Folk Alternative

gentle post work melodies

Folk

Lay back with ear buds and close your eyes

Cool and Laid Back 24

Armellodie Records is proud to present Dunfermline’s Dan Lyth and the Euphrates with their new album, Benthic Lines, released as a Deluxe book (that’s right, we said book!) with CD and/or download on Monday 12th May 2014.

Dan Lyth was born in the Middle East but has lived most of his life in Dunfermline, Fife. A sound designer by day, Lyth began work on Benthic Lines some five years ago, his intention to record an album entirely outdoors. On rooftops and rowing boats, in forests and high streets, mountains and quarries, ruined churches and beaches, car parks and peat bogs. Anywhere really, as long as it was outside!

Having first had the idea while on a trip to Sierra Leone, Lyth quickly realised that it's one thing to daydream of such a plan whilst in the tropics and quite another to actually attempt it back at home in Scotland. 

“I think some part of me took perverse pleasure in the thought of having to undergo some real physical exertion to make this record. I have also always been drawn to creative work that has taken a considerable amount of effort, and recording an album outdoors whilst living in Scotland with its devious climate seemed to fit the bill.”

In an age when it seems anyone can produce an album in their bedroom, Benthic Lines attempts to re-explore the relationship between music and the environment in which it is created. What happens to a recording when you have no control over the surroundings? What anomalies and accidents may occur? And would it be possible to weave together the unpredictable sounds of these environments with more traditional performances to create a cohesive whole?

As Lyth’s fondness of field recording has grown more ambitious, so too has his talent as a songwriter. Album opener ‘All My Love’ is testament to this, merging the mythological with the reality of the uncertainties that are brought when becoming a father for the first time. The vivid imagery of ‘Four Creatures’, written from the perspective of someone living in Syria, draws upon Islamic and Christian eschatological imagery to startling effect.

The influence of Steve Reich is worth noting, from the repetitive female vocal sounds on ‘Standing Start’ to the cyclic piano and accordion patterns of ‘Super Nature’ and ‘Earth Broke Its Vow’, Lyth is the first to admit of his affection for Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians. 

“A big chunk of inspiration came from Steve Reich’s work and one of the main aims of the album in terms of the arrangements was to try and make music that sounds electronic or programmed but is actually all live acoustic instruments.” says Lyth. 

Benthic Lines are the deep sea communication cables through which the world is now connected, and communication is a recurring theme throughout the record ("the cables installed along ocean floors is where we had lived too long for sure" sings Lyth on ‘How It Happened’). How our constant use of communication technology can affect our thought processes and relationships (“We shot some video, scenes that would not be shown, think what you will but the devil’s in the pixels on my phone”, sings Lyth on ‘Four Creatures’).   With recording having taken place in locations as far afield as Morocco, Australia, Turkey and Uganda, Dan is also exploring the lines of human connection and lines of ancestry.

Designed with love by graphic artist Sarah Lyth, the album arrives in a beautifully bound 60-page book and includes photos from the array of recording locations. Cover art from celebrated New York artist Matthew Cusick and an accompanying short story, Already Here, by talented Fifer Craig Rennie complete the desirable artefact that is Benthic Lines. So what has Lyth got to say for himself now that his affair with the great outdoors is almost over.

“After travelling, listening, recording and being constantly surprised over the course of the five years and four continents that I’ve made Benthic Lines, what will really stay with me is not only all the wonderful sounds we heard but also the many inquisitive, open-minded and generous people we met along the way. But it wasn’t all romantic. It’s quite hard work transporting a drum kit to a remote derelict church or dragging a piano out of a small flat. There were broken mic stands, bleeding fingers and failing batteries. And there was rain, a lot of rain.”


DAN LYTH & THE EUPHRATES - All My Love

The new album 'Love Of Too Much Living' from The Magic Lantern, release date 29th September 2014.

Air At The Top

The new album 'Love Of Too Much Living' from The Magic Lantern, release date 29th September 2014. 

Hercules

This is the first release from Bruno Merz new album 'Highways', due out in November. New Bohemian Folk Pop, with sensitive lyrics, and unforgettable melodies. Share with your friends to download a copy for free. 

Highways

Share to DOWNLOAD Here

Into The Air

Picture Us

'If I Was' Available Now (North America: March 31) http://thestaves.com/ifiwas

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheStaves
Twitter: http://twitter.com/thestaves
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/thestaves
Instagram: http://instagram.com/thestaves

Download on iTunes

Steady

Written in China. This song is about meeting new people, stepping out of your comfort zone, opening your mind and embracing the unknown. 

Freedom From The Known

Alela Diane & Ryan Francesconi - "The Sun Today"

Alela Diane & Ryan Francesconi  - "Shapeless"

Waking up in a haze
It's going to be another day
God is good but I'm afraid
That I should be feeling better

Walking down the street ahead
Nothing doing, feeling dead
God is good but I'm afraid
That I should be walking straighter

Talking to a friend of mine
Who's going through a rougher time
God is good but I'm afraid 
That I should be loving greater

He counts the hairs upon my head
Prepares a table for me to sit
In front of those who wish me ill
Well I've got God and he's got his will
Consider this, consider this
The birds they fly with carelessness
How much more does God love me?
The answer is infinitely 
Picture this, picture this
God so loved the world He sent
His only son to die for it
So that I may go to Him
Repent my sins

I know better
I know better
I know better
I know better

I Know Better (demo)

From the new studio album, ‘The Long Way Home’, released 15 Jan 16. now available to pre-order from SOH Online Store: http://bit.ly/1I6Ng44 and AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1kwtnZ2    

Walk with Me (When the Sun Goes Down)

Driving through with you
On our way to blue
Cigarette run
I don't smoke but she does

With my love
With my love
With my love
With my love

Talking through with you
Thick air, bad news
Alcohol run
She don't drink but I do

With my love
With my love

Is this it?
My favorite girl and my favorite whiskey
If this is it, why do I feel so empty?
God, you found me finding you
I met you on the ground

Born again with you
Clear air, good news
I stumble and fall
You pick me up when I do

With your love
With your love
With your love
With your love

 

Photo credit: 31 Productions

Peterborough (demo)

a meditative musical journey inspired by Ansuman Biswas about the god and goddess within. Featuring Ansuman Biswas on the hang drum.

Indras - Call - 2

Midlake - The Fairest Way

Shepherd

The Magic Lantern, the musical moniker of Jamie Doe, is set to release his latest single Holding Hands on 30th October 2017 via Hectic Eclectic Records. 

The single opens with a defiant cry of hope, the lyrics “I’m searching…”, ringing out alone before two saxophones enter, freely weaving around the vocal, at once harmonising and echoing it. This texture builds as a third saxophone joins creating a rich brass warmth through which Doe’s voice glides, effortlessly leaping between the declamatory and the intimate. The  band enter with an infectious groove, and we are introduced to the songs’ key metaphor of a flood and the need for creative destruction - “One day, when all this is washed away, some will remain, full of hope in the pouring rain”. The track resolves with the triumph of hope over doubt.

Holding Hands was written during a moment of desperation, Jamie having travelled half way across the world only to run out of road.  Strung out and alone, he found himself writing this song for the true love he hoped to meet, as much an act of faith in their existence as a beacon to guide himself home.  Originally written for voice and guitar, it was after hearing Bjork’s ‘Anchor Song’ late one night that Jamie decided to arrange the song for saxophone trio. The timbre of the brass, the groove of the band, The Bad Plus style piano solo – it is an arrangement that brings together some of Jamie’s key influences which he describes as “the lyrical directness of folk, the harmonic openness and improvisational freedom of jazz and the craft of great songwriting. It’s a good example of how much more confident I have become as an arranger”. 

Born in Australia, before moving to the UK at 12, Jamie began performing as The Magic Lantern while studying philosophy in Bristol where he met and performed alongside friends This Is The Kit, Rozi Plain and Rachael Dadd. Moving to London in 2007, Jamie expanded The Magic Lantern into a quintet of friends and together they evolved a transporting sound, inspired by the immediacy of Jamie’s lyrics and lilting melodies and a shared love of improvised music. A debut album with the quintet was released in 2011 before Jamie returned to his solo roots with an intimate second album in 2014. The Magic Lantern has received praise from numerous publications including The Guardian, Acoustic Magazine and Folk Radio UK as well as BBC 6Music’s Lauren Laverne, Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction and BBC Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe and Bob Harris among others. His third album, To The Islands from which Holding Hands is taken, sees The Magic Lantern return with a new ensemble drawn from London’s thriving jazz scene, exploring memory and hope in a world of near constant uncertainty. 

With Holding Hands, The Magic Lantern is ready to introduce further listeners to his bittersweet, beautiful sound. 

Holding Hands is out on 30th October 2017 via Hectic Eclectic Records.

Holding Hands

Free Download: www.jamesfrost.bandcamp.com
Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/yknaj
Video: http://bit.ly/316-nameless

"One of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard...an artist who has truth running through his veins" - Luke Hannam, Gramme

"Wow, I am very impressed" - Fred Fellowes (Founder), Secret Garden Party Festival

Remember the acorn, we planted in Spring
It had your name carved in
Miles from nowhere, lying beneath
The canopy of shimmering leaf

If you were the only one left
And all of this wood was yours
Would you leave it nameless
Or would you always guard its doors

Remember the cabin, frozen in snow
And all the deer that made it their home
Tinder and woodsmoke, shadow and light
The sound of sex in the echo of night

If we were the only ones left
And all of this wood was ours
Would we leave it nameless
Or would we always walk its paths
Or would we always walk its paths

Oh in tears I drink from their eyes
In streams under dappled light
I wonder who lived here before
Who watched as these trees grew tall

If we were the only ones left
And all of this wood was ours
Would we leave it nameless
Or would we always walk its paths
Or would we always walk its paths

~

Composition and lyrics: James Frost
Vocal and guitar: James Frost
Female vocal: Carmody

Recorded by James Frost on 8-track
Mastered by Owen Morgan

Painting: Richard Wade www.richardwadeartist.co.uk

Copyright 2014 James Frost: all rights reserved

Tunecode: 147593BM

Free Download

Nameless (Acoustic)

Go to leonieevans.bandcamp.com for the rest of the E.P.. listen for free or if you feel like donating as a preorder of the physical copy or even just sharing with a friend would be massively appreciated :) xx

That's just the world

song from most recent album Bite The Mountain which I recorded in Japan

Balloon

The Way We Fall

I’ve been thinking about music and its place in the world. I’ve been thinking about artistic space and our willingness to occupy it. And I’ve been thinking, again, about success, what it means and to whom I ask for validation of it. These aren’t new thoughts exactly, but they are thoughts I have taken greater root this new year.

It feels important to say out loud that I am not competing with or against any other musician for your attention. I refuse to submerge my artistic practice in the barren, cold waters of marketing speak. Branding is for cows. And while of course I want to grow my audience, to reach further and farther, to travel and make new connections through my songs, what is meaningful to me is the depth more than the breadth. 

Experience and practice, the love of those this music has reached, the support of other musicians, have gifted me a perspective that brooks less doubt about the value of what I do these days. This is a kind of success. Thank you to everyone who nourishes me. 

My work for this year, hand in hand with the exciting and messy business of releasing a new album, is to more deeply embrace gratitude and practice some radical acceptance; to take a look around and realise this may be as good as it gets, and know that it is enough. The work continues. 

My new album 'To Everything a Season' is out on 11 October. 

Big love

The Magic Lantern / Jamie x 

"Excellent, intriguing and compelling, a man to watch"
-The Guardian

"Something very, very special"
- Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music

"Gorgeous, beautiful, this stopped me in my tracks. Slightly surreal, in all the right ways" - Jamie Cullum, BBC Radio 2

"Every now and again you come across a piece of music that will completely take your breath away. It might not be instant, but it will. The Magic Lantern’s ‘Holding Hands’ is one of those pieces of music. 8/10"
- Fortitude Magazine

"Creating something truly mesmerizing and incredibly unique. Jamie’s ability to combine jazz and folk into something ethereal and is undeniably spellbinding. Fans of Grizzly Bear and Chet Baker will feel at home here."
- The Vinyl District



www.the-magic-lantern.co.uk
Contact: jamiefdoe@yahoo.com