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Winter Mountain

CANCELLED (due to unforeseen personal circumstances)

PLEASE NOTE: This show has been cancelled at very late notice due to unfortunate personal circumstances.
The band severely apologise for the cancellation, and hope to return in the future.
All tickets will be refunded at Point Of Purchase.
Thanks for your support!

A Cornishman and an Irishman, both travellers, step onto the same train at Chicago's Union station and meet for the first time. Both are musicians, both singers, both songwriters. They're broke, but intent on making their way by rail to Memphis, TN, the birthplace of Rock n Roll...

The conversation that followed revealed a mutual love for vocal harmony, the honesty of live performance and the sounds of the sixties. 
That night, on a train that sent the young musicians hurtling through the darkening Illinois plains, Winter Mountain was born.

A fan of the beat poet movement and inspired by the 60's folk resurgence in greenwich village, Joseph Francis from the magical village of St. Agnes in Cornwall had spent a successful month writing and performing in New York City before heading West, stopping for a while in Chicago. 

Marty Smyth from Donegal, Ireland had flown to California in search of sun, sea and the west coast soul that infused his favourite records of the 60's and 70's. After two weeks of exploring California's rich musical heritage he began making his way East. After a 3 day journey he too found himself in Chicago and was soon to find himself sharing a train to Memphis with Joe.

Over the time that followed the two exchanged stories, lyrics, songs and sang together for the first time in the clubs and cafes of the deep south. Recognising the rare magic of their unique vocal blend they hatched together a plan to meet up once they had completed their travels.

A fortnight spent writing in Ireland led to a chance entry in a local Battle of the bands. For their first ever live performance Winter Mountain competed against the best unsigned talent Northern Ireland had to offer, and won. Their prize was two days in a Derry recording studio. The fruits of the session were enough to capture the heart of a local theatre owner who booked them to open for Irish singing luminary Cara Dillon. 

Excited upon hearing Joseph and Marty’s performance Dillon and husband/producer Sam Lakeman immediately signed Winter Mountain to their fledgling label, Charcoal Records. With a view to giving the two an experience that had eluded the couple during their years spent on Warners and Rough Trade Cara and Sam set about assembling a team of musicians who could help realise the vision that Winter Mountain had for their debut album.

With contributions from Robbie McIntosh (guitarist with McCartney, The Pretenders and John Mayer), Audrey Riley (string arranger for Coldplay and Nick Cave) and Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, Pulp) the album was recorded in a host of vintage studios, from State of the Ark, Richmond to the legendary Rockfield in Wales, Mark Knopflers British Grove Studios and Sam and Cara’s own studio in rural Somerset.

The final, perhaps most extraordinary touch to the album was made when none other than Mike Crossey (Keane, Ben Howard, The Arctic Monkeys, Jake Bugg), intrigued upon hearing just a small amount of what Winter Mountain had to offer, stepped up in the midst of his hectic schedule to mix the first few tracks. 

Interest and enthusiasm for Winter Mountain has grown enormously over the last few months. As well as performances at some of the UK and Irelands most prestigious venues and festivals, they were chosen by Rosanne Cash to open for her and husband John Leventhal when they toured the UK in 2012. While opening for some of Cara Dillons' bigger shows they outsold her on the merchandise stand and, unbelievably, whilst opening for Sara Watkins (Nickle Creek, The Decemberists) they won over audiences so much that they were often given an encore, before the main act had even taken to the stage. In 2013 Winter Mountain signed to the song publishing arm of the prestigious Faber and Faber publishing house and to 'Midnight Mango' the southwest's premier booking agent.

Quotes about Winter Mountain live:

'A great gig, beautiful songs. You really must see them' Janice Long, Radio 2

'They’re amazing...awesome harmony singing, such beautiful songs.' Rosanne Cash.

'One of the most beautiful standalone moments of music we’ve heard in quite some time' Folkandtumble.com


Quotes about the album:

'An utterly fabulous record' The Daily Express

'Winter Mountain make them like they used to, and three cheers for that!' Maverick Magazine

'a smashing debut' The Irish Post
 

Hailing from the shores of Cornwall and Donegal, Winter Mountain blend melodic folk songs, heartfelt lyrics and two voices in a sound reminiscent of a time before digital recording when the emphasis fell on the importance of live performance, the power of harmony and the essence of the song. The duo share song-writing duties, their individual styles, like their voices juxtaposing yet beautifully complimenting the other.

Friday 18th April 2014

Price: CANCELLED

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