Arc Light | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 30, 2009 | |||
Recorded | Castle Sound, Pencaitland, Scotland, December 2008, Heriot Toun Studio | |||
Genre | Folk | |||
Label | Navigator Records | |||
Producer | Calum Malcolm | |||
Lau chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
BBC | positive [2] |
The Guardian | [3] |
The Line of Best Fit | (85%) [4] |
Arc Light is the second studio album by contemporary folk three-piece Lau, released on March 30, 2009 on Navigator Records.
The album's bonus track is a cover of The Beatles' song, "Dear Prudence". The track originally appeared on a compilation issued free with Mojo magazine.
Like its predecessor, Lightweights and Gentlemen , Arc Light garnered strong critical acclaim upon release. Chris Nickson of Allmusic described the album as "stirring and utterly wonderful," [5] while Michael Quinn, of BBC Music remarked that "what astonishes most about Lau is the orchestral quality of the sound." [6] Music webzine The Line of Best Fit stated that: "Arc Light is testament to their constant need to push themselves as musicians, and as innovators of the folk movement." [7]
All tracks arranged by Kris Drever, Martin Green and Aidan O'Rourke
The following people contributed to Arc Light [8]
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2.
Mark "Boo" Hewerdine is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. His work includes lead singer and creative force behind The Bible, formed in the 1980s, and reformed in 1994, as well as solo recordings and work for film. He has also produced records by several artists, including a long association with Eddi Reader. He has been described as "one of Britain's most consistently accomplished songwriters".
Adem Ilhan is an English composer, producer and singer-songwriter. He has released many albums: his solo music project released under the name Adem, in the acclaimed post-rock band Fridge, alongside Kieran Hebden, and as part of the electronic duo Silver Columns with Johnny Lynch. He has scored several feature films and television series and numerous documentaries.
"Dear Prudence" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. The song was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Written in Rishikesh during the group's trip to India in early 1968, it was inspired by actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence Farrow, who became obsessive about meditating while practising with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Her designated partners on the meditation course, Lennon and George Harrison, attempted to coax Farrow out of her seclusion, which led to Lennon writing the song.
John McCusker is a Scottish folk musician, record producer and composer. An accomplished fiddle player, he had a long association as a member of the Battlefield Band beginning in the 1990s and was later a band member and producer for folk singer Kate Rusby. He has served as producer and arranger for artists in a range of genres and also has several solo albums to his credit.
Karine Polwart is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised for her solo career, winning three awards at the BBC Folk Awards in 2005, and was previously a member of Malinky and Battlefield Band.
The Girl Who Couldn't Fly is an album by British folk musician Kate Rusby, released in 2005. The title refers to Rusby's fear of flying.
The Scots Trad Music Awards or Na Trads were founded in 2003 by Simon Thoumire to celebrate Scotland's traditional music in all its forms and create a high profile opportunity to bring the music and music industry into the spotlight of media and public attention. Nominations are made by the public and in 2019 over 100,000 public votes were expected across 18 categories.
Lau is a British folk band from both Scotland and England, formed in 2005. Named after an Orcadian word meaning "natural light", the band is composed of Kris Drever, Martin Green and Aidan O'Rourke (fiddle). To date, the band has released five studio albums, several EPs, and two live albums.
Kris Drever is a Scottish contemporary folk musician and songwriter who came to prominence in 2006 with the release of his debut solo album, Black Water. Drever is the vocalist and guitarist of the folk trio Lau with Martin Green and Aidan O'Rourke. He has worked with other British folk contemporaries, including Kate Rusby, John McCusker, Ian Carr, Eddi Reader and Julie Fowlis.
Ivan Drever is a Scottish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. He often tours with fiddler Duncan Chisholm who founded the Celtic rock band Wolfstone which Drever joined in 1990 but left in later years. Drever has mixed traditional folk with some rock and roll sounds.
Lightweights and Gentlemen is the debut studio album by folk band Lau, released on March 19, 2007.
Live is a live album by contemporary folk three-piece Lau, released on 28 April 2008 by Navigator Records.
The Given Note is the fourth solo album by master uilleann piper and prominent Irish traditional musician Liam O'Flynn. Produced by Shaun Davey and recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, the album was released in 1995. The title was suggested by O'Flynn's good friend Seamus Heaney, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize for Literature. Heaney also wrote a tribute to O'Flynn which is on the sleeve notes of the album.
Heidi Talbot is an Irish folk singer from Kill, County Kildare, Ireland. Talbot is a former singer of Irish-American musical group Cherish the Ladies.
The discography of Kate Rusby, an English folk singer, consists of nineteen solo albums, four albums as part of a duo or group, four extended plays (EPs), two video albums, thirteen singles, and six music videos. Rusby's debut was Intuition, an album recorded in collaboration with five other female singers from Yorkshire, which was released on a small label in 1993. Her breakthrough came with an eponymous album recorded with Kathryn Roberts, another of the singers featured on Intuition. This album, which was named as the best of the year by Folk Roots magazine, was the first release on Pure Records, a label set up by Rusby's father on which all her subsequent solo recordings have been released. Rusby and Roberts also formed the band the Equation in conjunction with the Lakeman Brothers, but Rusby left the group after their debut EP. In 1996 she joined the all-female folk group the Poozies, with whom she released one EP and one full-length album.
Martin Green is an English musician and composer. He is the accordionist in the folk trio Lau, who won a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists.
The Impossible Song & Other Songs is the third solo album by folk musician and Idlewild vocalist Roddy Woomble, released on 21 March 2011 on Greenvoe Records.
Aidan O'Rourke is a Scottish contemporary folk music fiddle player and composer. He was named the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of the Year and the Scots Trad Music Awards 2011 Composer of the Year. In addition to his solo career, O'Rourke also plays in the award-winning folk trio Lau alongside Kris Drever and Martin Green. He was one of 20 musicians commissioned for New Music 20x12 by PRS for Music Foundation to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics. O'Rourke has worked with Eddi Reader, Andy Sheppard, Alyth, Roddy Woomble and appears on more than eighty recordings. Previously, he was a member of Blazin' Fiddles, The Unusual Suspects and Tabache.
The Bell That Never Rang is the fourth studio album by British folk band Lau, released on 4 May 2015 on Reveal Records. Produced by Joan Wasser, the album's title is taken from the city of Glasgow's coat of arms, and features The Elysian Quartet on its title track.