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Keiron Phelan and David Sheppard make records together and separately under various guises. The first Phelan/Sheppard L.P. :"O Little Stars" was released in 2002 on Rocket Girl. The new album :'Harps Old Master' was released September 2OO6 on the Leaf Label and features Phelan and Sheppard playing nylon string guitars, double bass, various woodwinds, xylophones, keyboards and electronics, with help from co-producer Guy Fixsen (trumpet, drum machine, Moog bass) and the Willard Grant Conspiracy's Josh Hillman (violin and viola). Spanish singer Ines Naranjo adds vocals to a number of the songs.
The duo also record as State River Widening, having made three albums, the most recent of which -"Cottonhead" - features '60's folk icon Anne Briggs. More recently they have formed Smile Down Upon Us with Tokyo based vocalist MoomLooo. An album will be released in early '08. David Sheppard is also one half of Ellis Island Sound (with Pete Astor) and is part of Anglo/Spanish group Continental Film Night. Keiron Phelan is currently working with the group Orla Wren.
The new Phelan Sheppard / Niandra Ladies collaborative single for Static Caravan records was released September 17th 2007.
Some critics descriptions of the new single :
London-residents David Sheppard and Keiron Phelan are certainly no strangers to complex and fruitful collaborations.So whilst others might have made a digital hash out of a trans-continental two-track single partnering with the French-Italian members of Niandra Ladies - facilitated via a Myspace liaison and some diligent music file-swapping across the internet - Phelan 'n' Sheppard make it sound like a warm and organic extension of their sublime and overlooked Harps Old Master long-player from last year.
The A-side - "Games of Position" - is the true pearl of this two-part treat, skilfully channelling tranquil strings, rippling acoustic guitars, shimmering percussion, unidentifiable ambient-burbling and laidback-whistling into a watery bed of European art-house cinematics, on top of which two very different guest female singers (namely Ines Naranjo and Laura Sharpe, from Spain and England respectively) rest some soothing somnambulant vocals. It's the kind of vinyl delight that could/should have been spread and extended across 12 inches instead of just 7; such is its calming and untiring magic.
Over on the flipside, with the vocal-less "Casino Lisboa", the melodic anchors are hauled-up, for a more free-floating affair. Aided by Thomas Allard on French horn, proceedings drift into a twilight meeting of fidgety slow-motion drums, lo-fi blues guitar, eerie brass/woodwind and elliptical violins, in the process recalling both the more sedate strands of the Dirty Three's repertoire, the dusty meditations of Calexico's Travelall and the ghostlike glide of Miles Davis's infinitely influential In A Silent Way. : Aidrian Pannett ( DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY )
Anything these guys do is brilliant in my opinion, so you're not going to get anything but a big recommendation here. Their songwriting abilities are second to none and the way they tug at the heartstrings with deliciously melancholy melodies is delightful. Instrumentation is stunning, the vocals are breathy and gorgeous and if you enjoyed the 'Harps Old Master' album at all this is a must. Both sides are ace and this is more than worthy of your attention. Definite recommendation! : ( SMALLFISH )
Keiron Phelan and David Sheppard (the masterminds behind State River Widening) contributed a truly beautiful album to Leaf's roster last year in the shape of 'Harps Old Master' and now they're back with a collaboration which sees them team up with European band Niandra Ladies. Not that this has encouraged a dramatic switch in sound mind you, we still find the gang making very lovely electro-acoustic compositions complete with the kind of textures and subtle rhythms Phelan and Sheppard have made their own. It might not be tearing your doors down and ordering you to take a listen but 'Games of Position/Casino Lisboa' is a beautiful, low-key release well worthy of inclusion in the always reliable Static Caravan 7" series. :
( BOOMKAT )
This record left our Phil feeling ecstatic.
One of my favorite records of last year (I think it was last year.. it could have been this year... fu ck knows) was the Phelan Sheppard album on Leaf. The more I hear it the more fantastic it sounds. So here's a brand new 7" by said geniuses (genii?) with them and Ninandra Ladies (who I know nothing about). 'Games Of Position' is beautiful stuff... lovely acoustic guitar meanderings (along the lines of State River Widening) with some gentle electronics thrown in which add to the general fantastic ness, and that's all topped off with some beautiful female vocals (from said ladies) which will melt you into submission. It's all very brooding as well .....Glory be... Hallelujah and that. : ( NORMAN RECORDS )
Here's what critics said about the new Phelan/Sheppard album, "Harps Old Master".
"An autumnal arrival that soundtracks the darkening evenings, fallen leaves and heavy coated walks across the park. Echos of Nick Drake sipping camomile tea with Max Richter, while Paris, Texas plays on DVD and Ennio Morricone waters the garden. This album offers a cinemtic and charmingly seductive walk across a musical landscape that leaves one feeling refreshed, dreamy and out of step with time." : Scanner ( KULTUREFLASH )
"Harps Old Master" is a gorgeously textured record with an ease and compositional expansiveness that is a testiment to the duos long established relationship." ( BOOMKAT )
"Combining the intellectual approach of Post-Rock with the more luxurious end of the electronica spectrum, "Harps"...is a much more ambitious affair than Phelan/Sheppards atmospheric debut "O Little Stars".
Successfully avoiding the more alienating cerebral tendencies of the likes of Four Tet, Phelan/Sheppard employ inspired textural touches. Appearences from Laikas Guy Fixen and Willard Grant Conspiracys Josh Hillman flesh out a somnolent treat." : Eden Parke ( UNCUT )
"This really is one of the most exquisite pieces of work I've heard this year. To call it anything other than simply superb music would be wrong."
( SMALLFISH )
"Mysterious, melodic...a charming music that has it's roots in ambient electronica, with shades of the Books, Clogs and Steve Reich's Counterpoint pieces." : John L Walters ( THE GUARDIAN )
"Keiron Phelan and David Sheppard also play together in State River Widening, but this more ambient format has yielded another beauty. Texturally rich, its strengh lies in Phelan and Sheppard's mercurial way with simple, strong melodic hooks. Along the way it reminds of Popul Vuh circa Hosianna Mantra, Celtic folk, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and the medative stillness of Avro Part. : Mike Barnes ( MOJO )
So now you know
Frontpage photos by Teresa Neal
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