Tag Archives: folk

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News and Touring

BEC TAYLOR & THE LYREBIRDS “LIMBS & ALL” OUT NOW ON VINYL

Limbs & All, the second album by Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds is now available on vinyl through Foghorn Records,  direct from the band at live shows, and Bandcamp - https://bectaylorandthelyrebirds.bandcamp.com/album/limbs-all

“A masterpiece of the folk-pop genre” – Sonic Realms Germany - https://sonicrealms.de/musik/alternative-indie/bec-taylor-and-the-lyrebirds-begeistern-mit-vielfaeltiger-und-tiefgruendiger-musik-auf-zweitem-album-limbs-all-audio-alternative-folk-pop-folk/

“Limbs & All” is chock full of moody alt-country and folk-pop gems that touch on loss, grief and joy. ‘Limbs & All’ is a collaborative album which features all five of the Lyrebirds on every song, weaving together a gentle americana-folk sound palette with acoustic and pedal-steel guitars, drums, bass, mandolin, keyboards, banjo and the Lyrebirds’ signature vocal harmonies.

Bec wrote the lion’s share of the songs while pregnant and nursing her first baby, and her sense of inner turmoil throughout the album is palpable. Whether it’s the darkly rhythmic and poetic ‘Wormhole’ or the elated but hesitant ‘Whisky’, this album is subtler and broodier than The Lyrebirds’ previous album, featuring connecting themes across songs. One example is the musical connection weaved into tracks ‘Photograph’ and ‘Goner’, referencing their sister-song origins, beginning as one song but evolving as two separate songs.

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All recording and mixing was done by Louis Montgomery with some additional mixing on ‘Photograph’ by Marshall Cullen at Damien Gerard Studios, NSW. The album was mastered by Andrew Edgson at Studios 301.

Hidden treasures of the Canberra music scene, Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds are a five-piece alt-folk-pop band. Described as Canberra’s Seeker-Lover-Keeper, their unique harmony-laden sound combines with “charming melodies and lyrics brimming with heart” (Scenstr).

REVIEWS OF Vinyl LP “LIMBS & ALL”

“Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds have firmly established themselves as torchbearers of the alt-folk-pop genre, crafting a sound that is as timeless as it is timely.”

- Jamsphere – https://jamsphere.com/newreleases/discovering-emotional-landscapes-inside-bec-taylor-and-the-lyrebirds-limbs-all#google_vignette

“”Limbs & All” is a must-listen-to for fans of alt-folk-pop and anyone who appreciates music that touches the heart.” – Planet Singer - https://www.planetsinger.net/discovering-the-enchanting-sounds-of-bec-taylor-and-the-lyrebirds-with-their-brilliant-new-album-limbs-and-all/

“Bec’s voice is so special..it soothes like aloe on a cut.” – Indie Band Guru (NYC) - https://indiebandguru.com/bec-taylor-and-the-lyrebirds-limbs-and-all/

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 UPCOMING LIVE DATES

SATURDAY JUNE 29th TOMAKIN, NSW – Smokey Dan’s, 12pm with Jason Recliner

BEC TAYLOR & THE LYREBIRDS are…

Bec Taylor – vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, Hammond organ, felt-muted piano, percussion
Sam McNair – vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo
Sophie Chapman – vocals, bass guitar
Grahame Thompson – drums, cello
Hannah Beasley – vocals, wurlitzer piano
Matt Dixon – pedal steel guitar
Jacqui Bradley and Donal Baylor – violins

Stream the album

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News and Touring

Gareth Koch Releases Single ‘Song For Taylor Swift’

Song for Taylor Swift is the first in a series of dedications to influential artists of the modern era by Gareth. There is a rich history of one artist acknowledging another in music, ranging from Beethoven to David Bowie, the latter having written his Song for Bob Dylan.

Song for Taylor Swift explores the gentler side of her output, with a recurring fragile interlude subtly reminiscent of her ballad-like material. The resonator & lap steel guitars reference Taylor’s occasional country influences, as does the cover art of the release.

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Gareth Koch is an ARIA Award winning multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, guitar soloist, composer & songwriter. He has recorded a sizeable repertory across multiple genres spanning works for classical guitar, flamenco, original compositions, arrangements, medieval projects, rock & songwriting. He has appeared at major festivals within Australia, Europe, Asia and North America.

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News and Touring

Bec Taylor & The Lyrebirds Release Album ‘Limbs & All’ plus East Coast Tour

After two successful singles and the entire album out today (both digital and CD), Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds head out on an East Coast tour in support of the release.

Upcoming Tour Dates

FRIDAY MAY 17th MELBOURNE
Bar Open, 8pm with Happy Axe & James Fahy Happy Axe James Fahy Music
SATURDAY JUNE 1st SYDNEY
Gasoline Pony, 3pm with Julia Johnson & Tate Sheridan
SUNDAY JUNE 9th CANBERRA
4pm, The Street Theatre with Owen Campbell @owencampbellmusic=
 SATURDAY JUNE 29th TOMAKIN, NSW
Smokey Dan’s, 12pm with Jason Recliner
 SUNDAY 30th JUNE
South Durras Garden Studio, 1pm

Limbs & All, the second album by Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds is chock full of moody, folk-pop gems that touch on loss, grief and joy. ‘Limbs & All’ is a collaborative album which features all five of the Lyrebirds on every song, weaving together a gentle americana-folk sound palette with acoustic and pedal-steel guitars, drums, bass, mandolin, keyboards, banjo and the Lyrebirds’ signature vocal harmonies.

Bec wrote the lion’s share of the songs while pregnant and nursing her first baby, and you can sense her inner turmoil throughout the songs. Whether it’s the darkly rhythmic and poetic ‘Wormhole’ or the elated but hesitant ‘Whisky’, the album is subtler and broodier than the last album, featuring connecting themes and ideas across songs. A musical connection is weaved into tracks ‘Photograph’ and ‘Goner’, referencing their sister-song origins: they begun as one song but evolved into two separate songs.

All recording and mixing was done by Louis Montgomery with some additional mixing on ‘Photograph’ was done by Marshall Cullen at Damien Gerard Studios NSW. The album was mastered by Andrew Edgson at Studios 301.

About

Hidden treasures of the Canberra music scene, Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds are a five-piece alt-folk-pop band. Described as Canberra’s Seeker-Lover-Keeper, their unique harmony-laden sound combines with “charming melodies and lyrics brimming with heart” (Scenstr).

Bec Taylor is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who has recorded over a dozen studio records. She has also performed on some of the biggest stages and festivals around the country, including BIGSOUND, Groovin’ The Moo, and the Woodford Folk Festival. She has played alongside the likes of Gotye, The Darkness, and been on tour as main support for Regurgitator and Shonen Knife in her previous projects Fun Machine and Glitoris.

The Lyrebirds is her most recent project, showcasing her song-making through a new alt-folk-country repertoire. Bec started the Lyrebirds in 2020 after writing and producing her first full-length solo record “Adrift” with producer Louis Montgomery (SAFIA, Peking Duk. Consisting of versatile musicians with rich experience in different genres: Hannah Beasley (PaintonPaint), Sam McNair (JD McNair, The Burley Griffin), Sophie Chapman (Brass Knuckle Brass Band, Andy and George Band) and Grahame Thompson (Cracked Actor, BabyFreeze, Mr Fibby).

Bec and the band have built an incredible musical chemistry, with soaring harmonies and rich instrumentation of guitars, piano, drums, bass, banjo, mandolin, and occasional cello parts which complement Bec’s heartfelt songwriting.

Bec Taylor – vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, Hammond organ, felt-muted piano, percussion
Sam McNair – vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo
Sophie Chapman – vocals, bass guitar
Grahame Thompson – drums, cello
Hannah Beasley – vocals, wurlitzer piano
Matt Dixon – pedal steel guitar
Jacqui Bradley and Donal Baylor – violins
VIDEO PREMIERE FOR ‘Go On Without Me’

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News and Touring

Bec Taylor and The Lyrebirds Release New Single ‘Photograph’

The second single from the forthcoming album following the success of ‘Anchor’ last year.

‘Photograph’ is a delicate and broody alt-folk song full of melodic hooks and echo harmonies, featuring introspective verses, and soaring choruses. The Lyrebirds’ ethereal harmonies combine with Bec’s lead vocal to create a haunting effect, meditating on how hard it can be to forgive and forget in a relationship.

The Video for single was just premiered on Scenestr

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Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds are a five-piece alt-country pop band from Canberra. Described as Seeker-Lover-Keeper-meets-Nashville-the-TV-show, their “twangy, Australiana” sound combines with “charming melodies and lyrics brimming with heart” (Scenstr). They are a band with incredible musical chemistry, with soaring harmonies and a rich instrumentation of guitars, piano, drums, bass, banjo, mandolin, and occasional cello parts, which complement Bec’s heartfelt songwriting.

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Consisting of versatile musicians with rich experience in different genres, the Lyrebirds are Hannah Beasley (PaintonPaint), Sam McNair (JD McNair, The Burley Griffin), Sophie Chapman (Brass Knuckle Brass Band, Andy and George Band) and Grahame Thompson (Cracked Actor, BabyFreeze, Mr Fibby).

There’s two shows in March to launch the single and plenty more coming later in the year

- Saturday 9th March 7pm – Cancophany at UC Refectory hosted by Enlighten Canberra – Tickets 

- Thursday 14th March – Photograph Launch House Gig at Hannah’s in Canberra (tickets below)

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News and Touring

Bec Taylor and The Lyrebirds – Anchor (New Release!)

Here is the first single from the forthcoming album plus a launch show

Anchor is an upbeat alt-country-pop song co-written by Bec and lyric collaborator CJ Shaw.  The track was recorded at Golden Retriever in Sydney, and at ANU Recording Studios in Canberra and was produced by Louis Montgomery (SAFIA, Peking Duk).

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(pic by Tony Mott)

If you are in Canberra the launch is

Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds + CJ Shaw and the Blow Ins + The Burley Griffin at Live at the Polo, The White Eagle Polish Club, Canberra, Saturday 18th November 7pm
Tickets:

Bec Taylor is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who has recorded over a dozen studio records while performing on some of the biggest stages and festivals around the country, including BIGSOUND, Groovin’ The Moo, and the Woodford Folk Festival, as well as playing alongside the likes of Gotye, The Darkness, and been on tour as main support for Regurgitator and Shonen Knife in her previous projects Fun Machine and Glitoris. The Lyrebirds, a five-piece alt-country pop band, is her most recent project.  Their delightful blend of artful songwriting, tasty earworms and layered harmonies that will leave you humming their tunes for days.

Bec Taylor and The Lyrebirds -New single Anchor from forthcoming album 2024 – (Fog/MGM) Click below

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News and Touring

Jack Nolan’s Latest Single ‘Solo Sailor’ from Upcoming ‘Jindabyne’ Album and Live Launch

Just ahead of the Album launch and release next month Jack Nolan will be Ross M Fear’s studio guest on Alive 90.5 fm Australian Spectrum Show 9pm Tuesday 11 July 203 featuring a steal preview of his latest album “Jindabyne”.

The new single is Solo Sailor – see below for details including the Live Album Launch

Documenting the loss of a distant complicated man, ‘Solo Sailor’ is a soft farewell capturing a send off, a silent understanding reached, of melancholy and a life lived by the water. With an acoustic guitar augmented beautifully with a simple electric line and understated backing band, this is an ocean journey where the writer asks all fellow mariners to give the man right of way as he makes his way home. In true singer songwriter style ‘Solo Sailor’ is surely an acoustic playlist contender.

A deep cut ballad from the new Jack Nolan album: Jindabyne (released 4 August). Solo Sailor features distinctive slide and picked guitar, lush backing vocals, ambient drum backing and more than enough ducking and weaving through the textures of the song arrangement and lyrics to hold your interest.

 ‘JINDABYNE Album Launch’

Book here – Tickets
Thursday 3 August, 2023
From 7pm
First 50 ticket sales will receive a copy of the LP on arrival.
Clovelly Bowling & Recreation Club
1 Ocean Street Clovelly, NSW 2031

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Based in Sydney, Australia, singer songwriter Jack Nolan has been performing and releasing music and albums since the mid 1990’s. Along with a six-album solo catalogue Jack also fronted The Kelly Gang, with Rick Grossman, bassist for The Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus along with Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst and guitar player Martin Rotsey. Their 2004 album ‘Looking for the Sun’ is still considered a hidden gem, with an incredible line-up of musicians that delivered passionate and energetic live shows of the time.

Within Nolan’s music, mysterious and shimmering chords unite his sound. Once quaintly described as ‘Darlinghurst Country’ his sound unites elements of folk, country, rock ‘n’ roll and ambient atmospheres fusing Nolan’s passion for intensely charged electric guitar and finger-picked acoustic guitar.

Of recent years, the critically acclaimed 2018 album ‘Our Waverley Star’ was followed by the equally impressive 2020 outing ‘Gabriel’ – both long players being ethereal story books and rich song collections. It was these two outings that cemented Nolan’s love of the working town Nashville, an association with guitarist/producer Justin Weaver (Dixie Chicks/Wynonna Judd) that started with a one-off phone call and developed into an alliance that Nolan describes as “arriving in town, in the northern winter, when everyone’s off the road, with my swag of songs to greet all the boys again to collaborate”.

Performing in & around the traps, Jack’s Australian band includes Travis New (Andrew Farris/Imogen Clark) on guitar, Tim Samson (Christne Anu/Andrew Farris) on bass and long time drummer & Hamish Stuart (Don Walker/Ian Moss et al).

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News and Touring

Gareth Koch & Martin Kennedy Release Album ‘Music In The Afterlife’

“Brian Eno meets Massive Attack and classical guitarist John Williams”

The idea of an afterlife has fired imaginations across cultures for millennia and is one of the earliest belief systems in recorded history. It is fascinating to consider that a type of identity or stream of consciousness might exist in the absence of the physical body.
In ‘Music In The Afterlife’, Gareth Koch & Martin Kennedy have created a sound world which seeks to convey a continued existence taking place in the spiritual realm, or otherworld. In mythology there are phases through which the consciousness passes before arriving at a reward in the afterlife. The Koch/Kennedy songs, or pieces, reflect imagined states in which the protagonist journeys through the stages of waiting, trance, drifting, resignation & Elysium.

In their debut collaboration Viennese-trained classical musician Gareth Koch & ambient music specialist Martin Kennedy have created a unique sound world. Their compositions weave acoustic & electronic realms into a seamless fabric in which medieval, folk & electronic influences are entwined. If this melange is beginning to sound like an unholy brew nothing could be further from the truth. The pieces are deft, intuitive & hypnotic, drawing the listener into a reflective & profound listening experience.

In what is termed classical music (perhaps more aptly described as western art music) the earliest notated plainchants of around CE930 were centred on spirituality & belief in the afterlife. From this point onwards classical music evolved with a connection to an otherworld or divine, often embracing various mythologies. Ambient music came of age in the twentieth century in the era of electronic synthesisers, but its origin’s date back to French classical music composer Erik Satie. Satie pioneered a genre of music which emphasised tone & atmosphere, providing the ideal sonic environment for contemplation & spiritual reflection.

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News and Touring

Jack Nolan Releases New Single ‘Reading Minds’

READING MINDS is the second cut from Jack’s next LP set for release March ’23. This is a farewell, a song that sees the flag at half-mast.

There’s a backstory, and in this one instance, I’ve decided to repeat it. We were two little boys with our families buying ice creams. I was more friendly with his younger brother in my schoolyear, but on this day, I recall a tap on the shoulder, to turn around & watch my soon to be friend reach into a cabinet to take a handful of cigarette lighters. It was right then, that very act of delinquency, where I thought “he’s going to be my friend”
We became best friends, and we were lucky to survive as long as we did.

Cut to 1994, we’d reached a nadir & I ended the ride, I wanted him to join me, and for a while he did, but jail cells and more catastrophe awaited him.
It’s been a while now, but yea, he’s been on my mind. Where is he? Maybe he’s in the Bardo. Is it addiction, is it mental illness, is it both? Who knows.
I know for the last five years or so he’d spent a lot of time in and out of a psychosis of some sort, things were said, we lost touch, but we both know what the truth is.

Nobody likes talking about suicide, but I’ve come to thinking that maybe he couldn’t help it, and that horrific act serves as the ultimate statement of the failures we’ve all created, where the only way out for some of us, is to end it.
There’s simply no way to try and make sense of it all but maybe a song will help. Reading Minds is a deep pulse, delivered by the brilliant Jimmy Paxon @jimmypaxon & Chris ‘Cowboy’ Auty @autbra11 that floats my eerie Gretsch finger picker around a masterful Justin Weaver @notnotweaver soundscape & production.

“Farewell friend
Sleep softly now
Sleep softly I will be
Lost in a dream myself
Yeah maybe it was me
That made my mind up like a fool
Call me that don’t call me cruel
It could be worse it could be me
You are reading minds”

Music was our first and lasting bond, I know he would have loved this track.

Basic Credits
By Jack Nolan
Produced by Justin Weaver
Recorded @ Welcome to 1979 Nashville, February, 2022
Engineered by Chris Mara
Mixed by Mitch Furr @ Early Bird Studio Nashville
Mastered by Bobbi Giel @ Welcome to 1979

Personnel Credits
Jack Nolan – Vocals & guitars
Justin Weaver – Electric & acoustic guitars
Jimmy Paxson – Drums & percussion
Chris Autry – Bass guitar

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