Consequences, the fifth studio album from acclaimed Edinburgh songwriter and pianist Kim Edgar, considers the personal, social and environmental impact of human behaviour. It features collaborations written and recorded each month from October 2021 - September 2022 with songwriters Kim admires: Ron Sexsmith and Sandra Le Couteur (Canada), Horse McDonald, Boo Hewerdine, Goodnight Louisa, James Grant, Rachel Sermanni and Louis Abbott (Scotland), Dan Bettridge (Wales), J-P Piirainen (Finland), Stone from the band Mayday (Taiwan) and William Crighton (Australia).

Emotion and connection are at the heart of Kim’s work: through observed and lived experiences, she ponders what it is to be human, creating stories told with honesty and empathy that open hearts, minds and discussions: 

“Heart stopping...our very own Tori Amos” (Sunday Herald)
 “Intense and thought provoking” (The List) 
“Very moving, literate, allusive and expressively sung” * * * * * (Scotland On Sunday) 

With four critically acclaimed solo albums under her belt, Kim has been described as “an example of everything that’s great about contemporary music” and “probably one of the best songwriters in Britain today.” * * * * * (Spiral Earth). 

The songs explore the need for kindness, the lasting impact of childhood trauma and what planet earth might say to humanity right now. They also consider the impact of war on the most vulnerable, and what it means to witness injustice (such as the invasion of Ukraine) without raising your voice or taking action. 

The album launches at Celtic Connections on Thursday 2nd February 2023 with a full band and many of the songwriting collaborators.

CONSEQUENCES

IT ONLY TAKES A SILENCE MUSIC & WORDS BY J-P PIIRAINEN & KIM EDGAR (except the spoken word section, gathered from old traditional Finnish poems about silence and being quiet)

Small, yet heavy
Form unsteady
Not quite ready, lacking voice 
Strains and stresses
Silence presses
Heavy burden, weighty choice

It only takes a silence
To sense no one has seen us 
To stand by and do nothing 
When tragedies begin
It only takes a silence
To build a wall between us
A moment of inaction
And then divisions win

Jo mie kaik’ virret unohi 
Kaik mie laulut lakkaelin 
Hiljaa, hiljaa nuohinainen 
Hiljaa, hiljaa hiitelästi

[The Finnish text could be translated as follows:
I’ve forgotten all the hymns
I’ve stopped singing all the songs
Quiet, quiet young woman
Quiet, quiet quietly]

Fretful, guilty
Cannot un-see
Bystander regrets abound
Be the ones who
Rise, speak out to
Lift each other, make a sound

If we can break the silence
We’ll know that they have seen us 
We’ll rise up and do something 
When tragedies begin
If we can break the silence
No walls will come between us 
United voices gaining traction 
Division cannot win

Kim Edgar: piano, synth, vocals
Mikey Owers: brass, vocals
J-P Piirainen:  vocals, guitele, programming, production

Produced, recorded and mixed by Mattie Foulds @ Caribou Recording. 
Mastered by Mattie Foulds. Cover design by Gillian Gamble.

6 It Only Takes A Silence (written by J-P Piiarainen & Kim Edgar)

FIFTY TO ONE
MUSIC & WORDS BY LOUISE MCCRAW & KIM EDGAR

Oh the people would gamble 
Their own wife and children 
Oh the people, indiscreet
Vivid dreams of velvet riches 
Cloaking all that’s incomplete

Penny arcade 
A fantasy that keeps on fading

Fifty to one, look at them all lined up 
The girls in fur coats, 
Stuck in Travolta Falls and 
Always leave them wanting more

Vacant eyes in empty faces 
Tired fingers feed machines

Kim Edgar: piano, synth, vocals
Mattie Foulds: drums, percussion
Kevin McGuire: bass
Mikey Owers: brass, guitars, synths, vocals
Goodnight Louisa: vocals

Produced, recorded and mixed by Mattie Foulds @ Caribou Recording. 
Mastered by Mattie Foulds. Cover design by Gillian Gamble.

5 Fifty To One (written by Goodnight Louisa & Kim Edgar)

THE ROLLING SEA
MUSIC & WORDS BY DAN BETTRIDGE & KIM EDGAR

You stifle, I cannot breathe easy
You use me, I can find no rest
You want to walk this line beside me? 
Tread lightly, tread lightly...

I am the rolling sea, you are the heavy stone 
This is the highest tide that I have ever known

I wish you’d treasure what we have here 
There’s only so much I can take
I love you, still I need to warn you
Tread lightly, tread lightly...

Kim Edgar: piano, vocals
Mattie Foulds: drums, percussion
Kevin McGuire: bass
Mikey Owers: brass, guitars, synths, vocals
Dan Bettridge: vocals, electric guitar

Produced, recorded and mixed by Mattie Foulds @ Caribou Recording. 
Mastered by Mattie Foulds. Cover design by Gillian Gamble.

4 The Rolling Sea (written by Dan Bettridge & Kim Edgar)

THE EDGE OF SHAME
MUSIC & WORDS BY BOO HEWERDINE & KIM EDGAR

A corridor of tiny rooms 
Vespers floating up the stairs 
Hearts that beat within a womb 
Loneliness has its own prayers

We are on the edge of shame
We are told what’s right and wrong 
When we let conscience decide
In the end, the shame is gone

A lock of hair kept in a box
Time didn’t mend - time has been cruel 
Her voice still wavers when she talks
It wasn’t her who made the rules

Nothing hurts my heart as much
As when you cannot meet my eye
It’s all of us who have done you wrong 
Looking back, we question why

Kim Edgar: synth, vocals
Mattie Foulds: synth, drums, percussion

Produced, recorded and mixed by Mattie Foulds @ Caribou Recording. 
Mastered by Mattie Foulds. Cover design by Gillian Gamble.

3 The Edge Of Shame (written by Boo Hewerdine & Kim Edgar)

SAVE MYSELF (RUN AWAY)
MUSIC & WORDS BY HORSE MCDONALD & KIM EDGAR

Silent, still, to survive
Words in my mouth I cannot speak 
I ache to go, I yearn to thrive 
Through these tired eyes,
The path looks steep
But I’m still alive

No one here but me 
I’ll do this on my own 
Maybe fly away
I save myself

What came before I cannot say 
I carry with me loss and lack
A life that’s left in disarray
A journey on an endless track 
Trudge it every day...

Can I sit and hold my past a while? 
Can I feel and not succumb?
Can I look into this open wound
Or just keep existing, tethered, numb 
Can I process pain, begin to trust
In the person I’ve become?

Kim Edgar: piano, vocals
Mattie Foulds: drums, percussion
Kevin McGuire: bass
Mikey Owers: brass, guitars, synths, vocals
Horse McDonald: vocals, programming

Produced, recorded and mixed by Mattie Foulds @ Caribou Recording. 
Mastered by Mattie Foulds. Cover design by Gillian Gamble.

2 Save Myself (Run Away)(written by Horse McDonald & Kim Edgar)

MUSIC BY KIM EDGAR
WORDS BY RON SEXSMITH (except “starlight, starbright,” a late 19th century nursery rhyme)

I wish for the world its wounds to heal 
That soon we feel as one
I wish for the world, for eyes to meet 
Our hearts to beat as one
Build a life worth living
Where forgiveness is for giving 
And banishment forbidden
For kindness is our mission
I wish for the world

It’s so easy to get downhearted
Trouble everywhere you look
But we have to finish what we started 
Write a different ending to the book
It‘s so easy to feel defeated
When the day ain‘t even started yet 
Many dreams still need to be completed 
Many promises we can‘t forget

You may not have gone the farthest 
But far enough to see the light
You may not have caused the darkness 
But it‘s up to you to make it bright

Any wishing star that comes to light 
Wish for things to turn out right
That everyone has what they need
So when they try their dreams succeed 
For sun to shine and rain to fall
May thoughts be kind, wish love for all

You may not have gone the farthest 
But far enough to see the light
You may not have caused the darkness 
But it‘s up to you to make it bright

Be the wishing star that comes to light 
Work for things to turn out right
So everyone has what they need
And when they try their dreams succeed 
For sun to shine and rain to fall
Let thoughts be kind, show love for all

Starlight, star bright
First star I see tonight
Wish I may, wish I might 
Have the wish I wish tonight

Kim Edgar: piano, vocals
Mattie Foulds: drums, percussion
Kevin McGuire: bass
Mikey Owers: brass, guitars, synths, vocals

Produced, recorded and mixed by Mattie Foulds @ Caribou Recording. 
Mastered by Mattie Foulds. Cover design by Gillian Gamble.

1 Any Wishing Star (written by Ron Sexsmith & Kim Edgar)

“Heart stopping…our very own Tori Amos” (Sunday Herald)
“Probably one of the best songwriters in Britain today.” *****(Spiral Earth)
Contact: kim@kimedgar.com