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About
Somerset based duo The Drystones (Ford Collier and Alex Garden) have been performing together for eight years. In this time they have developed in maturity and confidence culminating in their nomination for the 2018 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award. This new album is bold and adventurous with breath-taking instrumentals breaking boundaries but sounding strangely familiar.
Apparitions are the theme of the new album and it describes how the album relates to the musical traditions of the past. As Ford puts it "Through the lens of our new music, we view folk as a lingering phantom of forgotten ways that still haunts our modern thinking..."
The album is made up almost entirely of original tunes and some original interpretations of traditional tunes. Although it is clearly folk music it is given a thoroughly contemporary twist. The best example is Nonesuch, a 16th century tune collected in 1651 by John Playford, but as Alex says "played as it would have been played by 16th century minstrels if they had been into techno!"
Their previous albums have been studio produced, but this time Alex and Ford recorded Apparitions at home, taking their time to develop their ideas and stretch the limits of their arts. This allowed them to make full use of the fact that they are both skilled multi instrumentalists. Along with fiddle guitar and whistle, you will hear viola, cello, tabla, kanjira and much more. They worked with long-time collaborator Will Lang (Halsway Manor Centre For Folk Arts) as a co producer and worked with mixing engineer Patrick Phillips (formerly of Real World Studios).
The finished result has allowed them room to achieve their ambitious vision to "bring our bold new creations to the UK folk scene and beyond. We hope this album will surprise and entertain you, and maybe even leave you questioning whether it was all just an illusion..." (The Drystones – Kickstarter campaign). Here they have broken the traditional mould of guitar fiddle duos. As Ford says "we want to go to exciting new places, and break through to bigger audiences with something different."
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