laurence collyer playing electric, acoustic and treated guitars, effects, banjo, lap steel, box harp, zither, piano, organ, casios, omnichord, harmonium, shruti box, radios, tapes, melodicas, percussion, bells, glockenspiel, electronics, found sounds, field recordings, voice, harmonicas.
help live has come from: paul cook, stacey harvey, lewis shaw, rob white, jane bartholomew and vicky steer, special thanks to stephen burch.
OUT NOW! NEW ALBUM AVAILABLE FROM WOODLAND RECORDINGS.
Influences
father sergius, blaise cendrars, paris spleen, gurdjieff, satie, sigma polke, tolstoy, chekhov, singer sargent, debussy, chopin, tape machines, solzhenitsyn, cats, girls, patchen, jack mapanje, luc tuymans, sacred heart singers of alabama, radios, nausea, realism, tremolo and reverb, sons of pioneers, pressing it and seeing what happens, casio, cossacks, francis bacon (both), john wyndham, ennio morricone, marconi, RNLI, RSPB, the west country, elomar, xangai, pens and paper, hardy, foxes, badgers, jays, nostalgia, creekmoor, found sound, field recordings, fires
Sounds Like
for gig bookings please contact stolenartists@googlemail.com or mail me and we'll sort something out.
“Laurence manages to silence rooms with his mixture of ominous lyrics, creaking slow-motion guitar and a hint of violence.” - New Folk Review
“…this is haunting, intense, spectral folk but with a distinctly British sound…
Laurence Collyer's diamond family archive is a unique, revolving ensemble, centering around his ghostly, deeply emotive songwriting. imagine Mark Kozelek's haunting folk with elements of Robert Wyatts heart wrenching vocals combined with Collyer's beautiful songs this is a truly great disc” – Rough Trade
“A true highlight from this years home game!” - Fence records
“Strange and tender songs built around layered loops of live guitar, lap steel and electronica. Leftfield, oddball and gorgeous, a beautiful and fragile noise and sublime lo-fi melancholia”- Stolen Recordings
“Laurence's odd, personal lyrical observations beguile and bewilder. Music rarely comes more atmospheric than this. the diamond family archive; if you have yet to see them, prepare to be stunned”. – The Gilded Palace Of Sin
Trance-like and intimate, folksongs for darker hearts, Laurence Collyer's mesmerising live performances are hard to translate to record (and this is his third album this year) but on Pear Tree they do. Chilling evocative lyrics coupled with a droning countryfied guitar and assorted accompaniment, this is DFA's finest recording yet. Imagine how Bob Dylan and the Band might have sounded if they'd been holed up in a cold drizzling English countryside with only bottles of cough syrup and Lou Reed's Berlin LP on constant rotation. It's that good. – Southcoasting Blog
The way the Archive's instrumentation merges, rises and falls is particularly brilliant in this, for the most part, raw-edged company, their 'Tuesday's Plan' a stunningly romantic epic of high-art musical subtlety. – Tangents
Forthcoming Releases:
Album - The Wanderer (covers album)- Label - Woodland recordings.
Album - 1-20 - Label - Electronic Musik.
Album - Songs for a Dala Horse - Label - Dala Horse (Italy).
Album – Dyke Road Drive - Label - A Beard of Snails (Denmark).
The Diamond Family Archive's Friend Space (Randomized)
Just had to let you know that I am touring Scotland this August ( Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Glasgow). and I invite you come on down and catch a show. All the shows feature Scottish singer/songwriter Yvonne Lyon. So come on out and say hi, it's been great connecting through MySpace.I very much look forward to meeting you in person. See you in August! -Ryan Donn www.ryandonn.com
Aug 5th, Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire-£10 , Doors 7pm.
Aug 6th, Aberdeen, Cellar 35, Doors 8pm, Tickets £5 at the door.
Folk music is for everyone at anytime anywhere anyhow, it matters not whether people do it everyday or just 'dip' into it. Folk the word itself means 'people in general' so I'm afraid I can't agree with your elitist view of 'folk' music being something that 'cannot be dipped into'. If Grandma or a little child want to make music or just sing a song on the spot then that is 'REAL' folk music too. It's not about how often it's done or even how seriously it is taken or how many records someone has made. I would rather listen to Grandma's song or the song of a little child than someone who thinks that 'folk music' can only be done by 'serious' musicians.
Alan here.
Packing me boots, stringing me guitars and getting ready for the next two weeks. Don't be frightened to shout out any songs off the album you want to hear and don't forget the crazier you are the crazier we are.
Look forward to seeing you in the asylum at the end of the tour.
A marvellous set on Wednesday sir - great to see you again. Sorry we didn't have a few more down... Look forward to hearing your many albums this year! Cheers Stuart,
Hey hey hey it's Jimmy The Fingers! If you haven't seen this video please take a peek... This is me singing my song "Grace." If you buy one mp3 this year make it a jimmy! BUY NOW – CLICK HERE!!!!!
