Tag Archive: Alasdair Roberts


MUSIC I HOLLERED ABOUT IN 2013

whisperinandhollerinIn 2013 I wrote 170 reviews for the webzine Whisperin’ & Hollerin’, an average of just over 14 a month.

In terms of the total releases overall this is a drop in the ocean but for what it’s worth these were my favourite ten albums together with some honourable mentions.

There are links to my reviews of you want to know why.

TIP OF THE ICEBERG – THE BEST OF 2013

1. MUTUAL BENEFIT – Love’s Crushing Diamond

2.ÓLöF ARNALDS – Sudden Elevation

3. ANNABELLE CHVOSTEK – Rise

4. ORLA WREN – Book Of The Folded Forest

5. OLIVER COATES – Towards A Blessed Island

6. SAM AMIDON – Bright Sunny South

7. ALASDAIR ROBERTS & FRIENDS – A Working Wonder Stone

8. ADAM STAFFORD – Imaginary Walls Collapse

9. VARIOUS ARTISTS – The Outer Church

10. SAMARIS – Samaris

BUBBLING UNDER – 10 HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

THE PURE VOICE OF OLIVIA CHANEY

it was a great pleasure to receive Alasdair Roberts’ fine new album, A Wonder Working Stone, for review on Whisperin’ & Hollerin’.

A happy consequence of this was to discover  Olivia Chaney  who sings backing vocals on the album.

Olivia is a new name to me but one I expect to hear much more of .

She studied piano, voice and composition at Chetham’s School of Music and The Royal Academy of Music and taught herself guitar and harmonium.

As you can hear from a selection of her songs on Soundcloud and the video link below, hers is a voice that makes an immediate impact for its purity and grace.

Her debut solo EP is out now and hopefully is just the beginning of an illustrious career.

ALEX NEILSON

Alex-NeilsonAlex Neilson is my new hero.

He must be in his 20s but he looks about 13. He was born in Leeds but now lives in Glasgow. He is a drummer of immense natural talent. He also has aspirations as a singer of folk ballads.

The list of those he has played with is like a check list of cutting edge underground artists and includes Jandek, Richard Youngs, Ashtray Navigations, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Will Oldham, and Alasdair Roberts. A connection between these acts is that all broadly use Folk as a point of entry but then take the music into new realms – in other words into the sphere of the ‘New Weird’.

His style of playing was well described by David Keenan in May 2007: “In Neilson’s playing there is truly no past or future, simply Now over and over. Just one movement of his hands and then the next”. Alex was part of David’s Tight Meat Duo/Trio and until recently he worked in the Volcanic Tongue record shop run by Keenan with Heather Leigh Murray so this endorsement may be thought of a little biased, however, as an independent party I can vouch for this judgement.

I first saw Alex performing with Will Oldham (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) in Faenza (see my review here). He made a good impression then but the show I saw him play last night in Ravenna was even more memorable. He played with Six Organs Of Admittance which for this gig also consisted of Mr. Six Organs Ben Chasny and Chasny’s latest flame/collaborator Elisa Ambrogio of Magik Markers. Alex’s technique and energy was something to behold. Behind the drum kit he seems a man possessed – his playing looked controlled yet free at the same time. It is musicianship which, for one of his projects Directing Hand (with Vinnie Blackwall on wordless vocals and harp), is neatly summed up as “ecstatic improvisation”.

I spoke briefly with Alex after the gig last night – mainly to give gushing praise for his amazing performance. He told me that he is currently setting up a band which will include Ben Reynolds and be focused on what he called sentimental ballads. Ben and Alex are currently playing as part of Baby Dee’s backing band.

The new band will be called ‘Trembling …..???’ (i didn’t catch it all) and sounds an interesting avenue for a young artist with amazing talent and huge potential.

There’s a good interview with Alex in Stylus online magazine