tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242011572009-02-23T16:08:29.528-08:00music from the edge of an islandjuliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-80372031634406110532008-11-04T06:42:00.000-08:002008-11-04T07:39:46.238-08:00The ever supportive Radio One and Radio Cymru DJ Huw Stephens has invited fernhill to perform as part of the Swn festival in Cardiff on Sunday 16th November. The venue is the Reardon Smith lecture theatre @ the National Museum -<br />also performing that night are our lovely friends Sild and harpist/singer Georgia Ruth Williams.<br /><br />Details www.swnfest.co.uk/site/ and www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/1854/<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-8037203163440611053?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-35858211026501061842008-09-06T08:56:00.000-07:002008-09-06T09:12:51.720-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://gothamacme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/2767662252_c851093ab4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://gothamacme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/2767662252_c851093ab4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />howard wolfson kindly wrote about our gig at tegeingl on his<br /><a href="http://gothamacme.com/2008/08/17/fernhill-in-mold/">excellent blog</a><br /><br />here it is also:<br /><br />In a fair world Fernhill would be as big as any “world music” act, and their cds must haves for even casual music fans. The world, alas, is not fair, and in order to hear them live you must take a a three hour train from London to Flint, Wales and then walk 6 miles through the Welsh countryside to the town of Mold (and back) to see them perform as part of a Welsh folk festival. There, in a tent with a couple of hundred folk music fans, next to a truck selling Welsh lamb, I saw one of the great bands on the planet. Their lead singer Julie Murphy has got an unbelievable voice, pure, powerful and evocative. The band, led by Ceri Matthews on guitar and flute, are intimate enough with tradition that they are unafraid to stretch its boundaries. A truly magical evening.<br /><br />All of the songs on their myspace page are worth savoring.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-3585821102650106184?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-48904511261962372782008-08-06T05:31:00.000-07:002008-08-06T06:42:43.873-07:00Fernhill are playing at the first <a href="http://www.tegeingl.com">tegeingl festival</a> in Mold, Wales, on Friday 15th August. This is the bands only festival appearance this summer and the first gig as a four piece since Christine's return from China.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-4890451126196237278?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-32804345523326950592008-08-06T05:05:00.000-07:002008-08-06T08:22:02.474-07:00We recently discovered ( through Tom googling on 'tinternet ) that 'Na Pradle' was in the MOJO top ten folk album list for 2007. Colin Irwin, who draws up the list, reviewed the album in FROOTS magazine. <br /><br />"Na Prádle is extraordinary. A live recording made by Czech radio at a theatre in Prague, it’s as stark, harsh and evocative as anything you’ll hear this year. And yet it’s also majestically hypnotic. Julie Murphy’s commanding voice cuts through the Divadlo na Prádle (Theatre at the Laundry!) with passion, power and grace. It’s a formidable performance from Murphy, demonstrating the uncompromising strength of the human voice when used without frills or guile on a selection of mainly Welsh folk songs.<br /><br />Yet the brooding menace of Murphy’s tour de force is brilliantly undercut by the sinister trumpet and piano accompaniments of Tomos Williams giving it all an eerie, bluesy edge. With songs of dark desires like Bredon Hill and Grey Cock, it adds to a terrible beauty that, unusually for a live album, is as transfixing to the CD listener as it clearly was to the Czech audience."<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-3280434552332695059?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-87826080802388909322007-08-24T08:47:00.000-07:002007-08-24T09:00:46.961-07:00The trio will be performing twice at the cardiff harbour festival in the oval basin, cardiff bay, on bank holiday monday 27 august. on stage@12 and 4pm. copies of the live album 'na pradle' will be for sale at the gigs. <br /><br />ceri will also be performing at the festival on sunday 26 with sille ilves of the group sild. on stage@ 12 and 4.10pm.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-8782608080238890932?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-56836266730630478452007-07-04T07:16:00.000-07:002007-07-04T07:38:38.144-07:0010.08.07 : DOLGELLAU / Ty Siamas / 01341 421800 / www.tysiamas.com<br /><br />19.08.07 : THE GREENMAN FESTIVAL / www.thegreenmanfestival.co.uk<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-5683626673063047845?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-1172517750927273562007-02-26T11:14:00.000-08:002007-02-26T11:22:30.936-08:00new album released today in the shops. very nice four star review in the western mail last week by christopher rees who made it his CD of the week. <br /><br />Fernhill, Na Pradle ****<br />Feb 16 2007<br /><br />Christopher Rees, Western Mail<br /><br /> DESPITE being born in London and brought up in Essex, Fernhill singer Julie Murphy has become Wales' greatest international ambassador of traditional folk song.<br /><br />After meeting her husband Ceri Rhys Matthews at art college, the couple formed Fernhill in 1996 after moving back to his native West Wales.<br /><br />Surrounded by Welsh speakers Murphy commendably committed to learning the language and soon felt drawn to the folk songs embedded in the landscape. In the process, she has earned the respect and admiration of her neighbours and the wider musical community via her mesmerising vocal prowess and the way that she inhabits the songs and the language with so much authenticity and soul.<br /><br />Unlike traditional Irish, Scottish or English folk music, which has always enjoyed healthy maintenance, ancient Welsh songs have been largely neglected and misrepresented for many years, so what Murphy has achieved with the material on home turf and on stages around the world is quite remarkable.<br /><br />This new live album is testament to that. Recorded in Prague as part of a British Council-supported tour of the Czech Republic, it captures Fernhill as an intimate trio, complete with Matthews on guitar and flute and Tomos Williams on trumpet and piano.<br /><br />The natural acoustics and ambience of the theatre helps provide a haunting atmosphere that's enhanced and given character by Murphy's sensitive interpretations of songs like Llatai and the flute- laced Folantein.<br /><br />Williams also contributes significantly to the overall mood as his Miles Davis-styled trumpet floats in and out of Bredon Hill, while his stark and profound piano underscores the darker emotion of Lloer Dirion.<br /><br />Murphy's voice really is a thing a great beauty, power and passion and sounds equally so, whether she sings in Welsh, English, or Breton - all the more reason then to applaud her for adopting the language and becoming such a dignified, graceful and worthy ambassador for Welsh folk music.<br /><br />Na Pradle captures a performance of outstanding purity and conviction, one that might be Fernhill's greatest statement yet.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-117251775092727356?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-1163629095558927552006-11-15T14:16:00.000-08:002006-11-19T08:10:24.653-08:0025.11.06 cardiff /<a href="http://www.thepointcardiffbay.com">the point</a> / caerdydd / meltdown club 20th birthday party <br /> <br />20.12.06 pontypridd /<a href="http://www.net-cymru.co.uk">clwb y bont</a> 01443 403502<br /> <br />28.01.07 glasgow / <a href="http://www.celticconnections.com">celtic connections</a> / royal concert hall / strathclyde suite <br /> <br />31.03.07 <a href="http://www.oxfordfolkfestival.com">oxford folk festival</a>/ gwyl rhydychen<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-116362909555892755?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-1163606810842248352006-11-15T08:03:00.000-08:002006-11-19T08:12:19.100-08:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/1600/CDcover.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/320/CDcover.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />fernhill's first live album is to be released into the shops in january 2007. it will be available from <a href="http://www.bejo.co.uk">beautiful jo records</a> from december ( date tbc ) <br /><br /> the album features highlights of an intimate concert recorded by czech radio at divadlo na pradle <br />( theatre at the laundry ) in prague in march 2006 <br /><br />line up : <br />julie murphy / vocals<br />ceri rhys matthews / guitar and flute<br />tomos williams / trumpet and piano<br /><br />track list :<br />whilia/llatai/bredon hill/grey cock/gwalch/folentein/lloer dirion/chwant<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-116360681084224835?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-1163525019132723902006-11-14T09:19:00.000-08:002006-11-16T07:51:15.950-08:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/1600/tom.0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/200/tom.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br />in july we were invited by radio one DJ huw stephens to perform on the lake stage @ the first latitude festival in suffolk - an eclectic mix of music, poetry, art and film. festival highlight : a mesmerising performance by patti smith. <br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/1600/patti.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/200/patti.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br /><br /><a href="http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk/home/">latitude</a> <br /><a href="http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk/arenas/lake.asp">lakeside arena</a> <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/1600/huw-latitude.0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/200/huw-latitude.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-116352501913272390?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-1148484530361454062006-05-24T08:23:00.000-07:002006-05-24T08:35:05.866-07:00fernhill trio live<br /><br />28.05.06 hay-on-wye parish hall / neuadd y plwyf, y gelli gandryll<br />doors 8.30 / on stage 9pm<br /><br />information / gwybodaeth : +44 (0) 1497 821812 / £7.50<br />info@poetrybookshop.co.uk <br /><br />'don't miss' the observer<br /><br />supported by night out / cefnogwyd gan noson allan<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-114848453036145406?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-1145382351122309932006-04-18T10:43:00.000-07:002006-04-18T11:02:22.280-07:00fernhill trio live<br /><br />27.04.06 <b>Brady Arts and Community Centre</b> 020 7364 7928 / 7900<br /><br />(Five minutes from Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market<br /> nearest tube whitechapel )<br />192-196 Hanbury Street, London E1 5HU. <br /> buy tickets online @ <a href="http://www.wegottickets.com">wegottickets</a><br />Open from 6.30pm / good food available / concert at 8pm<br /> full details and directions at <a href="http://www.octobermusic.co.uk">octobermusic</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-114538235112230993?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-1143215563800139892006-03-24T07:50:00.000-08:002006-03-27T00:48:06.440-08:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/1600/ceri%20shades.1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/320/ceri%20shades.1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />the last gig of the tour was in the great city of prague at <a href="http://www.divadlonapradle.cz/">divadlo na pradle</a> <br /> ( theatre at the laundry ) - built in 1924 by a group of avant-garde artists that in it's time included smetana and fellow composer antonin dvorak. no pressure then...luckily we were on good form, carried along by the amazing response of the audience.<br />the concert was recorded for czech radio and will be broadcast on a special night dedicated to the arts from wales. <br />we would like to thank the <a href="http://www.britishcouncil.org/home">british council</a> and <a href="http://www.pjmusic.cz/">p+j music</a> who jointly promoted the tour. a special thankyou to misa kaplankova.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-114321556380013989?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-1143135162083509972006-03-23T09:30:00.000-08:002006-03-23T10:33:39.690-08:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/1600/blaidd%20drak.1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/320/blaidd%20drak.1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><b>backstage divadlo drak</b> 8.3.06 <br />travelled by road across a snow covered czech landscape to the second gig of the tour - <a href="http://www.draktheatre.cz">divadlo drak</a> a famous puppet theatre in hradec kralove, east bohemia.<br />an amazing vibe, not just from the audience but also from the building itself. a good place for dark folk songs, the great czech surrealist filmaker <a href="http://www.illumin.co.uk/svank">jans svankmajer</a> kept coming to mind...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-114313516208350997?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-1143123858404881372006-03-23T06:19:00.000-08:002006-03-23T07:11:28.623-08:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/1600/brno%20club.0.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/320/brno%20club.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alterna.cz/index.php?clanek=202"><b>klub alterna</b></a> brno 7.3.06 <br />first gig of the tour, very cool venue in the student area of czech second city which puts on a lot of <a href="http://www.alterna.cz">jazz and world music</a>. great audience, great staff and great piano. two encores...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-114312385840488137?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24201157.post-1142530222389419522006-03-16T09:27:00.000-08:002006-03-16T09:54:30.593-08:00<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/1600/julie-shades.2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4289/2199/320/julie-shades.2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />julie at tramstop, praha<br /><br />just back from a great tour in czech, thankyou to everyone who came to the gigs. here are a couple of nice messages we had which i have moved from my weblog. more images and thoughts to follow<br /> <br />here were dates and details<br />7.03.06  brno/ alterna / www.alterna.cz<br />8.03.06   hradec/ kralove/ divadlo drak <br />9.03.06   prague/ divadlo na prádle<br /><br /><br />Anonymous said...<br />very good in Hradec Kralove<br /><br /><br />Anonymous said...<br />Yeah, that's for sure.<br />And fabulous in Prague!<br />Big thanks for coming over to Czech and communicating so much of the universal, cultural and personal through your music. <br /><br />PS: Language in dreams is quite redundant, tonight I heard just the beauty of sounds. <br /><br />Safe journey back home.<br />Lucie<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/24201157-114253022238941952?l=fernhillmusic.blogspot.com'/></div>juliemurphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03509818675180443427noreply@blogger.com0