Diving Down was released yesterday on Autumn Ferment Records. We had a great gig last night and sold lots of CDs.
It's gone straight into Norman Records recommended list, and has recieved a 4-star first review from Psyche Van Het Folk (below). There should also be a track on BBC radio 6's Stuart Marconi's Freak Zone too on Sunday. Coolio!
Also, super-excitingly, we've got a gig on 24th September at the Union Chapel, London, supporting Nancy Elizabeth. Bring it on! xx
Autumn Ferment Rec. : Diving Down (UK,2009)****
This wonderfully arranged (with a professional sonic quality) privately recorded album has all the charms you can imagine from a psychfolk related artist, including the colourful dreamy fantasy state the songs are in. Just the first song reminded me a bit of the early Kate Bush, with the dancing around overdubbed vocal harmonies and the beautifully coloured lead voice in the singing. Other instruments are kora, omnichord, clarinet and recorder, clickclack woodblocks and high notes of glockenspiel with the odd feeling of the instrument’s limited range and high pitches giving a strange effect like a coloured fence around the songs (keeping Alice’s rabbit in). After the beautiful overdubs of multiple harmonies with voice and recorder on the first two tracks, “Perm” is just one voice with the harp-like kora. Being nearly half way, at this point the mood in the arrangements changes a bit. “Diving Down” sounds like a droning salute where the organ sounds are used like droning pipes in British Isles folk music, recalling a bit older European minstrel traditions, presumably without having meant to be so. Additional cow bells are like the previous glockenspiel additions added like equally oddly surrounding sound effects, mixed with water bottle arrangements. Around the time of “I shot you” I understood pretty much why Gemma’s voice and release was accepted on the same label as Lisa O Piu. The last two tracks increase the droning effect of the arrangements, and also the songs become more repetitive swinging, with more a ritually droning-lullaby sort of arrangements, with a certain psychedelic, if not meditative-towards the dream effect for the instrumental part. After a silence we hear a sparse acoustic song referring to a personal association made around the time of this creative circle of songs. Another beautiful to listen to album, a welcome addition to the sparse amount of psychfolk related albums.
What we say about Diving Down, by Woodpecker Wooliams: Norman Records
This record left our Business Lady feeling happy.
'Diving Down' is the debut album from multi-instrumantalist/singer/songwriter Gemma Williams Woodpecker Wooliams. Taking retreat in an 800 year old cottage below a castle in Devonshire Williams has crafted a album of wondrous traditional folk and magical sea shanty's. Williams vocal is both beautiful and haunting where required but it's the balanced mix of chimes, bells, harps and dulcimers that give it a timeless quality that belongs to ancient folklore. Easily comparable to Joanna Newsom, Kate Bush and Coco Rosie at her most whimsical, 'Diving down' bridges the boundary between traditional folk and experimental pop that has been effortlessly archived by the likes of Bat for Lashes. A beautifully impressive collection of songs from an emerging songwriting talent with a great voice.