PRESS KIT – EMILY BARKER

CAMPAIGN – ALBUM 'ALMANAC' & AUSTRALIAN TOUR

LABEL: WALKING HORSE RECORDS

DISTRIBUTION: MGM

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PRESS RELEASE:

Respected ABC presenter Doug Spencer introduced ‘Billowing Sea’, the opening track from Almanac, on his Weekend Planet radio program by describing it as “Chamber-folkish with some spine: a nice juxtaposition of despair at love having gone bad and glee at opportunities now opening up.”

Well opportunities a plenty have opened up for Emily Barker since she decided to rediscover her homeland of Australia after a seven year hiatus in the UK …. Firstly, discerning DJs have been intrigued by a variety of tracks from this record, Emily’s third album recorded with her band The Red Clay Halo. Featuring on PBS’s February tip sheet and in the top five most downloaded tracks on AirIt this week, songs from Almanac have been broadcast by ABC RN, RRR, FBI, 4ZZZ and JJJ’s Roots & All.

Secondly, it’s not just those at radio who are enjoying listening to this engaging story-teller’s fresh take on folk infused with contemporary roots and 1970’s song writer flavours; television viewers in the UK rushed to buy their copy of Almanac on the strength of the track Pause alone. Featured as theme tune to the dark conspiracy drama The Shadow Line aired on BBC 2, the series attracted 3 million viewers per episode and has now been licensed by ABC Television. British fans were also recently treated to Emily’s Leonard Cohen cover on Mojo Magazine’s February edition tribute CD. Almanac is now available via Walking Horse.

In sharing her compelling stories and rootsy take on contemporary folk with her fellow Australians, Emily is exploring the meaning of ‘home’, a theme which is inspiring her current songwriting. With numerous appearances at top UK festivals such as Glastonbury, Celtic Conncections, Green Man and End Of The Road, plus a recent tour opening shows for Australia’s own Paul Kelly (which resulted in them dueting on Gillian Welch’s song The Winter’s Come and Gone), Emily is set to delight Aussie music lovers with her gift for weaving melody and words on this, her biggest solo Australian tour yet…

TOUR DATES:

19 APR – DENMARK, Transmission Lounge @ CWA Hall – WA
20 APR – BRIDGETOWN, Emporium – WA
21 APR – PERTH, Fat Shan – Album Launch – WA
22 APR – BRISBANE, The Music Kafe – QLD
23 APR – GOLD COAST, The Cavern, Nobbys Beach – QLD
25 APR – YAMBA, The Old Kirk – NSW
26 APR – MARRICKVILLE, The Newsagency – NSW
27 APR - NEWCASTLE, Lizotte’s – NSW
28 APR – CENTRAL COAST, Lizotte’s – NSW
29 APR - DEE WHY, Lizotte’s – NSW
01 MAY – SURRY HILLS, Café Lounge – NSW
04 MAY – CANBERRA, Front Gallery & Café – ACT
05 MAY – MELBOURNE, Pure Pop – east coast album launch – VIC
06 MAY – MELBOURNE, Wesley Anne – VIC

BIOGRAPHY:

Hailing from Bridgetown, Western Australia, Emily Barker is a compelling songwriter with a gift for weaving melody and words. Her talent is perfectly complemented by the magnificent arrangements of her band The Red Clay Halo, whose rootsy ensemble playing underpins Barker’s agile vocal blend of strength and fragility.

After leaving Australia with her backpack and guitar, Emily found herself playing folk gigs in Cambridge UK, where great song writing, a classic out-going Aussie attitude and serendipity conspired to unite her with The Red Clay Halo. Together they have recorded three albums. The first was ‘Photos.Fires.Fables’. (2007) – an eclectic tapestry of old-time narratives weaving gothic stories of fire, tragedy, love and hard lessons…

‘sharply observed, original songs …adventurously embellished by gypsy flourishes and haunting desert echoes that’d be at home on a Calexico album’ – Uncut Magazine

“This is a gorgeous, sincere voice that grabs you and won’t let go” – The Sun

Next came ‘Despite The Snow’ (2008) – recorded in just 4 days over a snowy Easter weekend in Norfolk. Critically acclaimed in the UK and Australian music press, its opening track ‘Nostalgia’ became the theme tune to BBC One drama Wallander starring British actor Kenneth Branagh. The music reached the ears of six million television viewers and went on to win a BAFTA and a Royal Television Award. Not bad for a girl who has never owned a TV set.

“Stripped free of studio frippery and all the better for its carefree simplicity” **** – Q Magazine

"The hills have yet to be emptied of gold if you know where to look.” – The Times

2011 saw the UK release of ‘Almanac’, immediately attracting strong support from BBC radio with sessions for Cerys Matthews on 6 Music and Radio 4’s Loose Ends, and single Little Deaths picked as record of the week on Nemone’s 6 Music show. Mainstream Saturday afternoon Radio 2 presenter Dermot O’Leary not only invited the band in to a session but asked them to re-record the theme tune for his show. When released in Australia late in 2011, the first single from the album, Billowing Sea, caught the attention of ABC National (Weekend Planet), ABC Perth, PBS, RTR, FBi, Triple J (Roots & All) and RRR, where Emily provided details for her ‘Formative Five’ influential tracks.

Meanwhile in the UK, the band has been touring hard, completing a busy summer of festivals including the brilliant Green Man Festival, a 21-date headline tour, followed by a support slot on Frank Turner’s massive UK tour. Australia’s own Paul Kelly invited Emily to open his UK shows this February before she once again joins Frank Turner for a European tour and another summer packed with the best festivals on the UK calendar.

The band’s albums are entirely self-financed and released on Emily’s own imprint Everyone Sang, with Almanac being jointly funded by spareroom.co.uk and a pledgemusic.com fan-funded campaign.

Now returning to Australia after a seven year hiatus, Emily is rediscovering her homeland by visiting as many towns as possible in the available time. One aim of the trip is to explore the meaning of ‘home’ – the one she is reconnecting with and the one she has temporarily left behind in England – as inspiration for the writing of her next studio album.

“This is a dream of a record. A new Marling, then? No, Barker offers something else…" – BBC Music editor’s choice Feb 2011

Almanac is now available via Walking Horse / MGM in Australia.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

www.emily-barker.com

ALBUM COVER: