Tag: transatlantic

WATCH: Mark Bishop, “Like a Songbird That Has Fallen”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Mark Bishop
Hometown: Irvine, Kentucky
Song: “Like a Songbird That Has Fallen”
Album: Some Distant Mountain
Release Date: September 24, 2021
Label: Sonlite Records

In Their Words: “I was speaking with a friend about the album we were recording, and she had me go looking for this song. I fell in love with not just the mountain melody, but I also fell in love with the unconventional lyrics that sound more like poetry than song lyrics. You really have to listen. Musically, the song encapsulates the entire album. It’s a mixture of instruments from across the sea as they first meet the instruments of the Appalachian mountains. Add to that the harmony vocals by my friend Ally Griggs and it is just an absolutely captivating song to hear.” — Mark Bishop

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

WATCH: Aoife O’Donovan, “Transatlantic” (Feat. Kris Drever)

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Aoife O’Donovan (featuring Kris Drever)
Hometown: Newton, Massachusetts
Single: “Transatlantic”
Release Date: March 17, 2021
Label: Yep Roc Records

In Their Words: “I started writing ‘Transatlantic’ many years ago after one of my frequent trips across the pond. The lyric started as a classic love song, but when I dusted it off to complete it for this project with the Irish Arts Center, it became something different. I felt strangely moved by the nostalgia and longing for camaraderie, innocently described by my pre-pandemic self. As I finished the tune in January of this year — feeling certain of nothing but the uncertainty of these times — I immediately began to hear the voice of Kris Drever, a friend based in Glasgow. Kris enlisted his trio mates Euan Burton and Louis Abbott to be the rhythm section, and layered the recording with the inimitable strings of Jeremy Kittel. The refrain references the old classic ‘Loch Lomond,’ a ‘song from another time.’ Raise a glass. We will be together again.” — Aoife O’Donovan

Photo credit: Rich Gilligan

LISTEN: Karen Matheson, “Glory Demon”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Karen Matheson
Hometown: Oban, Argyll, Scotland
Song: “Glory Demon”
Album: Still Time
Release Date: February 12, 2021
Label: Compass Records

In Their Words: “‘The Glory Demon’ is a phrase taken from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. It means war. It’s essentially an anti-war song, about how we never seem to learn and how it just goes on and on (life and afterlife) endlessly repeating itself. I thought also about how the phrase might fit the hubris, megalomania and idiocy of certain politicians.” — Karen Matheson

Photo courtesy of Compass Records