St Andrew's Day mix

With St Andrews Day coming up on the 30th of November I've put together a mix of Scottish artists. Most of the tracks are from albums released in the last few years with a couple of oldies from Big Country and Drop The Box thrown in for good measure. It's mostly fairly mellow stuff but if you're in the mood for something more up-tempo here's some Runrig...

https://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/st-andrews-day-mix-2015/

Mariearad & Anna - The Botanist
Ewan McLennan - Rattlin' Roarin' Willie
Daimh - Gur e mo Ghille Dubh Dhonn
Kris Drever - Green Grows The Laurel
Maeve Mackinnon - Kind Friends and Companions
Calum MacLeod - Shetland Set
Drop The Box - Not Coming Your Way
Big Country - Peace in our Time
Kim Edgar - Fragile
Nick Keir - Norman's Dram
Paul Anderson - Lament for the Mighty Norman Anderson
Macmaster Hay - Stay With You
Karine Polwart - We're All Leaving
King Creosote - Jump At The Cats
Salt House - Little Birdie

Off The Beaten Tracks 25 November

Three tracks on this week's show from Danni Nicholls' album Mockingbird Lane which was released last month and a couple from Bob Bradshaw's new album Whatever You Wanted which was released on November the 13th.

Danni Nicholls' second album Mockingbird Lane features many members of the stellar cast from her critically acclaimed 2013 debut album A Little Redemption. From a young age, Danni was soaking up American folk, country and rock n roll music from her Grandmother’s record collection in her small home town of Bedford. 

Danni met producer Chris Donohue (The Civil Wars, Elvis Costello, Robert Plant) in London in 2011 through a mutual friend, whilst Chris was in the UK playing bass with Emmylou Harris as one of her Red Dirt Boys. The pair have now made two albums together featuring some of Nashville’s finest musicians.

Americana songwriter and singer Bob Bradshaw has spent twenty-five years exploring the music of his adopted country, and it's all on display in his new album Whatever You Wanted - roots-rock, western swing, country soul, and acoustic ballads, reminiscent of the great songwriters that inspire him - John Hiatt, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt.

Raised in Ireland and educated in bar-rooms, clubs and honky tonks across the United States and at Boston's Berklee College of Music from which he graduated in 2009, Whatever You Wanted, Bob's sixth album, contains his characteristically earnest, evocative, cinematic songs - songs about relationships and identity, songs about loss and hope, songs about songs.

https://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/off-the-beaten-tracks-25-november/

Danni Nicholls - Long Road Home
Bob Bradshaw - Whatever You Wanted
Show of Hands - Walk With Me (When The Sun Goes Down)
Skipinnish - Walking on the Waves
Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors - Tennessee
Danni Nicholls - Leaving Tennessee
Dana Immanuel - Be Like Arnie
Damien O'Kane - The Banks of the Bann
Bob Bradshaw - Losing You
Danni Nicholls - Travellin' Man

OTBT video selection 19 November

Damien O'Kane - The Close of an Irish Day

Damien's new album is called “Areas of High Traffic” and is his first solo album in 5 years. He takes some of the greatest songs in the folk canon – ‘The Blacksmith’, ‘The Banks Of The Bann’, ‘I Am A Youth’ and ‘The Green Fields Of America’ included – and reinvents them in refreshingly original ways.

Mairearad Green & Anna Massie - Teviot

Two of Scotland’s most revered multi-instrumentalists, Mairearad Green and Anna Massie launch their third album, ‘Best Day’. They are renowned for their formidable technical skill, alongside playful delivery and the sheer joy of making music together, which mirrors their cheerful album title ‘Best Day’.  The title comes from one of the fiddle sets on the album including Aidan O’Rourkes tune ‘Best Day of my Life’.

Gordie Tentrees - Keno City

Deeply personal and moving, melodic and uplifting and lyrically rich - these are the songs that will tear your heart out, one note at a time. In this case brilliant Canadian singer-songwriter Gordie Tentrees offers the perfect example with his sixth album, "Less is More". He is touring the UK & Ireland Jan-Feb 2016 with multi-instrumentalist Jaxon Haldane.

The Portraits at Cambridge Folk Festival

Anglo-Irish alt-folk duo The Portraits, aka husband and wife songwriters Jeremy and Lorraine Millington from Bristol and Galway respectively, reached the iTunes chart in January 2015 with their charity single 'The Rest Of Time'.

Mixcloud v Blogger

In the five days since I uploaded my last mix the stats haven't been too encouraging - 2 plays and 2 minutes listened to whereas over 40 people read my blog entry. While I enjoy recording shows and putting mixes together I think I'd be better off doing one every two or three weeks and maybe do a weekly post on here with news of new releases and links to songs on YouTube. 

So here are a few songs I included on last week's (now deleted) mix. Enjoy. 

Jez Lowe - Old Bones

Peter Knight's Gigspanner - Two Constant Lovers

The Carrivick Sisters - If I Had Time

Martha Wainwright - When The Day Is Short

Off The Beaten Tracks 4 November

Two tracks from David J Kelly's new album "Man and Mountain" on this week's show. You can listen to another track from the album at http://davidjkelly.bandcamp.com/releases

BettySoo's new album "When We’re Gone" was self-released on October 30 2015. Produced together with Brian Standefer at his studio in Buda, Texas, When We’re Gone is an intimate look into private spaces in life. Wall-hung sinks (‘The Things She Left Town With’), cluttered floorboards (‘Josephine’), packed suitcases at the door (‘Hold Tight’), and crumpled clothing at a young girl’s feet (‘Summertime’) – these are the furniture for the setting, but centre stage is BettySoo’s voice, her melodies, and the unmistakable texture of Brian’s cello.

https://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/off-the-beaten-tracks-4-november/

David J Kelly - Sutherland Rag
BettySoo - 100 Different Ways of Being Alone
Kyrre Slind - Remembering
Daimh - O Fair a-nall am Botal
Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman - The Buxom Lass
Melissa Greener - My Country Home in Summer Glow
The Resonant Rogues - Fall With Me
J Shogren + Shanghai'd - Thief River Falls River Thief
David J Kelly - The High Road
The Deadly Winters - Liars Liars Liars
June Tabor - Hughie Graeme
The Bailey Sisters - Partin Glass
Ross Ainslie - Remembering
Pauline Alexander - Broken Youth

The Deadly Winters EP "Table In The Corner" will be released on 6 November 2015.