Dear Friends,
Here's some news to blow those cobwebs away. To lighten the mood after Halloween I have some November treats in store in the form of a single, a video and a tour.
Seed Stitch will be released as a digital single alongside a new video by Laura Sparks a fellow Liverpool-based artist, and this will coincide with a live 'Emily Portman Trio' tour from 6th-15th November.
I will be joined by special guests to play a BBC live session for Mark Radcliffe’s Folk Show on 4th November, which will coincide with the Seed Stitch video premier by Folk Radio UK.
Joining the Emily Portman Trio on Seed Stitch are guests Sam Sweeney on strings (Bellowhead), M G Boulter on guitars (Lucky Strikes) and Classical percussionist Toby Kearney (BBC Young Musician of the Year 2006). I will be touring live with this expanded line up as Emily Portman and the Coracle Band in 2016, but if you'd like to catch us before then we'll be playing together at The Foundling Museum, London on November 6th to kick off our November tour. Talking of changing line-ups I'm excited to say that the supremely talented Beth Porter will be joining us for the final four dates, in place of Lucy Farrell.
You will be able to buy Seed Stitch here my website or from iTunes.
MEANWHILE ABOARD THE CORACLE...
Coracle has had a great run of reviews and in fact they are still rolling in! R2 Magazine features 'Darkening Bell' in their 'Un-herd' cover mount September issue and their 5 Star Review says "Coracle is a triumph... Delicate as a spider’s web, yet tough as memory, this is a rich and remarkable record."
Bright Young Folk said "With Coracle Emily Portman has produced a deeply moving collection of intricately woven folk-pop songs as lyrically dark as they are stunningly beautiful to listen to"
Living Tradition called Coracle 'a tribute to [Emily's] powerful imagination'
Coracle has also been included as one of the Telegraph's Best Folk Albums of 2015. The Telegraph says:
'Emily Portman, Lucy Farrell and Rachel Newton combine to lovely effect on Coracle. The acoustic harp of Newton is the perfect accompaniment as Portman sings 'And don't you think it's a grief to him/he peels the bark and finds her skin/she's stretching out, she's seeping in'. Producer Andy Bell draws out intricately layered soundscapes in a bold album.' ★★★★☆
Below is a little feature about Coracle in Acoustic Magazine:
Feature in Acoustic Magazine, August 2015.
Hope to see you somewhere along the road in November!
Emily x