'The Red Clay Halo' are Gill Sandell who plays accordian and flute and sings lots of harmonies.
Jo Silverston who plays the cello and sings backing vocals.
Anna Jenkins who plays violin and also sings backing vocals.
Drummer Dan See and Double bassist Tom Mason also accompany at times.
Here are the gals...
Influences
In no particular order apart from the first two...Neil Young, Lal Waterson, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, Sun Kil Moon, The Band, Josh Ritter, Frank Turner, Dive Dive, The Arlenes, Mary Gauthier, The Be Good Tanyas, The Waifs, Joni Mitchell, Laura Veirs, Martin Carthy, Smog, Nick Drake, Low, Martha Wainwright, Les Chauffers a Pied, Leonard Cohen, Calexico, Jolie Holland, PJ Harvey, Cat Power, Pentangle, Nina Nastasia, Johnny Cash, June Carter, Gene Clark, Odetta, Bob Dylan, The Broken Family Band, Crazy Horse, Ruth Brown, Doug Sahm, Steeleye Span, Sandy Denny, Anita Carter, Shirley Collins, Fairport Convention, Rikki Lee Jones, Bjork, Emmylou Harris, Nicolette Larson, Hank Williams, Lucinda Williams, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Incredible String Band, Townes Van Zandt, The Watersons, Cath and Phil Tyler, Oliver Knight, Aretha Franklin, Nic Jones, Mary Hampton, Chris TT, Memphis Minnie, etc etc.
Sounds Like
THE NEW ALBUM 'DESPITE THE SNOW'
Available from retail outlets across the UK or...
Download from iTUNES
and online from SMART CHOICE MUSIC www.smartchoicemusic.com
Here's what's being said about it...
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‘stripped free of studio frippery and all the better for its carefree simplicity’ **** - Q
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‘a masterpiece that will not fade in time.’ **** Maverick
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‘strong melodies that at times evoke images of Richard and Linda Thompson… as strong a collection of acoustic folk songs that I have heard for a long time’ 8/10 – Americana-uk.com
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‘There’s that haunted folksy sound to Emily’s vocals which recalls Natalie Merchant’s expressive voice… a superb album’ – Pennyblackmusic.co.uk
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‘stunningly beautiful’ – Electric Ghost
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‘her fellow Australians The Waifs are an obvious comparison, but perhaps a more relevant name is that of Laura Veirs - with All Love Knows and particularly Disappear sounding a lot like the American's earlier work’ – Musicomh.com
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‘music that's going to take you away from the scummy smog filled streets and leave you in a warm forest dappled with green light shining through the leaves of sycamores and ancient oak’ – Unpeeled.net
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‘simultaneously haunting, relaxing and uplifting… A hugely enjoyable album that will doubtless translate just as well in a live setting.’ 7/10 - The Music Magazine
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‘Nobody sounds quite like them, and there are moments of transcendence here (on ‘Nostalgia and ‘All Love Knows’ in particular) when everything is just so...perfect that it’s all too much and a lump appears in the throat. An album of quiet power.’ **** Rock ‘n’ Reel
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‘another lovelorn excursion into spooked Americana and old school backwoods trad folk that will conjure thoughts of Gillian Welch, Laura Veirs, Be Good Tanyas and, on Breath especially, the golden age of Emmylou.’ Netrhythms.co.uk
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‘prepare to melt - these are campfire lullabies sent down from the Gods.’ 7/10 stars -Teletext
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‘Astoundingly good.’ Morning Star
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‘The country/folk hybrids here, wash over the listener, effortlessly warm and cosy, with the band opting for a minimalist approach that really allows the music to grow.’ Subba-Culture
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Emily Barker hails from a tiny rural backwater in the remote south west of Western Australia. Set among majestic jarrah forests, surrounded by timber towns and cattle farms, Emily’s close-knit family has long been part of Bridgetown's vibrant mix of mill workers, farmers, artists and escapees from the big smoke.
At 19, Emily donned a backpack and head out to travel the world, she visited and lived in numerous countries collecting stories and inspiration for songs as she went, but her travels slowed down somewhat when landing in the UK.
In 2002 Emily found herself in Cambridge where she used to perform regularly at various singer-songwriter nights. It was at one of these nights that Emily first met local guitar extraordinaire Rob Jackson (Boo Hewerdine/Broken Family Band/Eddie Reader.) They teamed up for a few songs at The Cambridge Folk Festival that year and went down a storm. Off the back of this success, they formed a band called ‘the-low-country’ who went on to release 2 albums (‘Welcome to the-low-country…’ and ‘The Dark Road’), played numerous alt-country venues and festivals, and enjoyed several plays on John Peel’s show.
In October 2005, Emily won both Country song of the year and Regional song of the year at the prestigious Annual West Australian Music Song writing Awards. This year she also toured and sang in place of Stephanie Arlene with UK Americana heroes ‘The Arlenes’ on their UK tour, as well as commenced work on her debut solo album: ‘Photos.Fires.Fables.’
The album is an eclectic tapestry of old- timey narratives weaving gothic stories of fire, tragedy, love and hard lessons. It received much critical acclaim when it was released in 2007…
‘sharply observed, original songs …adventurously embellished by gypsy flourishes and haunting desert echoes that’d be at home on a Calexico album’ – Uncut
‘echoes of Lucinda Williams’ rasp and Martha Wainwright’s cutesy purr’ – Word
‘one of those talents that comes along once in a lifetime, if you're lucky.’ - Maverick
‘a gorgeous, sincere voice that grabs you and won’t let go’ – The Sun
Following on from the release of ‘Photos.Fires.Fables.’, Emily gathered some of the album’s musicians together to accompany her songs for live performances. ‘The Red Clay Halo,’ an all-female trio consisting of Anna Jenkins, Jo Silverston and Gill Sandell who play violin, cello, accordion and flute respectively. They also all do backing vocals creating mesmerising 4-part harmonies.
The girls have enjoyed many successes such as playing Glastonbury (Avalon Stage), Cambridge Folk Festival and the Big Session, and supporting the likes of Jose Gonzalez on his Australian tour, The Waifs, Mary Gauthier, Billy Joe Shaver, Tony Joe White, Frank Turner and Elvis Perkins.
The most recent album, Despite The Snow, was recorded over a snowy Easter weekend of 2008 in a 16th century barn in Norfolk. It was recorded completely live in just 4 days. The sound is therefore incredibly intimate and serves to beautifully capture the virtuosity and charisma of The Red Clay Halo quartet.
Released in November 2008, the album gained much praise…
‘stripped free of studio frippery and all the better for its carefree simplicity’ **** - Q
‘a masterpiece that will not fade in time.’ **** Maverick
‘strong melodies that at times evoke images of Richard and Linda Thompson… as strong a collection of acoustic folk songs that I have heard for a long time’ 8/10 – Americana-uk.com
‘There’s that haunted folksy sound to Emily’s vocals which recalls Natalie Merchant’s expressive voice… a superb album’ – Pennyblackmusic.co.uk
‘stunningly beautiful’ – Electric Ghost
Shortly after it’s release the album’s opening track ‘Nostaglia’ was discovered by composer Martin Phipps and then re-recorded for use as title and end credits for ‘Wallander,’ a major new drama adaptation for BBC One starring the revered British actor Kenneth Branagh. The series, which attracted over 6 million viewers per episode, has now won a Bafta award and is nominated in 5 other categories for behind-the-scenes work including Titles sequence and Original Music.
In March 2009 the band embarked on an 18-date UK headline tour peppered with sold out shows, BBC local radio sessions and a five star live review in The Times…
‘Anyone new to Barker’s oeuvre would have been forgiven for thinking that the song that followed, Fields of June — an instantly familiar love-gone-wrong double-hander — had been kicking around since Cecil Sharp was in short trousers. Not so. The hills have yet to be emptied of gold if you know where to look.’ – Pete Paphides, The Times
Going forward, the band are due to play various summer music festivals culminating in a slot at End Of The Road in September and British Music Week in October. They are currently working on new material in preparation for a 3rd album due for release by the end of the year.
So lovely to see you/hear you again on Thursday, I had to gallop away but am gonna try to get down on the 8th to catch you at the Brittania. Hope Electric Elephant is marvellous, I will tell Kate and Dan to give you a wave from the crowd. Have a lovely summer xx
Tune in to episode 12 of the Lantern Society Radio Hour, featuring the creme de la creme of the capital's most comely crooners. Stunning live performances beautifully captured for your listening pleasure, at London's Finest Folk Club, The Lantern Society.
And, why not join us for the next Lantern Society - Thursday 18th June.
The Betsey Trotwood, Farringdon Rd, London. EC1R 3BL
Hi Emily! I read about your BAFTA song win in this week's music news on themusic.com.au. Way to go! Looking forward to seeing you in October when I'm in London!
Hey hows you? just wanted to mention iam touring all over the UK from september for a year, traveling all over got the first 4 months up and adding more and more to it, the first 3 months is for Busking For Cancer :) in Aid for cancer research, all the shows are free so would be awesome to see you at a show supporting wat im touring for, check out our dates and if we arnt playing in your area then please do let us know cause it is for a FULL year so we wanna get everywhere and anywhere :) also recording new stuff this weekend so new songs will be up :) anyways hoping ur having a good start to the summer.
hi emily - really enjoyed you in brighton the other day. if you get a sec have a listen to one of my tracks with a mr frank turner on it - larkin about! x
