Big Low
Back to topLying somewhere between singer-songwriter folk, alternative country, cabaret style blues and sweetly executed experimental/electro pop, the Big Low sound is a refreshing journey down roads less travelled with some surprising detours into unexpected terrain
Basically what we are about (apart from - yawn - trying to put good music into the world with feeling) is stories in the song and in the sound. Characters, places, feelings, memories and the strange powers of the natural world. None of it is invented. I have inherited a catalogue of stories, feelings, strange notions and philiosophies about life and the human spirit from the valley where I grew up.
To enhance the telling and capture the right atmosphere we often record our music using sounds generated from unexpected sources. A standard bass, drums, guitar, violin, keyboard-whatever line-up would not do our material justice, nor would it satisfy us as musicians. We look for sounds that can tell a story and we often find the right "instrument" for the job at hand lying on the floor of the shed.
Parne Gadje
Back to topParne Gadjes’ interpretations of both the old and newly emergent tunes of Greece, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Romania, and the RRoma people are distinctive and beautiful.
In November 2006 Parne Gadje embarked on a 12 show theater tour of Germany. Guitarist/recording engineer Michiel Hollanders not only played all of the shows, he also managed to record them all with top shelf recording equipment. The result was over 20 hours of beautifully balanced professional recordings of the band doing what they do best. As you can imagine the selection process took ages.
The very best of it has been mixed and mastered and sounds amazing. 16 tracks in total – a mesmerizing document of what Parne Gadje are capable of and proof that these guys are one of the most influential and creative folk/world music groups around.
Davie Lawson
Back to topDavie Lawson is a young singer/songwriter from Wales who we were fortunate enough to first record in late 2006.
Following the great critics for Davies debut album `Konichiwa?` and some great shows including appearances at the Naked Song Festival 2007 in Eindhoven and VPRO´s 3 voor 12 he toured in Janurary and February 2008 for a run of showcase shows with Lucky Fonz III.
His style is somewhere between Nick Drake and a lost cousin of a young John Cale. His approach has a nevertheless quintessentially British feel to it. Most definitely a typewriter and acoustic guitar man.
Kamal Hors
Back to topKamal Hors is a Moroccan musician who has been playing the ud (the Arabic lute), the sentir, the guenbri and various north African percussion instruments for as long as he can remember. He migrated to the Netherlands in 1981, bringing his life passion and musical tradition with him. The initial years in his new country were tough-going but by 1987 he had co-founded the Weshm Music Ensemble which toured Europe, Morocco, parts of northern Africa and the Middle East. He has since built a hard-won reputation as a top class player and composer in a cultural environment largely indifferent to Arabic music. His talent, drive and optimism has landed him theatre and dance score commissions as well as collaborations with prominent composers and appearances at leading jazz festivals.
We are extremely proud to be releasing his debut album on Smoked Recordings
www.kamalhors.nl
Lucie Thorne
Back to topLucie Thorne grew up in Northern Tasmania, Australia, the daughter of a poet father and music-loving mother. She spent her childhood and teen years vacillating between wanting to be Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell and the next rock guitarist for AC/DC. After playing the vibrant Melbourne live scene for several years, she decided to move to the tiny village of Bimbaya (population 4) on the edge of the Emerald Bega Valley on the far south coast of NSW. It’s here in an old wooden cottage by the Tantawangalo Creek that Lucie now writes and records, and tends a garden, when she’s not on tour. Aged 33, Black Across The Field is Lucie Thorne’s fifth release but her first for Smoked Recordings