and America. The years of playing together brought a deep affinity between the two artists; their rhythms lock tightly, their voices blend so closely that it's often hard to tell them apart. They have developed a natural telepathy: two musicians bound together. 

“Our brand new debut album, ‘Bound,’ is a representation of the last eight fantastic years of playing together. A snapshot of where we have come from and where we are now. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we have enjoyed playing and recording it.” – Jenn & Laura-Beth

Laura-Beth is a founding member of renowned folk band, The Shee, and has also toured extensively with bands such as Frigg, Shooglenifty and Dougie MacLean’s ‘The MacLean Project. In 2013 she was nominated for the MG Alba Scots Trad Awards Composer of the Year award after the success of her Celtic Connections commission and debut album, Breathe.

Jenn Butterworth is one of the UK’s foremost folk guitarists. She began her career touring worldwide with award winning Anna Massie Band, and has gone on to perform with well regarded acts such as Fiddlers’ Bid, Phil Cunningham and the highly acclaimed Songs of Separation.

Top Floor Taivers - A Delicate Game (28/02/17)

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• Artist: Top Floor Taivers
• Genre: Folk, Trad Folk, Scottish Music, Acoustic
• Release Date: 28th February, 2017
• Record Label: TFT Records
• Tracks: 10
• Website: http://www.topfloortaivers.com/

Top Floor Taivers are a young and fresh Glasgow based band performing traditional and contemporary Scottish songs and tunes. Coming from Scotland, England and Ireland, Top Floor Taivers combine stunning vocals with piano, fiddle and clarsach to create unique arrangements of traditional folk songs and tunes as well as their own compositions.

Nominated in the Up and Coming Artist category at the 2016 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards, Top Floor Taivers released their highly anticipated debut album A Delicate Game in January 2017. With unique arrangements of traditional Scottish songs like The False Bride, to contemporary Scottish songs like Princess Rosanna by Findlay Napier, and Everybody Knows by Leonard Cohen, this exciting new album has something in it for everyone.

Since forming in 2013 the band have performed across Scotland and Ireland, with highlights including BBC Music Day, Stonehaven Folk Festival, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party, and Celtic Connections amongst others. In 2017 they will be touring their new album and will be performing a tour of Germany in 2018.