Kako bi zvučalo kad bi ptice pjevale u ljudskom obličju? Evo, Gemma Williams, folk-heroina s harfom, prima "poruke" od ptica.
Malo manje avangardna verzija Joanne Newsom ali također otkačeno i "potpuno drukčije".
streaming ulomaka + soundcloud
www.woodpeckerwooliams.com/
Discarding the neo-medieval folk of her 2009 debut Diving Down, Gemma Williams embraced the thrills of discordance and noise on this short but bold, thematically cohesive record. Aggressive electronics circle the more delicate harp-based pieces like hungry buzzards, while Williams herself does her level best to rend the secrets of her projected bird world apart in a brutal, honest fashion. - Alan Pedder
“strange, elusive, and haunting.” - Theirbatedbreath“Brighton’s Gemma Williams’ enchanting solo masterpieces are laced with lo-fi murder folk and droning harps” - David Newbury
“This Woodpecker Wooliams album is (…) superb. It’s (…) superb in the way an album I heard by Smog decades ago was superb: mysterious, drenched in ennui and torpor.. It has a heart. It has soul.” Everett True A resident of Brighton, a keeper of bees, all round naturophile and lover of Russian Dolls,
WOODPECKER WOOLIAMS, aka singer-songwriter Gemma Williams has an unnerving, sweet tremolo voice. Her songs are unusual, modern + intriguing. Originally comprised of vocals and harp, the odd bell, chime + whistle they have more recently begun to encompass an altogether fuller, electronic, droney sound.
Bold and fearless, live she delivers an alluring, understatedly dramatic set.
The album takes as its springboard a harsh life experience, then journeys through an exploration of passivity and violence, responsibility and blame, gender roles, personal and familial histories. The songs are always thoroughly compelling, dark but never miserable. From both sides of both fences she looks at questions of identity, female hysteria and male aggression.
“I didn't set out to explore these ideas. Each song came via a bird that had a story to tell. A bit like a reverse Disney animation - rather than anthropomorphising animal characters, these songs are kind of how it might be like if people were aviomorphised, or if the birds were in human bodies. Bird's eye views... So they're the bird's songs really. My life is changing/has changed so much over the course of making this album, surprising me, over and over” - store.robotelephant.co.uk/
Woodpecker Wooliams is the horribly twee stage name of Brighton songwriter Gemma Williams. An immediate (and obvious) comparison point is Florence Welch – it's all tremulous of vocal, harp-accompanied and trading heavily on the listener's tolerance for dark subject matter – but only at a superficial level. This is not a big-lunged sprint to a euphoric climax aimed at zinging the festival crowds. Not even close.
So, that lesson about restraint is fully learned and digested when one appreciates just how delicately crafted this debut LP is. From start to finish, The Bird School of Being Human feels like it could topple into encompassing electronic drone at any moment, a fantastically omnipresent threat to that twinkling harp. What's so good about it as that Williams doesn't let it take over until the song really deserves or needs it.
The opener, Red Kite, is searing in effect without ever going far above a whisper. The harshness of the tale told and the bizarre innocence of Williams’ toying, playful harp gradually give way to some throaty bass clarinet, but this is most definitely a triumph of quietude over bombast. The same goes for the following Gull (all of the tracks are named after avian species), which rattles with repressed energy. Besides that, and the remarkably pretty harp line, Gull is perhaps most notable for containing the most menacing request for a cup of tea ever committed to tape.
Even when the record perks up, like on the clanging Sparrow, it never feels like a concession to accessibility. Williams’ trump is that no song suffers merely because it would be easier to lob in a chorus. When it gradually (and at exactly the correct moments) descends into confrontational noise, it’s because the music requires it, whether by virtue of the squirming lyrical constructs or just because things have been too sweet until then.
Again, the lesson is that sometimes you have to make the listener wait, and Woodpecker Wooliams seems to know exactly how long that wait needs to be. Compositionally, it’s assured and well-tempered. Musically and emotionally, it’s belting. - Daniel Ross
So, that lesson about restraint is fully learned and digested when one appreciates just how delicately crafted this debut LP is. From start to finish, The Bird School of Being Human feels like it could topple into encompassing electronic drone at any moment, a fantastically omnipresent threat to that twinkling harp. What's so good about it as that Williams doesn't let it take over until the song really deserves or needs it.
The opener, Red Kite, is searing in effect without ever going far above a whisper. The harshness of the tale told and the bizarre innocence of Williams’ toying, playful harp gradually give way to some throaty bass clarinet, but this is most definitely a triumph of quietude over bombast. The same goes for the following Gull (all of the tracks are named after avian species), which rattles with repressed energy. Besides that, and the remarkably pretty harp line, Gull is perhaps most notable for containing the most menacing request for a cup of tea ever committed to tape.
Even when the record perks up, like on the clanging Sparrow, it never feels like a concession to accessibility. Williams’ trump is that no song suffers merely because it would be easier to lob in a chorus. When it gradually (and at exactly the correct moments) descends into confrontational noise, it’s because the music requires it, whether by virtue of the squirming lyrical constructs or just because things have been too sweet until then.
Again, the lesson is that sometimes you have to make the listener wait, and Woodpecker Wooliams seems to know exactly how long that wait needs to be. Compositionally, it’s assured and well-tempered. Musically and emotionally, it’s belting. - Daniel Ross
Patryoska (2012) streaming
Brighton’s Woodpecker Wooliams (aka Gemma Williams) will certainly garner comparisons to Joanna Newsom, with her high-pitched voice and harp accompaniment. It shades her music in a child-like glow, like a little girl’s room with pink curtains, pictures of princesses, a babble of baubles, and a music box with a tiny little ballerina twirling at it’s center. But her newest release, “Patryoska”, is more than that too. There’s more than a child’s offerings here. These aren’t cutesy songs. There’s a sadness underneath them, the kind that all fairytales have — about being lost in the woods, away from home and surrounded by the monsters we conjure in our heads. The record is strange, elusive, and haunting. And it all revolves around Williams’ enchanting atmospherics and her surreal voice, that at times sounds like a distant calling to one’s doom, or the proffered hand given in rescue. A song like “Lonesome Lullaby” nearly sounds Arthurian, as well suited for Medieval mischievousness as a late night tavern outing. “Tosser” finds Williams in a soulful duet with a male vocalist, singing about the difference between being a “generous lover” and a “selfish” jerk. But the stunner on this record is “Diego Diego”: “I remember that dark, dark day / When she came to shore …” The vocal harmonies are delicious, the delivery drooping and swaying with the ease of the oceans wave, interspersed with a melodious harp and a hint of raindrop recording. It’s a lovelorn marvel that feels like an adaptation of the La Llorona tradition. Note: “Patryoska” is released via The Wool Shop Productions. Listening to this record is a must. – David D. Robbins Jr.Woodpecker Wooliams is the nature-dripping recording moniker of a young lady from Brighton named Gemma Williams. Her songs, mostly comprised only of a harp and her enchanted yet firm, confident voice, enriched with some subtle field recordings (sometimes simply made up of background noises caught on tape during the recording process itself), are restrained yet stunning pieces of experimental folk, evoking images of a long-gone English countryside full of mysteries and fairytales. Of course, the word "harp" in connection with a contemporary artist has to provoke comparisons with Joanna Newsom, but if anything - probable inspiration notwithstanding - putting Williams' music alongside that of the California-born singer is nothing the former needs to be afraid of. To say the least, apart from the rather obvious fact of the instrument of choice, the common grounds are limited. Where Newsom opts for the baroque and at times almost flamboyant (which is no judgment whatsoever), Williams' honest lo-fi recordings stay on the ground, literally and figuratively, a quality that actually leaves her raw folk closer to bands like Mountain Man, in particular. The tiny Italian imprint Wool Shop Productions has just released the latest Woodpecker Wooliams work, the wonderful Patryoska, an eight-track mini CD-R that comes nestled in a wicker basket presentation box with a painted poster. Take a listen to the two exclusive, absolutely breathtaking songs Diego Diego and Wild Beasts below, and then quickly head over here to get your hands on one of the 36 very special, handmade items. -www.nofearofpop.net/
Sleeping Under Dark Suns (2010) streaming
Diving Down (2009) streaming
'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. - Norman Records
Scottish label Autumn Ferment seems to be going strong, and this imprint delivers its best album to date with Woodpecker Wooliams‘s Diving Down, a mighty fine piece of modern experimental folk.
The woman behind this project is one Gemma Williams, hailing from Brighton in the UK. Apart from an excellent voice at the high end of the spectrum, she brings a well-chosen and original instrumentarium to the table. Harp seems to be a staple instrument in many tracks – making comparisons with Joanna Newsom slightly relevant – but we’ve also recorder, clarinet, quirky percussion and a slightly surprising yet pleasant amount of drones. Not to mention the often underestimated uses of beer bottles filled with varying quantities of liquid! In short, a sound that fits in tightly in today’s new weird folk current, without ever running the danger of being too conventional.
Technicalities aside, though, Diving Down is simply an excellent album. Williams writes original and at times touching lyrics, and presents them over compositions that are traditional and familiar, yet presented in the proper fashion: folk the evolves with the times, changing traditions that have a shifting but profound core. A sea shanty like the title track should be proof enough.
Lines of connection leading to other women in modern folk music present themselves at times, and deserve to be mentioned. The somewhat dark and melancholic touches that are present in this album will certainly appeal to those who are fond of Marissa Nadler‘s style, but in general I think this album will be enjoyed by anyone who is fond of strong female artists in today’s scene. Hell, there’s even some Kate Bush in here.
Considering this is her debut album, I’d say she delivered an excellent work that’s highly enjoyable in itself, without referring to all those other artists. If you enjoy well-written and well-played modern folk, do check out this release. It’s highly promising and this lady deserves a big audience.- www.eveningoflight.nl/
Woodpecker Wooliams (No 1,345)
Hi ho, hi ho, into the dark we go – with a singer who sounds like a homicidal Disney heroine, singing songs of violence and desire
Apian adventurer … Woodpecker Wooliams
Hometown: Brighton.
The lineup: Gemma Williams (vocals, instruments).
The background: Why Woodpecker Wooliams? Because Gemma Williams, the 27-year-old singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (harp, kora, omnichord, keyboard, harmonium, electric organ, accordion, penny whistle, clarinet, bells, glockenspiel, electric shruti box, recorder and drums, since you asked) bobs her head a lot, and when she was living in an 800-year-old cottage under Totnes Castle one winter she wore loads of woolly jumpers. No prizes for guessing that, as female performers go, she is more Bjork than Beyoncé.
Talking of Bs, she collects them – bees. "I spent 30 minutes in the backseat of a car on a beautiful starlit night," she said of a recent apian adventure, "hugging my new beehive to my chest. I'd spent the day with powertools making it. I had my ear to the pine and I listened to them humming and telling me their stories as we travelled. It was heavenly."
She's also into birds, and has written and recorded an album in their honour. The Bird School of Being Human features seven songs, all titled after birds. "Each song came via a bird that had a story to tell," she says. "A bit like a reverse Disney animation – rather than anthropomorphising animal characters, these songs are kind of how it might be like if people were aviomorphised, or if the birds were in human bodies. Bird's eye views … the bird's songs, really."
Not that Williams/Wooliams is some airy-fairy dreamer. Eccentric, perhaps. But she's lived a life that's full. She grew up in Crawley, "an incredibly serious" child prone to "manic hysteria and hyperactivity". She was struck down with a "mystery illness" and spent most of her young life either flitting in and out of consciousness, having fits or suffering migraines. She discovered a love of singing but couldn't really play music at home because her mum had a rare condition causing an intolerance to repetitive or high-pitched sounds. All of which may explain why, when she was 20, she became a practicing shaman and had something called "an overnight earth burial". Or not. She also trained as a maternity nurse and midwife.
Wooliams/Williams brings her experiences to bear on The Bird School. It's no cute-fest. Yes, she has a high, hiccupy voice that is as creepy ickle gurl as it's possible to get without it sounding like something from an 18-certificate Disney movie about a homicidal Snow White. And that voice is more often than not draped in the sort of harp glissandos and pretty fantasia that make Mummers resemble Metallica. But there are all manner of electronic textures and droney effects to balance out the sweetness, and the lyrics – however saccharine they may seem – address "passivity and violence, female hysteria and male aggression".
On the opening track, Crow, she sings about building "a great funeral pyre" as the music becomes increasingly clanging and industrial. Dove cries out to be described as "bewitching", but by Gull she is bemoaning her "wretched life". Hummingbird is as solemn as a hymn, with a cacophonous climax. Magpie features acoustic guitar over weird electro noise that could well be a swarm of her beloved bees. Wooliams coos: "Oh my bonny, bonny boy". Did we say creepy?
Sparrow is the single, and starts with a looped drone of a beat and fuzzy guitar. But Red Kite is the one where the pretty and the piercing are most powerfully juxtaposed. She sounds like a fair maiden from a bygone century, yet she's singing about seeing a photo of her ex-boyfriend on Facebook. And she's not very happy about it ("You were wearing the very same thing I've been wearing since our last night when you smashed my face in"). She goes on to say she still dreams about him almost every night, sometimes with "his fingers around her throat". At which point you think: should we leave? But there's more. "What really got me the most was that, darling, I thought you were good." Cue free jazz/noise-out ending and a haunting feeling you may find hard to shake.
The buzz: "Strange, elusive, and haunting" – theirbatedbreath.
The truth: Creepy, but in a good way.
Most likely to: Give new meaning to "the birds and the bees".
Least likely to: Provide a particularly suitable soundtrack to sex.
What to buy: The Bird School of Being Human and Sparrow are both released by Robot Elephant next week.
File next to: Joanna Newsom, Bjork, Mummers, Hall of Mirrors.
Links: woodpeckerwooliams.bandcamp.com.
Friday's new band: Oddience.
Blog:
Song By Toad Session
Here’s the morning-gin-brain session, then, that we filmed up at Toad Hall last October. I think the tape runs out before the last song we play (‘Crow’), but you can download all the tracks and hear the full podcast along with some of our musical favourites (Vivian Void, Sons of Noel and Adrian, Peggy Sue and Soccer 96) HERE.
Here are a lovely little series of photos (taken by Nic Rue) from the session with did up at ‘Toad Manor’ for Song By Toad whilst we were in Edinburgh at the end of last year… Session videos out soon. xx
I’ll be taking your ears on a leash and making them my gimps. Next Friday. Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar. Back to back with Anthony Chalmers. Come along and bring a sick bag. And a change of pants.
‘New Faces’ in pretty big and sexy Italian music magazine. Seems to say lots of nice things about the Woodpecker (we can forgive the consonant slip).
Also, if you’re snowed in and feeling romantic, aptly named ‘Arctic Circle’ who hosted us at The Union Chapel a couple of months back, have just posted up a new wintery cloudcast including a Woodpecker track. Toast your cockles, and enjoy:
58 The Hut by Arctic Circle Radio on Mixcloud
Penultimate video teaser. The last one we’ll share on Sunday, the day before the release…getting excited!
‘Gull’ single + Video: 5 days to go… (Screen shot teaser#2)
Surprise! Very excited to announce we’ll be joining My Brightest Diamond at the fabulous Bush Hall a week today! Huzzah!
She is stepping into the sea every day throughout December in her project ‘I take you with me’ as a means of raising awareness of the ‘corrective rapes’ of lesbian women that take place on an almost daily basis currently in South Africa. She’s built some hydrophones and will be recording her swims and making music from the resulting soundclips. Her words on her first dip (yesterday) below. Do drop by her site and find out more. xx
saltymiller:
Well. The End was fun and rather eventful. He we are, power-banding it up at The Music Palace.
In other news, The Bird School of Being Human vinyl has arrived! Whoop! RER HQ will have some and so do I, so you can tap me up direct too.
(photo by Matthew Cartledge)
Tour (II)
Right now we’re on the road between Bristol and Edinburgh. We’ve had about 4 hours sleep- I’m not grumpy yet but if we don’t find some kind of greasy breakfast soon, havoc will ensue.
Last night on The Grain Barge was a lot of fun. Some beautiful faces old and new, and LOADS OF BOATS! Water fowl, old steam tugs, a little ferry punt down the river- wonderful and we were treated to some warming and lovely music from the wolfy Spiderbelly and the time-travelling Nuala.
Here was a nice surprise to find too; 8/10 for TBSOFH in Clash Music Mag. xx
Despite the unspeakably early start, The Union Chapel show this weekend was packed, and a whole lot of fun. This was the last gig with power-trio Tom Heather and Marcus Hamblett for a little while. Next up is (my first?!) UK tour joined by surprise new member- Jason & Kylie-style tour t-shirts to follow…
Here’s a pretty handsome-looking poster for the Shhh festival in Glasgow this December, co-curated by The Line of Best Fit, The Local, and RM Hubbert at Platform. If you’re in Scotland and want some Woodpecker love before then we’ll be racing up to Edinburgh on Friday 26th October for a Song By Toad night. Nice. xx
Announcing ‘Gull’, the second single from The Bird School of Being Human (out on 26/11/12). Free streaming here along with dates and links for the OCTOBER UK TOUR! WHooo!
The lineup: Gemma Williams (vocals, instruments).
The background: Why Woodpecker Wooliams? Because Gemma Williams, the 27-year-old singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (harp, kora, omnichord, keyboard, harmonium, electric organ, accordion, penny whistle, clarinet, bells, glockenspiel, electric shruti box, recorder and drums, since you asked) bobs her head a lot, and when she was living in an 800-year-old cottage under Totnes Castle one winter she wore loads of woolly jumpers. No prizes for guessing that, as female performers go, she is more Bjork than Beyoncé.
Talking of Bs, she collects them – bees. "I spent 30 minutes in the backseat of a car on a beautiful starlit night," she said of a recent apian adventure, "hugging my new beehive to my chest. I'd spent the day with powertools making it. I had my ear to the pine and I listened to them humming and telling me their stories as we travelled. It was heavenly."
She's also into birds, and has written and recorded an album in their honour. The Bird School of Being Human features seven songs, all titled after birds. "Each song came via a bird that had a story to tell," she says. "A bit like a reverse Disney animation – rather than anthropomorphising animal characters, these songs are kind of how it might be like if people were aviomorphised, or if the birds were in human bodies. Bird's eye views … the bird's songs, really."
Not that Williams/Wooliams is some airy-fairy dreamer. Eccentric, perhaps. But she's lived a life that's full. She grew up in Crawley, "an incredibly serious" child prone to "manic hysteria and hyperactivity". She was struck down with a "mystery illness" and spent most of her young life either flitting in and out of consciousness, having fits or suffering migraines. She discovered a love of singing but couldn't really play music at home because her mum had a rare condition causing an intolerance to repetitive or high-pitched sounds. All of which may explain why, when she was 20, she became a practicing shaman and had something called "an overnight earth burial". Or not. She also trained as a maternity nurse and midwife.
Wooliams/Williams brings her experiences to bear on The Bird School. It's no cute-fest. Yes, she has a high, hiccupy voice that is as creepy ickle gurl as it's possible to get without it sounding like something from an 18-certificate Disney movie about a homicidal Snow White. And that voice is more often than not draped in the sort of harp glissandos and pretty fantasia that make Mummers resemble Metallica. But there are all manner of electronic textures and droney effects to balance out the sweetness, and the lyrics – however saccharine they may seem – address "passivity and violence, female hysteria and male aggression".
On the opening track, Crow, she sings about building "a great funeral pyre" as the music becomes increasingly clanging and industrial. Dove cries out to be described as "bewitching", but by Gull she is bemoaning her "wretched life". Hummingbird is as solemn as a hymn, with a cacophonous climax. Magpie features acoustic guitar over weird electro noise that could well be a swarm of her beloved bees. Wooliams coos: "Oh my bonny, bonny boy". Did we say creepy?
Sparrow is the single, and starts with a looped drone of a beat and fuzzy guitar. But Red Kite is the one where the pretty and the piercing are most powerfully juxtaposed. She sounds like a fair maiden from a bygone century, yet she's singing about seeing a photo of her ex-boyfriend on Facebook. And she's not very happy about it ("You were wearing the very same thing I've been wearing since our last night when you smashed my face in"). She goes on to say she still dreams about him almost every night, sometimes with "his fingers around her throat". At which point you think: should we leave? But there's more. "What really got me the most was that, darling, I thought you were good." Cue free jazz/noise-out ending and a haunting feeling you may find hard to shake.
The buzz: "Strange, elusive, and haunting" – theirbatedbreath.
The truth: Creepy, but in a good way.
Most likely to: Give new meaning to "the birds and the bees".
Least likely to: Provide a particularly suitable soundtrack to sex.
What to buy: The Bird School of Being Human and Sparrow are both released by Robot Elephant next week.
File next to: Joanna Newsom, Bjork, Mummers, Hall of Mirrors.
Links: woodpeckerwooliams.bandcamp.com.
Friday's new band: Oddience.
Blog:
Song By Toad Session
Here’s the morning-gin-brain session, then, that we filmed up at Toad Hall last October. I think the tape runs out before the last song we play (‘Crow’), but you can download all the tracks and hear the full podcast along with some of our musical favourites (Vivian Void, Sons of Noel and Adrian, Peggy Sue and Soccer 96) HERE.
St Valentine’s Treat
It’s the celebration day of the Patron Saint of beekeepers, epileptics and those prone to fainting. My kind of Patron Saint. Here’s a little interview with a twitchy little beekeeper then (yours truly), courtesy of 11 is Louder than 10. Enjoy! xx
Here are a lovely little series of photos (taken by Nic Rue) from the session with did up at ‘Toad Manor’ for Song By Toad whilst we were in Edinburgh at the end of last year… Session videos out soon. xx
So I’ve been soldering. It’s my new ‘thing’…
Here’s my first little guy. Pretty hot…x
Here’s my first little guy. Pretty hot…x
I’ll be taking your ears on a leash and making them my gimps. Next Friday. Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar. Back to back with Anthony Chalmers. Come along and bring a sick bag. And a change of pants.
A really exciting find here in the form of an illustrated live review of our show at King’s Place. It’s beautifully written, and very complimentary… Thanks to Richard Pearmain for this. Read it here at Amelia’s Magazine. xx
(Art by Sam Parr)
(Art by Sam Parr)
‘New Faces’ in pretty big and sexy Italian music magazine. Seems to say lots of nice things about the Woodpecker (we can forgive the consonant slip).Also, if you’re snowed in and feeling romantic, aptly named ‘Arctic Circle’ who hosted us at The Union Chapel a couple of months back, have just posted up a new wintery cloudcast including a Woodpecker track. Toast your cockles, and enjoy:
First BBC Radio 1 spin!
That’s right folks.
I feel like I did when I was a dorky teenager in the Crawley Youth AMF Bowling league and I got me a new badge with a ‘high’ score on it (my scores were never high, on reflection…)
Following BBC3’s Late Junction’s recent turn to add to the BBC6 Music support, The lovely Mr Rob Da Bank gave the Woodpecker some love over the weekend on Numero Uno. Very happy. I’m going to celebrate with a shot of whisky alongside my pot noodle…
You can listen here (around 37 mins in…)
I feel like I did when I was a dorky teenager in the Crawley Youth AMF Bowling league and I got me a new badge with a ‘high’ score on it (my scores were never high, on reflection…)
Following BBC3’s Late Junction’s recent turn to add to the BBC6 Music support, The lovely Mr Rob Da Bank gave the Woodpecker some love over the weekend on Numero Uno. Very happy. I’m going to celebrate with a shot of whisky alongside my pot noodle…
You can listen here (around 37 mins in…)
Kings Place, Saturday 12th Jan.
This is our last show for a wee while, folks. We’re joining friends Sons of Noel and Adrian and Meursault for this 3rd part of ‘The Stranger The Better’ series curated by The Local.
See you there. xx
See you there. xx
In case you missed it, my interview with Kairen Kemp from Sunday will be aired twice more this week:
Weds 9th 4-5pm
Thurs 10th 3-4am(!)
on radioreverb.com or 97.2FM
Bye! xx
Weds 9th 4-5pm
Thurs 10th 3-4am(!)
on radioreverb.com or 97.2FM
Bye! xx
BBC6 Music live session with Tom Robinson
We had great fun last night up with Tom Robinson + team at the BBC…
We’ve had lots of great feedback from it so far; if you missed it you can listen again for the next week, here.
If you’re on a Woodpecker radio roll; you can catch me chatting to Kairen Kemp over at radioreverb.com and 97.2fm about shamanism, music and babies, and playing a few choice tracks, from 3-4pm today xx
We’ve had lots of great feedback from it so far; if you missed it you can listen again for the next week, here.
If you’re on a Woodpecker radio roll; you can catch me chatting to Kairen Kemp over at radioreverb.com and 97.2fm about shamanism, music and babies, and playing a few choice tracks, from 3-4pm today xx
Hello 2013.
For those of you back at work today; my sincerest commiserations. Things are nice and slow here in the Woodpecker Nest. We do, however, have three little tid-bits for you to ease into the New Year with:
1) Friends over at Woodland Recorings have released a free-download end-of-year compilation of ‘field recordings’ caught at the many and various Woodland tour dates around Europe in 2012. There are some grand folks involved (some of my all times favourites, in fact); Fee Reega, Vivian Void, Allysen Callery, Mute Swimmer, The Great Park himself, Fiona Sally Miller and what is probably the first ever, shaky performance of ‘Red Kite’). Click the pic…
2) We’ll really excited to be scooting up to London in a big hired people carrier on Saturday 5th to join Tom Robinson in his studio to record a live session for BBC6 Music. Keep y’ears peeled…
3) And… We have one final show for you as part of this stint. The full Woodpecker band is playing at the mighty fine Kings Place along with two friendly favourites; Sons of Noel and Adrian and Meursault.
Tickets are currently on sale; £9.50 a pop. GO!
We do have a few other little surprises, but this is plenty for now, right? Adieu! xx
For those of you back at work today; my sincerest commiserations. Things are nice and slow here in the Woodpecker Nest. We do, however, have three little tid-bits for you to ease into the New Year with:
1) Friends over at Woodland Recorings have released a free-download end-of-year compilation of ‘field recordings’ caught at the many and various Woodland tour dates around Europe in 2012. There are some grand folks involved (some of my all times favourites, in fact); Fee Reega, Vivian Void, Allysen Callery, Mute Swimmer, The Great Park himself, Fiona Sally Miller and what is probably the first ever, shaky performance of ‘Red Kite’). Click the pic…
2) We’ll really excited to be scooting up to London in a big hired people carrier on Saturday 5th to join Tom Robinson in his studio to record a live session for BBC6 Music. Keep y’ears peeled…
3) And… We have one final show for you as part of this stint. The full Woodpecker band is playing at the mighty fine Kings Place along with two friendly favourites; Sons of Noel and Adrian and Meursault.
Tickets are currently on sale; £9.50 a pop. GO!
We do have a few other little surprises, but this is plenty for now, right? Adieu! xx
Round-up
Well, we made it through to the other side! (I did spend the eve of 21st handcuffed to a beautiful bride-to-be, gorging myself on Prosecco, looking at lots of jiggling lady-bits and eating truffle-oiled delights which did make me ponder- is this it? Has the world ended…? But no. Still here.)
Brief news round-up as we draw near to Christmas: PRS have been good to me. My first cheque came through last week (brilliant news!) and they’ve featured WW in their member’s magazine this month.
Brighton friends, Willkommen Records, have assembled a nice little winter patchwork to keep your ears warm mid-Winter. Thirty seconds of sound from many great folks woven together:
TBSOBH is cropping up in lots of end-of-year lists, which is a beautiful thing, and if you’re looking for last minute seasonal treats, Robot Elephant have gone bazonkers and gone done a 25%-off sale on all their stock.
And finally, in case you missed it- there is a free download of a Woodpecker Christmas big-hitter here, in Joyzine’s advent calendar (but which door??).
From Woodpecker HQ- Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, Mid-winter blessings and much love! xx
Brief news round-up as we draw near to Christmas: PRS have been good to me. My first cheque came through last week (brilliant news!) and they’ve featured WW in their member’s magazine this month.
Brighton friends, Willkommen Records, have assembled a nice little winter patchwork to keep your ears warm mid-Winter. Thirty seconds of sound from many great folks woven together:
TBSOBH is cropping up in lots of end-of-year lists, which is a beautiful thing, and if you’re looking for last minute seasonal treats, Robot Elephant have gone bazonkers and gone done a 25%-off sale on all their stock.
And finally, in case you missed it- there is a free download of a Woodpecker Christmas big-hitter here, in Joyzine’s advent calendar (but which door??).
From Woodpecker HQ- Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, Mid-winter blessings and much love! xx
END OF THE ROAD 2013
Very, very, very, incredibly excited to share that Woodpecker Wooliams is one of the first 14 acts announced for the End Of the Road festival 2013.
You can see the full list here.
Crazy, crazy excited to see Love Lion label mate from the USA, the smashing Angel Olsen will be playing, as well as Sigur Ros.
S M A SH !
You can see the full list here.
Crazy, crazy excited to see Love Lion label mate from the USA, the smashing Angel Olsen will be playing, as well as Sigur Ros.
S M A SH !
My Brightest Diamond were beautiful last night; a really great show. If you weren’t there, this is the kind of thing you missed:
We had some technical hiccups but it was great to play at Bush Hall to so many nice folks on a freezing winter’s night. I managed to mix icey, unlit stairs with a certain bandmate’s ‘cocktail’ of wine & cola, to produce a splendid fall onto my derriere. Probably playing the next show in a wheel-chair…
A pretty in-depth interview a lovely pair had with myself has surfaced over at Succo Acido, so pop over and have a look if you care to read some of my odd musings.
We had some technical hiccups but it was great to play at Bush Hall to so many nice folks on a freezing winter’s night. I managed to mix icey, unlit stairs with a certain bandmate’s ‘cocktail’ of wine & cola, to produce a splendid fall onto my derriere. Probably playing the next show in a wheel-chair…
A pretty in-depth interview a lovely pair had with myself has surfaced over at Succo Acido, so pop over and have a look if you care to read some of my odd musings.
‘GULL’ SINGLE OUT TODAY + VIDEO
Today’s the day, folks! Off he goes… To wrap up this beautiful year, the second single ‘Gull’ comes out today along with two exclusive remixes (‘Gull’ by Peter + Kerry, ‘Dove’ by Emantive.)
We’re REALLY excited here at WW HQ to share this video we filmed about a month ago. Directed and produced by Leonardo Machado .
MASSIVE THANKS to all the beautiful people involved:
Stunt Crow: Jo Eames
Director: Leonardo Machado
Director of Photography: Evgeny Sinelnikov
Produced by Leonardo Machado
1st Camera Assistant: Karolina Malinovska/Joshua Richards
Editor: Charlie Stewart
Costume/Set designer: Maria Dagher
Make-up Artist: Solo James
Assistant Producer: Michael Baker
Digital Colourist: Jason R Moffat
We’re REALLY excited here at WW HQ to share this video we filmed about a month ago. Directed and produced by Leonardo Machado .
MASSIVE THANKS to all the beautiful people involved:
Stunt Crow: Jo Eames
Director: Leonardo Machado
Director of Photography: Evgeny Sinelnikov
Produced by Leonardo Machado
1st Camera Assistant: Karolina Malinovska/Joshua Richards
Editor: Charlie Stewart
Costume/Set designer: Maria Dagher
Make-up Artist: Solo James
Assistant Producer: Michael Baker
Digital Colourist: Jason R Moffat
Penultimate video teaser. The last one we’ll share on Sunday, the day before the release…getting excited! ‘Gull’ single + Video: 5 days to go… (Screen shot teaser#2) Surprise! Very excited to announce we’ll be joining My Brightest Diamond at the fabulous Bush Hall a week today! Huzzah!‘Music Rooms’ live video / ‘Art School Dancing’ Radio tonight
Lots of nice things today:
Here is a session we filmed with It Drew Itself a week or two back just before The End festival. Ben and I, fresh off tour, smashing out a grotty rendition of ‘Sparrow’. Tasty. Check it out- and their other videos too.
Radio news too: Whilst we were in Scotland, Ally Gourlay of ‘Art School Dancing’ sat me down and quizzed me in depth about all things Woodpecker and the recent album. He’ll be playing this and the entire album tonight from 10pm on 98.8FM, Castle FM.
Woodpecker Wooliams (Music Rooms #2) from itdrewitself on Vimeo.
Here is a session we filmed with It Drew Itself a week or two back just before The End festival. Ben and I, fresh off tour, smashing out a grotty rendition of ‘Sparrow’. Tasty. Check it out- and their other videos too.
Woodpecker Wooliams (Music Rooms #2) from itdrewitself on Vimeo.
i take you with me: 1st December - Here we are
I dragged myself out of my warm bed this morning to groggily cheer on dear friend and international tour-buddy Fiona Sally Miller as she plunged herself into Brighton’s bright and incredibly cold sea on day two of her month-long under-water vigil.She is stepping into the sea every day throughout December in her project ‘I take you with me’ as a means of raising awareness of the ‘corrective rapes’ of lesbian women that take place on an almost daily basis currently in South Africa. She’s built some hydrophones and will be recording her swims and making music from the resulting soundclips. Her words on her first dip (yesterday) below. Do drop by her site and find out more. xx
saltymiller:
Well, we begin! Amazing first dip…slight technical glitch however, and we are a man down on the hydrophone front. The contact mic is quite possibly washing in and out with the tide as I write. Ah well. Tomorrow we shall begin the process again.The gravity of the project has set in,…
Thanks for bearing with me over the last few days. Powered down the Facebook page and Twitter for a re-structure. But the grid is vibing and we’re now BACK ON.
We now have a new manager, Ben, on board who is getting all involved and will helping out with the above.
Last night at 60 Million Postcards, in Bournemouth, was fun: My addidas joggers nearly got me banned from the venue, I given myself blisters smashing the zither with a kitchen knife, Eyes and No Eyes got some sexy dancers in their mosh-pit and the creepy-uncle-school-disco DJ face-off between myself and Marcus ended prematurely with no conclusive winner with a few stragglers weaving around to ‘I Was Dancing in The Lesbian bar’. Well done to Neighbourhood for a successful launch of their new monthly night. x
We now have a new manager, Ben, on board who is getting all involved and will helping out with the above.
Last night at 60 Million Postcards, in Bournemouth, was fun: My addidas joggers nearly got me banned from the venue, I given myself blisters smashing the zither with a kitchen knife, Eyes and No Eyes got some sexy dancers in their mosh-pit and the creepy-uncle-school-disco DJ face-off between myself and Marcus ended prematurely with no conclusive winner with a few stragglers weaving around to ‘I Was Dancing in The Lesbian bar’. Well done to Neighbourhood for a successful launch of their new monthly night. x
Clash Music feature
Whilst we were in Manchester the other week we had the pleasure of chatting to the lovely John Freeman.
Here is the resulting feature, ‘Woodpecker Wooliams: Avian A Laugh’ on Clash Music’s website… Nice. x
Here is the resulting feature, ‘Woodpecker Wooliams: Avian A Laugh’ on Clash Music’s website… Nice. x
Updates
Hello World.
I have some updates for you:
I have some updates for you:
- Very sadly WW can’t make the Shhh festival in Glasgow this coming weekend. This is sad news and down to complicated logistics. Do go along though; there are some splendid folks playing.
- WW will be playing one last show this year, on Friday along with friends Eyes And No Eyes and Novella in Bournemouth at 60 Million Postcards as the first of a string of monthly nights curated by more friends Neighbourhood Music. I’ll also be smashing out a DJ set afterwards so bring your goddam jazz shoes, alright?
- AND FINALLY: I know you’re all on the edge of your seats wondering where the ‘Gull’ single is? Well….. as unpredictable as these semi-wild birds are, he’s a little delayed. The single + Peter and Kerry remix + Emantive remix of Dove will now be released on 10th December along with the incredible video we filmed a couple of weeks ago. We’ll be sharing a few screen stills over the next few days. For now, here’s your first taste. (Big up to ‘Digby’ the stunt seagull.) xx
Well. The End was fun and rather eventful. He we are, power-banding it up at The Music Palace.In other news, The Bird School of Being Human vinyl has arrived! Whoop! RER HQ will have some and so do I, so you can tap me up direct too.
(photo by Matthew Cartledge)
What a week!
My oh my.
What an incredible weekend of filming with Leo and his wonderful crew. Truly bonkers and unforgettable. I saw some screen shots last night (they look amazing) and want to share them with you, but they’re under wraps until the video’s been edited together. You don’t have long to wait though; it should be ready for the release date of the ‘Gull’ single on 26th November. A sneaky little phone shot has wormed its way onto the Woodpecker Wooliams Facebook page, if you really can’t hold on… (and you can see Solo’s snap of our location filming on Beachy Head, below).
What could possibly follow that? Oh, okay-
We’ll be playing twice this week up in the City (London). On Wednesday we’ll be playing the tour set ( a great review of which is here), and joined by Abi Wade and Jack Cheshire. It’s at The Old’s Queen Head and tickets are here. On Friday we’ll be smashing up a full / double band. Wish us luck! Come see the drama at The Music Palace as part of The End festival.
xx
What an incredible weekend of filming with Leo and his wonderful crew. Truly bonkers and unforgettable. I saw some screen shots last night (they look amazing) and want to share them with you, but they’re under wraps until the video’s been edited together. You don’t have long to wait though; it should be ready for the release date of the ‘Gull’ single on 26th November. A sneaky little phone shot has wormed its way onto the Woodpecker Wooliams Facebook page, if you really can’t hold on… (and you can see Solo’s snap of our location filming on Beachy Head, below).
What could possibly follow that? Oh, okay-
We’ll be playing twice this week up in the City (London). On Wednesday we’ll be playing the tour set ( a great review of which is here), and joined by Abi Wade and Jack Cheshire. It’s at The Old’s Queen Head and tickets are here. On Friday we’ll be smashing up a full / double band. Wish us luck! Come see the drama at The Music Palace as part of The End festival.
xx
Woodpecker Wooliams’ harp for sale
We’re shooting a music video next week and I need to raise some funds.
This dear little friend, 19-stringed and made of rosewood, has toured around the world with me, and features on all the Woodpecker recordings, including ‘The Bird School of Being Human’.
If you’d like a beautiful, well-loved start up harp with a little bit of history attached, do take a look, here. xx
This dear little friend, 19-stringed and made of rosewood, has toured around the world with me, and features on all the Woodpecker recordings, including ‘The Bird School of Being Human’.
If you’d like a beautiful, well-loved start up harp with a little bit of history attached, do take a look, here. xx
Tour (IV): live reviews / we just about survived
And so; we made it back!
The last leg of tour saw crisis talks over tears and breakfast icecream sundaes post Barnsley Travelodge and my first drive in about 3 years, my 2D vision racing along a rainy motorway at night, and my first (semi-successful) experience of trying to use music as a tool of violence.
Our final stop was down in Poole, joined by the sound wizard extraordinaire Michael Tanner (who you might find has something new and exciting to offer, soon).
A charming fellow who recognised the distorted numbers stations samples in one of our songs, and is involved with a bunch called ‘Write Up The Arts’, documented this final night through a drawing:
#
If you missed out on this whirlwind of odd noise, you can read Drunken Werewolf’s take on our Bristol boat-based show, or Mike Hugh’s glowing account of our show at Night and Day in Manchester. Mike also took some great photos of the night.
Now is the moment to make a big shout out to ‘Mr Woodpecker’ himself; Benjamin Gregory. Fairly annoying, but essentially brilliant. Sound man, TM, driver, bandmate, hero. Well done. A thousand ‘thank you’s.
If you still want more- come see what we’ve been up to at our headline London show on 14th November at The Queen’s Head (The 405 say it is ‘unmissable’) with Abi Wade and Jack Cheshire, or at The End festival on 16th November.
The last leg of tour saw crisis talks over tears and breakfast icecream sundaes post Barnsley Travelodge and my first drive in about 3 years, my 2D vision racing along a rainy motorway at night, and my first (semi-successful) experience of trying to use music as a tool of violence.
Our final stop was down in Poole, joined by the sound wizard extraordinaire Michael Tanner (who you might find has something new and exciting to offer, soon).
A charming fellow who recognised the distorted numbers stations samples in one of our songs, and is involved with a bunch called ‘Write Up The Arts’, documented this final night through a drawing:
#If you missed out on this whirlwind of odd noise, you can read Drunken Werewolf’s take on our Bristol boat-based show, or Mike Hugh’s glowing account of our show at Night and Day in Manchester. Mike also took some great photos of the night.
Now is the moment to make a big shout out to ‘Mr Woodpecker’ himself; Benjamin Gregory. Fairly annoying, but essentially brilliant. Sound man, TM, driver, bandmate, hero. Well done. A thousand ‘thank you’s.
If you still want more- come see what we’ve been up to at our headline London show on 14th November at The Queen’s Head (The 405 say it is ‘unmissable’) with Abi Wade and Jack Cheshire, or at The End festival on 16th November.
Tour (III) / FREE DOWNLOAD
Having a pretty amazing moment right now chomping down on a (veggie) haggis, neaps and tatties in a rowdy Edinburgh bar. Class times.
Benny Greggs was a hero among men driving the gazillion long hours from Bristol to Scotland’s fair capital on very little sleep and we managed to arrive 15 minutes before we were due to play. Cue frantic load in / sound check / toilet strip / boom-town. It was a lovely crowd at the Song By Toad night and Viking Moses was splendid as ever.
I managed to miss the all new dream-team combo mixed from members of Broken Records, James Yorkston & The Athletes, Sparrow & The Workshop, Mersault and Rob St John, but we’ve heard the recordings taking place at the splendid Toad Towers and they are sounding superb. Can’t wait for those.
As a tour gift, here is a FREE DOWNLOAD of a brand new ‘Dove’ remix from the wonderful, Giles Peterson favourited Emanative. Put your party shoes on and ENJOY the ride up to heaven! xx
Benny Greggs was a hero among men driving the gazillion long hours from Bristol to Scotland’s fair capital on very little sleep and we managed to arrive 15 minutes before we were due to play. Cue frantic load in / sound check / toilet strip / boom-town. It was a lovely crowd at the Song By Toad night and Viking Moses was splendid as ever.
I managed to miss the all new dream-team combo mixed from members of Broken Records, James Yorkston & The Athletes, Sparrow & The Workshop, Mersault and Rob St John, but we’ve heard the recordings taking place at the splendid Toad Towers and they are sounding superb. Can’t wait for those.
As a tour gift, here is a FREE DOWNLOAD of a brand new ‘Dove’ remix from the wonderful, Giles Peterson favourited Emanative. Put your party shoes on and ENJOY the ride up to heaven! xx
Tour (II)Right now we’re on the road between Bristol and Edinburgh. We’ve had about 4 hours sleep- I’m not grumpy yet but if we don’t find some kind of greasy breakfast soon, havoc will ensue.
Last night on The Grain Barge was a lot of fun. Some beautiful faces old and new, and LOADS OF BOATS! Water fowl, old steam tugs, a little ferry punt down the river- wonderful and we were treated to some warming and lovely music from the wolfy Spiderbelly and the time-travelling Nuala.
Here was a nice surprise to find too; 8/10 for TBSOFH in Clash Music Mag. xx
Tour (I)
Espresso martinis / two bands with spy-numbers-radio station hits / locked out of the NCP carpark / 1.45am Travelodge sorry-faced check-in / no clothes (everything’s in the car) / wearing Ben Gregory’s clothes / car heckle at his ‘shit trousers’ (splendid dog-tooth leggings) / incredible number of women sat in puddles on the street for a Wednesday night / friendly folks / Toby Carvery fry-up. Day One WIN.
Hummingbird fashion video unveiled!
Happy birthday to meee, happy birthday to meee! To celebrate the first day of a new life, and the WOODPECKER UK TOUR starting tomorrow (first stop, Cardiff), here is the new, beautiful, exciting fashion video shot in the Mojave desert for Hummingbird- created by Finnish / NYC design house Ivana Helsinki’s head designer Paola Suhonen a couple of weeks back.
Paola / Ivana Helsinki have been very kind to both me and Fiona; sponsoring us with some killer threads for our Russian tour earlier this year. Happy, lucky Woodpecker. SEE YOU ON TOUR? Xx
Lovely, lovely, lovely..
Paola / Ivana Helsinki have been very kind to both me and Fiona; sponsoring us with some killer threads for our Russian tour earlier this year. Happy, lucky Woodpecker. SEE YOU ON TOUR? Xx
Lovely, lovely, lovely..
Despite the unspeakably early start, The Union Chapel show this weekend was packed, and a whole lot of fun. This was the last gig with power-trio Tom Heather and Marcus Hamblett for a little while. Next up is (my first?!) UK tour joined by surprise new member- Jason & Kylie-style tour t-shirts to follow… Here’s a pretty handsome-looking poster for the Shhh festival in Glasgow this December, co-curated by The Line of Best Fit, The Local, and RM Hubbert at Platform. If you’re in Scotland and want some Woodpecker love before then we’ll be racing up to Edinburgh on Friday 26th October for a Song By Toad night. Nice. xx Announcing ‘Gull’, the second single from The Bird School of Being Human (out on 26/11/12). Free streaming here along with dates and links for the OCTOBER UK TOUR! WHooo!Phew / wow…
…having thoroughly stewed in my own juices for ten days, here I am returned and renewed.
I’m surrounded by paint pots and little else at the moment as I’ve come home to a new / old but definitely empty flat and I’m living off the kindness of others for a few days- duvet, mattress, pan for hot water and plates / cutlery have been assembled from various directions until my things arrive. I’m enjoying the simplicity…
WHILST I WAS AWAY it seemed the world kept spinning, so for your pleasures here’s a round-up of WW news from the past week…
Along with another flurry of radio plays on BBC6, Amazing Radio and spins as far-flung as Estonia and The Netherlands, The Selector / NME Radio also aired the session I went up to record for them a couple of weeks ago, and The British Council were giving it a nice shout out.
The Sunday Times featured WW as their ‘Breaking Act’ last week, which is pretty rad, and ‘The Bird School…’ found its way into some more print around the country, via The Peterborough Telegraph, The Huddersfield Examiner and Rock n Reel.
An interview I did with Chain D.L.K is now up and available for your amusement. (Why do I always sound like such a dweeb..?)
And for me, most excitingly the Bandstand Busking videos are now up! I had such a wonderful, warm day a couple of weekends ago in London playing with Marcus as a power-duo and the bandstand guys have done a great job, as ever. Here’s ‘Sparrow’ to get you started…xx
I’m surrounded by paint pots and little else at the moment as I’ve come home to a new / old but definitely empty flat and I’m living off the kindness of others for a few days- duvet, mattress, pan for hot water and plates / cutlery have been assembled from various directions until my things arrive. I’m enjoying the simplicity…
WHILST I WAS AWAY it seemed the world kept spinning, so for your pleasures here’s a round-up of WW news from the past week…
Along with another flurry of radio plays on BBC6, Amazing Radio and spins as far-flung as Estonia and The Netherlands, The Selector / NME Radio also aired the session I went up to record for them a couple of weeks ago, and The British Council were giving it a nice shout out.
The Sunday Times featured WW as their ‘Breaking Act’ last week, which is pretty rad, and ‘The Bird School…’ found its way into some more print around the country, via The Peterborough Telegraph, The Huddersfield Examiner and Rock n Reel.
An interview I did with Chain D.L.K is now up and available for your amusement. (Why do I always sound like such a dweeb..?)
And for me, most excitingly the Bandstand Busking videos are now up! I had such a wonderful, warm day a couple of weekends ago in London playing with Marcus as a power-duo and the bandstand guys have done a great job, as ever. Here’s ‘Sparrow’ to get you started…xx
WOODPECKER DOWN-TIME
I AM HEADED OFF INTO THE WOODS WITH AN ARMY-ISSUE BLANKET AND AN ARMFUL OF MAGICAL IMPLEMENTS FOR TEN-DAYS… I WON’T BE AROUND TO RESPOND TO ANY EMAILS / PHONE-CALLS (OR TO SHARE ANY NEWS HERE.)
In my absence, please contact:
Press: Chris (stone@StoneImmaculate.co.uk)
Bookings / info re upcoming gigs: Howard (Howard@thelocal.tv)
Queries relating to the album: Robot Elephant Records
See you on the other side…xx
In my absence, please contact:
Press: Chris (stone@StoneImmaculate.co.uk)
Bookings / info re upcoming gigs: Howard (Howard@thelocal.tv)
Queries relating to the album: Robot Elephant Records
See you on the other side…xx
THE BIRD SCHOOL OF BEING HUMAN RELEASED TODAY!
That’s right!
I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time, but finally a long pregnancy and the weekend’s labour sees the THE BIRTH OF THE BIRDS today!
If you missed the packed-out launch parties, there is a beautiful write up of the bee-enfused, church-based Brighton show, here.
My sister also managed to film ‘Magpie’- my foray into ‘playing’ a guitar, joined here by guest saw-player Kate Shields and beyond the frame a triptych of stylophone players…
The London launch at The Vortex was also filled with friendly faces, and there is a stellar set of photos from that night here by Tim Ferguson.
‘Word is we’ve sold a great number of pre-sales so far, but the flood-gates are now open and the birds are waiting; you can buy the album in any of the digital shops (itunes, amazon etc, etc), from Robot Elephant Records, and they should be in the record shops in the next day or two. Please enjoy!
———————-
I don’t always feel too comfortable getting ‘sentimental’ over things and gushing. However, I think it’s really important for me to say today that I am profoundly grateful to everyone that’s been involved in this journey from the recording right through to those who’ve reviewed it so kindly and those who came to the launch parties to support it. This album represents such a valuable body of personal work and I’ve been touched by the huge amount of gentle, deep (but not heavy) love that’s been reflected back at me from the world. This final week and weekend of shows has installed in me a feeling of knowing my place within this world and a feeling that everything is okay, and that I am surrounded by a bounty of folk who care for me. It’s more than I could have dreamed of. So thank you.
Particular thanks to Marcus, Ben, Tom, Anthony, Seb, Chris, Scott, Clara Nathan and Howard for helping to make the magic happen.
Love, Woodpecker xxx
I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time, but finally a long pregnancy and the weekend’s labour sees the THE BIRTH OF THE BIRDS today!
If you missed the packed-out launch parties, there is a beautiful write up of the bee-enfused, church-based Brighton show, here.
My sister also managed to film ‘Magpie’- my foray into ‘playing’ a guitar, joined here by guest saw-player Kate Shields and beyond the frame a triptych of stylophone players…
The London launch at The Vortex was also filled with friendly faces, and there is a stellar set of photos from that night here by Tim Ferguson.
‘Word is we’ve sold a great number of pre-sales so far, but the flood-gates are now open and the birds are waiting; you can buy the album in any of the digital shops (itunes, amazon etc, etc), from Robot Elephant Records, and they should be in the record shops in the next day or two. Please enjoy!
———————-
I don’t always feel too comfortable getting ‘sentimental’ over things and gushing. However, I think it’s really important for me to say today that I am profoundly grateful to everyone that’s been involved in this journey from the recording right through to those who’ve reviewed it so kindly and those who came to the launch parties to support it. This album represents such a valuable body of personal work and I’ve been touched by the huge amount of gentle, deep (but not heavy) love that’s been reflected back at me from the world. This final week and weekend of shows has installed in me a feeling of knowing my place within this world and a feeling that everything is okay, and that I am surrounded by a bounty of folk who care for me. It’s more than I could have dreamed of. So thank you.
Particular thanks to Marcus, Ben, Tom, Anthony, Seb, Chris, Scott, Clara Nathan and Howard for helping to make the magic happen.
Love, Woodpecker xxx
The Guardian ‘New Band of The Day’
With perfect timing, a day before the first of our two launch gigs (London and Brighton), The Guardian have WW as ‘New Band of The Day’.
“Hi ho, hi ho, into the dark we go – with a singer who sounds like a homicidal Disney heroine, singing songs of violence and desire”
Well that’s rather exciting. I might puke out of my ears with all this adrenaline…
“Hi ho, hi ho, into the dark we go – with a singer who sounds like a homicidal Disney heroine, singing songs of violence and desire”
Well that’s rather exciting. I might puke out of my ears with all this adrenaline…
SPARROW SINGLE RELEASED TODAY
Huzzah!
The Sparrow single, getting plays all over BBC6 and beyond, is out today. You can buy it from Robot Elephant Records direct , itunes, Amazon or any of the other places online you cool cats roll at.
Bundled in are 3 remixes from the hip hop-trip hop king himself, 184, Becky Becky (the sex-electro dance outfit in which I’ve been known to frequent), and Marcus Hamblett- chief Principal (and co-producer) at the Bird School.
Get it now and get down! x
The Sparrow single, getting plays all over BBC6 and beyond, is out today. You can buy it from Robot Elephant Records direct , itunes, Amazon or any of the other places online you cool cats roll at.
Bundled in are 3 remixes from the hip hop-trip hop king himself, 184, Becky Becky (the sex-electro dance outfit in which I’ve been known to frequent), and Marcus Hamblett- chief Principal (and co-producer) at the Bird School.
Get it now and get down! x
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