Author: admin

…..but stuff is happening, I SWEAR IT IS

A quick run down on the last few weeks.  WE’VE BEEN RECORDING A NEW ALBUM..finally…under the watchful ears of Leo Abrahams.  Actually, before I begin, massive thanks to everyone who came along to see us in Ireland the weekend before last, and to Mossy Nolan for supporting – a rare privilege to be able to take this band on tour.  On the subject of tours, I’m hitting the road (solo) with the mighty Slow Club in May/June…feast your eyes on these dates, more info to come in my gig listings:

Mon 2 May            Tynemouth, Surf Cafe
Wed 4 May            Preston, The Continental Preston 
Thu 5 May             Stockton-on-Tees, The Green Room
Thu 26 May           Poole, Mr Kyps 
Fri 27 May             Southampton, Joiners Arms 
Sat 28 May            Bristol, The Lantern @ Colston Hall 
Tue 31 May            Nottingham, Bodega Social Club 
Wed 1 June           Ashford, Revelation St Mary’s 
Thu 2 June            Brighton, Komedia 
Fri 3 June              Margate, Tom Thumb Theatre

…and two upcoming London shows for good measure

April 26th              Servants Jazz Quarters in Dalston
May 8th                 Vince Siprell Memorial show in The Lexington

So back to recording the next album (in pictures).  It all happened in Big Jelly Studios, a converted Church in Ramsgate and a truly inspiring place to record a few songs (thank you AL and Mike).  Here’s the aforementioned Leo Abrahams ordering a takeaway for everyone.  I can’t really say enough about how amazing it was to work with this man

…and similarly these special people who play my songs

And what of Aram, one of THE great drummers…well he took all of these lovely photograph so I’ll leave you with a photo of us (minus myself) in Ireland last week.  Here’s Emma, Aram & John in Kilalloe before we set off for Waterford (via Obama Plaza).

See you all soon,
S

….not quite but nearly.  The short film ‘Islanders Rest’, which I composed and performed much of the music for, is nominated in the Best Animation Film category at the Swiss Film Awards.  Its directed by Claudius Gentinetta and Incidentally it did win the award for Best Soundtrack (Swiss category) at the 2015 International Animated Film Festival in Geneva.…just throwing that in there.  Check out the wonderful trailer, coming to film festival near you…

‘The smell of woodsmoke and a woman dancing in the window’….

So begins Laura Barton’s description of a show myself and my buddy Rozi Plain put on in 33 Chatsworth Road (also known in these parts as ‘The Dentist‘) back in December.  I saw Laura speak about music at last year’s Port Elliott Festival and she’s as passionate about it as anyone I’ve ever heard so very honoured that she chose to write about this show – that it appears as part of The Guardian’s Gigs of 2015 is a definite bonus, oh yes

Here’s a link to the article in full….scroll down to the bottom for our bit

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/dec/29/best-music-gigs-2015-guardian-writers?CMP=share_btn_fb

And for those that couldn’t be arsed, here’s the last paragraph….

‘Music at such proximity has a kind of warmth, and that night Fogarty and Plain’s songs – already beautiful and supple things, took on for me a new depth and tenderness. And as I watched I thought of how the inside of this little venue seemed an echo of its backyard: that here we stood, gathered together around this musical bonfire, feeling its glow.’

Now where are my gigs for 2016?

Some reviews of Ducks & Drakes

Thank you Mojo Magazine, a mention of Richard Dawson ain’t no bad thing either…

…and while I’m at it, this is not a review but I think it should be noted….a few months ago in the same publication, words by guru of blips & bleeps Jon Hopkins….WHAT A GUY

AND ANOTHER 4 STAR REVIEW IN THE SKINNY….

‘Each track is beguiling in its own right, but the ten-minute long A Mile Beneath the Broken Heart of London Town warrants special mention for the way it draws together all of Fogarty’s best qualities: lyrics that spin stories from the smallest of details, song structures that freely meander without getting lost, and production that balances the rough with the smooth beautifully’ ****

full review here

Now go an buy it, please, and I’ll have some gigs too, cheers, S

Limited edition vinyl – not a huge amount left. On the other hand there are plenty of downloads left – Go on, go on, go on

Finally some new material – a four-track EP/mini-album called Ducks & Drakes, coming out on Lost Map . I’ve been working on these tunes on and off since 2011 and its great to be setting them free.  We started sending out promos this week and already its been played by Gideon Coe & Tom Ravenscroft on 6Music and Max Rheinhardt on BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction  – its already my most successful release EVER.  To mark the occasion I commissioned Drew Dir of Manual Cinema (who I worked with this year on a project for The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York) to make a video for the title track and here it is – it’ll blow your socks off.  Big shout out to Nialler9 for premiering the video here

I haven’t posted anything on here for nearly a year, why now?  Well a lot of stuff has happened and a lot of stuff is happening, just lots of stuff really.  To help pay for all this stuff (new release, video, flying multiple instruments and their players across the Irish Sea and around the UK, cat food etc) I’ve unearthed a rather splendid live recording of myself and my brother John playing a set together in Zurich back in November 2013, opening for one James Yorkston.  It was towards the end of a tour, show number 14 of 15 as I recall, and the brother was on fire, unleashing torrents of accordion on the unsuspecting Swiss public…marvelous.  As if that wasn’t enough, each cover is individually hand-painted – very collectable, ohhhh yessss.  The design is a homage to the national monument of Switzerland, the humble Toblerone.

Limited to approx. 25, looking for £10 a pop (excluding postage), via paypal –  just send an email to info@seamusfogarty.com with your name and your address and we’ll go from there…click on the bottom image to see full tracklisting

Yay, two festivals coming up…in July there’s Howlin Fling alongside the likes of Beth Orton  Sam Amidon, Jens Lekman, Alexis Taylor, Luke Abbot and my Lost Map chums.  Its  on the Isle Of Eigg – a strange and mystical place, shaped more like an inverted kidney, somewhere in the middle of the Hebrides, up yonder Scotland way.

And then on Sunday 4th August I’m playing at Cambridge Folk Festival on The Den Stage – thats the Festival’s Emerging Talent Stage….OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Proof

Here’s a photo of some ducks

My album was officially re-released yesterday on Lost Map Records!  As is the custom these days, this edition includes a bonus disc of remixes and the likes, which I really like (and you can buy separately here) .  Follow the magic link (magic link) to find out a bit more about where it all came from and how it can enhance your life…every house should have one.  So why did I not announce this yesterday?  Well I was making my way back to London after a monumental session in Clonakilty to mark the last show of my tour with Lisa O’Neill and from there I had to make my way to a rehearsal studio to practice with the gang for next week’s shows.  And then I went to bed.  Huge thanks to Lisa O’Neill and all the crew for a wonderful tour, must say I’m really excited about London and Reading  shows next week, so cool to hear what a few amazing musicians can bring to these songs of mine.  Here’s some pics concerning all the above topics (and a video that I’m making, several weeks too late, about my album)