Spiral Earth

Last updated

Spiral Earth
Spiral Earth logo.png
Type of site
Music, news and media
Available inEnglish
Created byIain Hazlewood
EditorIain Hazlewood
URL www.spiralearth.co.uk

Spiral Earth is an online news channel and website, based in Cambridgeshire, England. It covers folk music, roots music and the alternative music scene in the United Kingdom. It is edited by Iain Hazlewood, [1] [2] who founded Spiral Earth in 2004. [3]

Contents

Spiral Earth's website includes reviews of CD releases and music festivals and features about music. Its feature writers have included Colin Irwin, former assistant editor of Melody Maker magazine and former editor of Number One magazine, [4] writer and folk musician Andy Letcher, [5] Kirsty Ambler, and Dave Kushar. [6]

It publishes an online guide to UK and European folk, roots, and alternative festivals. [7] This was formerly in association with fRoots magazine.

Spiral Awards

The Spiral Awards took place every year from 2011 to 2015, when Spiral Earth invited the public to vote for the best album (in various categories), and for the best male singer, female singer, duo, group, original song, songwriter, live act, and festival. In 2015, over 34,000 votes were cast. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards</span> Annual folk music award by BBC Radio 2

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Irvine (musician)</span> Irish folk musician

Andrew Kennedy Irvine is an Irish folk musician, singer-songwriter, and a founding member of Sweeney's Men, Planxty, Patrick Street, Mozaik, LAPD and Usher's Island. He also featured in duos, with Dónal Lunny, Paul Brady, Mick Hanly, Dick Gaughan, Rens van der Zalm, and Luke Plumb. Irvine plays the mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, harmonica, and hurdy-gurdy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Show of Hands</span>

Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer. Joined by singer and double-bassist Miranda Sykes for a tour in 2004, Show of Hands continued to regularly perform as a trio with Sykes, as well as in their original format. In 2019 the line-up was further expanded by the addition of Irish percussionist Cormac Byrne.

<i>Country Life</i> (Show of Hands album) 2003 studio album by Show of Hands

Country Life is the eleventh studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. Released in 2003, it marks a departure for the band, with stronger socially and politically lyrics than the duo's previous albums, as well as showcasing the duo exploring a larger musical palette. Some of the album's lyrics concern rural issues which Knightley had taken to heart in previous years, including in the aftermath of their previous lyrical album Cold Frontier (2001). Prior to the release of Country Life, the duo had released an instrumental album named The Path. Both The Path and Country Life were released close together. The album was packaged in a lavish set which included a bonus disc of demo versions and other bonus material. The album's title track was also promoted by the band's first music video.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Bailey (folk singer)</span> Musical artist

Roy Bailey, was an English socialist folk singer. Colin Irwin from the music magazine Mojo said Bailey represented "the very soul of folk's working class ideals... a triumphal homage to the grass roots folk scene as a radical alternative to the mainstream music industry."

Colin Lester Irwin was a British music journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blazin' Fiddles</span> Scottish fiddle band

Blazin' Fiddles are a contemporary Scottish fiddle band from the Highlands and Islands. They formed in 1998 to showcase Scotland's distinct regional fiddle styles. The band have a number of awards, including; the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards Live Act of the Year, Album of the Year and Folk Band of the Year. Their records are released on their own indie Blazin' Records label. They have been described as "...the LED Zepplin of the Folk World."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Causley</span> Musical artist

Jim Causley is an English folk singer, songwriter, and musician from Devon who specializes in the traditional songs and music of the West Country. Journalist Colin Irwin has called him "the finest singer of his generation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dodge Brothers</span> British Skiffle Band from Southampton

The Dodge Brothers are a British skiffle band from Southampton playing Americana, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, country and blues music. The band includes film critic and BBC television presenter Mark Kermode, along with Mike and Alex Hammond and Aly Hirji.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Tilston</span> Musical artist

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<i>Arrogance Ignorance and Greed</i> 2009 studio album by Show of Hands

Arrogance Ignorance and Greed is the fourteenth studio album by English folk duo Show of Hands. Released in 2009 on the band's label Hands on Music, the album was produced by Stu Hanna of the English folk duo Megson, with additional production by Mark Tucker. The album followed an emotionally painful period for Steve Knightley where members of his family battled serious illnesses. This led to the album becoming particularly personal and darker than previous Show of Hands albums, aided by Hanna's direct and sharp production. The album also discusses several social and political concerns, and contains several collaborations with other musicians and vocalists.

<i>The Bairns</i> (album) 2007 studio album by Rachel Unthank and the Winterset

The Bairns was the second album by Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, which then comprised Rachel Unthank, her younger sister Becky, pianist Belinda O'Hooley and fiddle player Niopha Keegan. Produced by Adrian McNally and released by Rabble Rouser on 20 August 2007, it was nominated for the Best Album award at the 2008 BBC Folk Awards and was also nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize. It received a four-starred review in The Guardian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O'Hooley & Tidow</span> English musicians

O'Hooley & Tidow are an English folk music duo from Yorkshire. Singer-songwriter Heidi Tidow performs and records with her wife, singer-songwriter and pianist Belinda O'Hooley, who was formerly a member of Rachel Unthank and the Winterset. O'Hooley & Tidow were nominated for Best Duo at the 2013 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Their 2016 album Shadows was given a five-star review in The Guardian, and four of their other albums, including their 2017 release WinterFolk Volume 1, have received four-star reviews in the British national press. From 2019 to 2022, their song "Gentleman Jack", from the album The Fragile, featured as the closing theme for the BBC/HBO television series Gentleman Jack. Their album Cloudheads was released on 21 April 2023.

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Covers 2 is the fourteenth studio album by British folk duo Show of Hands. An official collaboration with double bassist and vocalist Miranda Sykes, who had been the duo's unofficial third member for six years, it is the duo's second album of cover versions, following Covers (2000). The album was intended for "friends and fans" of the duo, and an attempt to record songs that the duo had played live for some time. The album was produced by Mark Tucker and recorded as a mostly "straightforward" recording with little overdubs or extra production work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatful of Rain (band)</span>

Hatful of Rain, an acoustic music group from Brighton and Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England, perform original material that combines English folk sounds with harmony singing and American bluegrass music. Critically acclaimed, the band came to the attention of broadcaster Mike Harding, who played their music on his BBC Radio 2 show. The band also performed live on BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris Sunday programme on 24 March 2013.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenn Butterworth</span> Scottish folk guitarist and singer

Jenn Butterworth is an acoustic folk guitarist and singer based in Glasgow, Scotland, who was awarded the title "Musician of the Year" at the 2019 Scots Trad Music Awards, and was nominated for the same title at the 2019 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. She was a founder member of Kinnaris Quintet, who won the Belhaven Bursary for Innovation in Scottish Music at the 2019 Scots Trad Music Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Newton</span> Scottish harpist and singer

Rachel Newton is a Scottish singer and harpist. As well as playing both acoustic and electric harp she also plays viola, fiddle, piano and harmonium. She performs solo as well as in the bands The Shee, The Furrow Collective and Boreas and was formerly a member of the Emily Portman Trio. She was a member of the Lost Words Spell Songs project and is a co-founder of The Bit Collective, a group campaigning for equality in folk music.

References

  1. Hebbard, D B (12 December 2014). "Publisher of Spiral Earth launches new digital magazine, The Doctrine Magazine". Talking New Media. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  2. "Albums 2010" (PDF). fRoots . 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  3. Hazlewood, Iain. "The Editor Ramble on..." Spiral Earth. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  4. "The Colin Irwin column". Spiral Earth. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  5. "The Lie of the Land – Andy Letcher". Spiral Earth. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  6. "Dave Kushar – The Insider". Spiral Earth. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  7. "Festival Directory". Spiral Earth. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  8. "The 2015 Spiral Earth Award Winners". Spiral Earth. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2020.