Browsing Tag

Chamber Folk

Emily Manuel is beautifully baroque in her indie chamber single, Live Forever

Posted on 17 February 2023

World-class singer-songwriter and composer Emily Manuel is beautifully baroque in her latest orchestral single, Live Forever. The chamber strings lend themselves effortlessly to the artfully timeless timbre of her silkily demure vocal lines as they explore the theme of perpetual legacy.

After Paul Simon revealed the power of lyricism to Manuel, the Denver-based artist orchestrated her distinctive indie chamber sonic signature, which carries the influence of classical scores, the deconstructed expression of jazz and a touch of Eastern flavour.

So far in her career, Manuel has spilt her sound into theatres, olive groves, and taverns. Her live performance highlight was sharing the stage with the icon Jamie Cullen. Although, evidently, he wouldn’t have been the only icon on stage that night.

Live Forever was officially released on February 3rd. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Layman.TV sings a ‘Harmony Eternal’ in his ethereal indie folk pop single

Posted on 30 August 2022
https://soundcloud.com/user-534530743/harmony-eternal-1

Bridging the gaps between Glen Hansard, James Yorkston and Richard Hawley, The London-based singer-songwriter, Layman.TV released his latest ethereal indie folk single, Harmony Eternal.

The flourishing chamber strings against his harmonised spoken word reflections on nature and all the parallels they create within our lives pull together to create a poetically celestial sensory experience in Harmony Eternal. It is almost enough to guilt trip you for not sharing the same romantic lust for life. I say almost; the sublime appreciation for natural phenomena becomes infectious. Especially when the nuanced rock guitars start to bolster the passion in the otherwise graciously otherworldly soundscape.

Harmony Eternal is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Elisa Winter – Summer Spent Dreaming: orchestrally apocalyptic post-grunge resonance

Posted on 9 July 2022

While many artists desperately wrestled with their creativity during the first lockdown only to reveal trite lyricism the performer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and baroquely phenomenal recording artist, Elisa Winter foresaw the new normal before the modern plague was on our door.

Finally, her debut album, Summer and Smoke, which was officially released on Summer Solstice 2022, is here to spill orchestrally apocalyptic post-grunge resonance. The LP tracks across the tensions between truth, reality and gaslighting, with the engrossingly stunning highlight, Summer Spent Dreaming.

Lush yet tumultuous. Visceral yet encompassing the detachment we all felt in some capacity, Summer Spent Dreaming is the most authentic aural depiction of the frustration and entropy I’ve heard yet.

Everything changed, in a way it is almost impossible to put in words. I say almost because Elisa Winter discernibly succeeded with “speak to me please, what has happened to you? Searching for you in your eyes, you won’t let me in.” There’s been a disconnect that we’ve kept our heads in the sand about. Thankfully, Elisa Winter is here to vindicate the confusion in our alien relationship with reality and each other.

Elisa Winter’s latest album, Summer and Smoke, is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Go into the wild with Joseph Lothian’s chamber pop release, Glacial and Spa

Posted on 23 February 2022

The South London songwriter and writer, Joseph Lothian, has recently released his sophomore album, which is a continuation of the wild and verdant chamber pop soundscapes in his 2020 debut album, Wilderness Music.

Wilderness Music Continued (Rain, Fire), is a meditatively artful infusion of electronic folk, indie and alt-pop which focuses on the act of songwriting, with a view to how it creates comfort and value in otherwise inhospitable environments. It’s hard to argue with that sentiment. Without the icons that have defined the culture in the UK, how disparate would our streets feel? How many outliers would know nothing of experimental expression or know how it feels to find their mindset tribe?

The standout single, Glacial and Spa, is just as evocative as an Angel Olsen release with the vibrato on the vocal. Yet, within the lush textures of the chamber pop single, there’s a nuanced reminder of our roots and the fact that we were never really supposed to endure post-industrialised isolation.

Joseph Lothian’s sophomore album is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Full Of Wonder: Fur Foxen bring us something special with ‘Daniel’

Posted on 31 March 2021

Taken off their latest eight-track album so full of heartwarming joy, Fur Foxen are meticulously back with a thrilling song that captures your mind, into a mellow state of wonder called ‘Daniel‘.

Fur Foxen is the fascinating two-piece chamber folk duo that are exquisitely intriguing each second and are intertwined to perfection by Amber and Stephan. They considerately formulate our consciousness with an organic sound that stays in your mind deeply, as it is so real and carefully crafted from that whiskey-drenched love and appreciation for the art form.

This is about wanting to hold close that special person that you have just met, but feel so much care and passion for them and want to love, deeply, passionately and with that long-lasting emotional connection. The world can be a dark and lonely place, so without that special vibration, its all pointless anyway and does more harm than good for your fragile soul.

‘Daniel‘ from the lovable two-piece chamber-folk act Fur Foxen, blows your hair back and massages your scalp, with an array of dazzling intricacies that you have been waiting for to lather yourself in, with that elusively satisfying tender gusto.

Stream this beautiful single here on Spotify and see more on their IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

‘Cigarettes et rosé’ from Elise Boulanger is just incredible for the ears

Posted on 14 October 2020

With the start that sounds kinda like Game of Thrones, you just know that this is going to be cinematic and gloriously sung. It is. ‘Cigarettes et rosé‘ from Elise Boulanger is the new and powerful single from this Canadian-born singer and more.

With over 15 years in the music game, Elise Boulanger is a sweet singer that has an aura of orchestral instrumentation. Hailing from Canada, this charming chamber-folk-pop artist completely captivates audiences with her haunting avalanche of a vibrant voice. She is a bilingual multi-instrumentalist and composer that creates cinematic dreamscapes. with cello, violin, piano, drums and ukulele sounds that make this song so special. Her voice is hauntingly beautiful and this is a music that is off the top shelf. The way the song changes so quickly shows that this is a musician like no other.

‘Cigarettes et rosé‘ is an energetically percussive anthem of silly French happenings alluding to history and the importance of trusting people. While living in France, Elise observed that, “people wouldn’t trust others to come into their homes. Thus, they would avoid having at-home gatherings. This absolutely fascinated me, especially given that Canadians are so welcoming and accepting.”

This is a fascinating story, the song is full of different instruments and they wave in, you feel the goodness here and the meaning behind the song. This is a lovely anthem and you can tell that lots of time was put in here, this is quite glorious to listen to.

‘Cigarettes et rosé‘ from Elise Boulanger is the new and powerful single from the Canadian-born singer who impresses so much here. This is music that probably will be played loud and over and over again, this is a gem.

Click here to stream.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen