Craig Fortnam (composer, arranger, conductor, guitar and voice)
Sharron Fortnam (solo voice)
Dug Parker (solo voice)
Luke Albery (voice and guitar)
James Larcombe (chamber organ, piano, monosynth)
Ben Davies (piano, chamber organ)
Hugh Wilkinson (percussion)
Jez Wiles (percussion)
Harry Escott (cello)
Brian Wright (violin)
Sara Longe (violin)
Luke Crookes (bassoon)
Nicola Baigent (clarinet)
Geri Peach (oboe)
NORTH SEA CHORUS:
Bill Drake
Suzi Kirby
Melanie Woods
Louise Harrison
Gideon Miller
Kavus Torabi
CONTACT: info@nsro.co.uk
PRESS: www.mutante.co.uk
Influences
Swallows, swifts, the roman road and the Mighty Thames,the Monument and the Pool.
PRESS FOR NSRO's 2nd album 'BIRDS':
'...like a heavenly daydream' Daily Telegraph,
It's a strange thing that a Fairport Convention influenced chamber orchestra could sound so contemporary, or even interesting, but there is a definite pop element to the songs presented in 'Birds'.
Clash Magazine 8.5 out of 10
'A truely lovel, soothing, joyous combination of folk and chamber music'
ALBUM OF THE FORTNIGHT - Leeds Guide
'Utterly bewitching' Losing Today
'Beauteous and sinister, like the dance of the maidens before the Wicker Man goes up
in flames....bewitching' Q Magazine
'To call them a modern chamber ensemble gives you no idea of the strange beauty of their music as they take the transcendent power of Vaughan Williams, marry it to the intricate shapes of Nyman and Glass, throw in the cheery playfulness of Vernon Elliott's soundtrack music for Oliver Postgate's short films'.
Yorkshire Evening Post - 4/5
'"Birds" is a unique 40 minutes - captivating, beautiful, peaceful and thoughtful. It’s seemingly so far removed from most people’s experience of everyday life that it can’t but help transport you elsewhere - it floods your mind eye with a pollution-free rolling green world and entirely resets the rhythm of your day. How could that not be worth exposing yourself to?'
The Quietus
North Sea Radio Orchestra is a unique chamber group who perform music of beauty and originality that has, at its heart, lyricism and melodic richness. Featuring wind, strings, percussion, guitars, organs and voices, theirs is a world in which melody and harmony abound.
Here's how it all began...
In the October of 2002, composer and guitarist Craig Fortnam found himself walking through the City of London with a sackful of tunes slung over his shoulder; tied to a stick (Dick Whittington style). Now, as all music comes from the air, the sack was all that stopped Craig's tunes from escaping and following the Thames out to sea. Needing a substance with the weight of history behind it, Craig bent down and began to scoop up handfuls of London clay, folding and kneeding it into the melodies and chords from his sack. As this was such hard work, he got his wife, Sharron, to help. As she folded and kneeded, she began to sing, so her beautiful voice found it's way into the expanding mixture.
When the music was almost ready, Craig called together twenty musicians and singers (North Sea Chorus) from all over the Metropolis and they all ducked into St. Martin's-within-Ludgate where the North Sea Radio Orchestra was born. As the clay music was still wet, and therefore somewhat fragile, the NSRO only performed in the City of London for the first while. So, their growing audience had to travel to the strange and magical streets of old Londinium to hear the beautiful sounds.
Finally, the music was ready and the NSRO ventured forth into the wider world where they have attracted many glowing reviews for their live and recorded performances. Their first release, 'The Flower' (oof!records 7" single) has been broadcast on BBC Radio 1, 2, 3 and 6music. They have been regular favorites on the Chiller Cabinet on Chill FM and have featured in many regional stations' playlists. The success of the single can be attrubuted to the truly unique sound of the NSRO - an alliance of various influences and elements: Benjamin Britten, Vernon Elliot, Incredible String Band, London Clay, Vaughan Williams, Water from the Thames and shingle from Bankside.
In October 2006, NSRO released their debut self-titled album (oof006) to sparkling reviews in print and online media from the world's music press.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN THE NSRO MAILING LIST? Send a message to: info@nsro.co.uk
hi from Fruits de Mer Records - and thanks for the add.
Hope you like our latest single - new versions of classic Caravan + Zombies tracks by The Flaming Gnomes ( playing now at www.myspace.com/fdmer2 ) - a lovely 7" slab of UK pop-psych although we say it ourselves! (and on swirly purple vinyl too!)
coming very soon...Mark Fry covers his own acid-folk classic 'Dreaming With Alice' - only 300 pressed (on vinyl of course) for worldwide distribution
Thanks so much for the Add–and your friendship. We enjoyed your music very much. Thanks for sharing it with all of us. It's a pleasure having you among our friends!
We've just added two new blogs about Umano, plus four more new compositions, making ten on our space. We hope you and your friends visit us and enjoy our music, too.
We wake up every morning and play the music of the new MySpace friends who have arrived at our site during the night. It occurred to us that these friends (you are among them) are almost universally positive, whether they be novices or legends, and without regard to their station in life or the country they occupy.
Although it's not an original thought, it also occurred to us that we couldn’t hold a verbal conversation with most of these friends, but we have bridged that gap by expressing our art honestly with each other.
We all have been filling the world with our music and art, in the hope that our messages of love and human understanding will have an impact on the world at large.
What a gift and what an opportunity we have received from this technology!
You can now pre-order Knifeworld's fantastic Buried Alone: Tales Of Crushing Defeat on the format of YOUR choice. Perhaps you'll choose the 'crystal quality' of the triple gatefold CD. All the beautiful artwork rent amazing on a unique CD. Maybe you're more in tune with 'the old guard' and wish your uncompromising psychedelic albums on vinyl. Buried Alone: Tales Of Crushing Defeat is available as a 180 gram, gatefold sleeve LP. So called 'modernists' may also choose to go with this format as it comes with a free MP3 download of the entire record. CDs are going for £8.99, while the sumptuous LP retails at £12.99. So, you're a 'download freak' are you? Well then you'll have to wait till the actual release date (August 17th) before you secure your copy of THE MOST PSYCHEDELIC ALBUM MADE THIS MILLENIUM. You can purchase either through Itunes or any of those other download sites. It's available through all of them. Shoppist are you? Like to buy your LYSERGIC ENGLISH ROCK in one of those archaic music stores, independent or otherwise, of your choice? Knifeworld's Buried Alone: Tales Of Crushing Defeat is distributed through Universal and available in whatever record shops are actually left. This is where to go to- http://www.thegenepool.co.uk/artists/KNIFEWORLD.htm Knifeworld gigs to follow, keep an eye on your bulletins. x
WOO HOO How are you?
hope you've had a chance to come listen to some of my tracks, even more so hope you have a kick ass day!
Come by sometime and drop me a line.
Sounds like shavon
WOO HOO
thankyou so much for your friendship and support. it means so much to us. you truly are an inspiration, your music is sooooo beautiful! all love n light La Frocks xx
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