Twice-nominated for a prestigious Nationwide Mercury Prize ('Red Rice' Topic/1998 and 'Anglicana'/2003) Eliza is also the winner of more than five BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In 2003 she became the first traditional English musician to be nominated a BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music (for 'Anglicana').
In March 2005, Eliza co-presented the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards with Benjamin Zephaniah - an event that was broadcast on BBC Four. She has been a regular co-presenter on the Sony award-winning BBC Radio 2 Mark Radcliffe Show and has made several appearances on BBC TVs 'Later with Jools'. In addition, Eliza has presented her own four part series on the history of English Folk on BBC Radio 2, was the subject of an hour long ITV documentary('Heaven & Earth') and in May 2008 was the subject of another documentary on Channel 5, "My Music". Eliza also featured prominently in the acclaimed BBC Four Folk Britannia season.
Stewart Lee, writer of "Jerry Springer: the Opera" describes Eliza as "Not the messiah, but a very naughty girl". From an early age she was championed by John Peel and Billy Bragg. She's featured on Billy's Grammy winning albums with Wilco, 'Mermaid Avenue' 1&2. In 2006, she appeared on 'Rogues Gallery', an album created by Hal Wilner and Johnny Depp, also featuring Nick Cave, Bryan Ferry, the Wainwright/Mcgarrigle family, Sting and Richard Thompson and in 2007 made a significant contribution to another collaborative project (featuring among other artists legendary Anglo-Indian singer Sheila Chandra, Johnny Kalsi of the Dhol Foundation and members of Transglobal Underground) 'The Imagined Villlage' (Realworld). She was also a featured artist on seminal Scottish/Latin fusion band Salsa Celtica's most recent album 'El Camino'.
Touring on and off since the age of 14, Eliza has performed and recorded with a startling array of musical heroes from around the globe including Joan Baez, Damon Albarn, Vartinna, Bill Frisell and Paul Weller. She's appeared at a huge number of live events, benefits and multi-artist concerts from Robin Hood's Bay Village Hall to the Albert Hall including 'Daughters of Albion' with Thea Gilmore and Kathryn Williams, Patti Smith's Meltdown and in October 2007 participated in the BBC Electric Proms concert celebrating the songs of her late and much-missed aunt, 'A Tribute to Lal Waterson'.
Eliza is the patron of two longstanding and well-respected folk festivals, Cheltenham and Whitby (her home town, where she is also patron of the Spa Theatre), and is involved with both North-East-based folk organisation Folkworks and the EFDSS, which recently made her Vice-President.
Yorkshire-born, based in Scotland's capital for many years, Eliza Carthy grew up immersed in the world of traditional English music. She divides her time between touring and recording with her legendary parents, Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson (as Waterson:Carthy) and numerous pioneering solo and band projects. These include collaborations with The Ratcatchers: celebrated English musicians John Spiers and Jon Boden and Scottish producer/guitarist/viola player Ben Ivitsky; Simon Emmerson's groundbreaking The Imagined Village and her new band, touring the new material from her forthcoming Topic release Dreams Of Breathing Underwater (released June 23rd).
Describing herself simply as a 'modern English musician', Eliza Carthy is only just beginning to reach the height of her musical powers. During a 20-year career she has become one of the most dazzling and recognised folk musicians of a generation. She has revitalised and made folk music relevant to new audiences and has captured the most hardened of dissenters with intelligent, charismatic and boundary-crossing performance.
New album - Out Now!
“A fizzing firework display full of colourful contrasts, vivid narratives and big characters” **** Mojo
“A shape-shifter of an album packed with musical and lyrical intrigue” **** Uncut
“Bewitching and original” **** Q
“Magnificent” **** The Guardian
“Her boldest album yet” Word
Click the image below to buy it now on Amazon...
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