Emily Barker

Last updated

Emily Barker
Emily Barker - Lottes Musiknacht Ansgarkirche Elmshorn 2018 19.jpg
Emily Barker at Lottes Musiknacht 2018
Background information
Born (1980-12-02) 2 December 1980 (age 43)
Origin Bridgetown, Western Australia, Australia
Genres Americana, Country, Folk
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter, composer
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica, piano
Years active2003–present
Labels Everyone Sang Linn Records One Little Indian
Website www.emilybarker.com

Emily Barker (born 2 December 1980) [1] [2] is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician and composer. Her music has featured as the theme to BBC dramas Wallander and The Shadow Line . With multi-instrumental trio the Red Clay Halo, she recorded four albums: Photos.Fires.Fables. (2006), Despite the Snow (2008), Almanac (2011), Dear River (2013), before commencing a solo career with The Toerag Sessions (2015), Sweet Kind of Blue (2017), A Dark Murmuration of Words (2020), and Flight Path Rhymes (2021). Other projects include Vena Portae (with Dom Coyote and Ruben Engzell), Applewood Road (with Amy Speace and Amber Rubarth), and Room 822 (2022) with Lukas Drinkwater. [3]

Contents

Career

2002–2007

Emily travelled to the UK in 2002, and was first based in Cambridge where she collaborated with guitarist Rob Jackson. They formed a band called the-low-country which released two albums, Welcome to the-low-country (2003) and The Dark Road (2004), tracks from which enjoyed plays on John Peel's BBC radio show. [4] In October 2005 Emily won Country Song of the Year and Regional Song of the Year awards at the annual West Australian Music Songwriting Awards. Also in 2005, Emily started work on her debut solo album, Photos.Fires.Fables., released on Emily's own label Everyone Sang. The release of this album saw the birth of The Red Clay Halo, an all-female trio of Anna Jenkins (violin, viola), Jo Silverston (cello, bass, banjo, saw), and Gill Sandell (accordion, piano, flute, guitar).[ citation needed ]

2007–2010

The band's first album released under the name Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo, Despite The Snow, was recorded in live sessions in a 16th-century barn in Norfolk. Released in November 2008 on Everyone Sang, the album again garnered much praise. In late 2008, the album's opening track "Nostalgia" was discovered by composer Martin Phipps who re-recorded it with Emily for use as the theme tune for the hit television series Wallander on BBC1 starring Northern Irish actor Kenneth Branagh. The first series, which attracted over 6 million viewers per episode, won a slew of awards, including several BAFTAs [5] and a Royal Television Society award for its theme tune. [6]

2011

Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo filming the video for "Little Deaths". EmilyBarkerWithRedClayHalo.jpg
Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo filming the video for "Little Deaths".

In February 2011, Almanac was released, once again on Everyone Sang. The release of this album was accompanied by sessions for Cerys Matthews on 6 Music and Radio 4's Loose Ends , while the single "Little Deaths" was record of the week on Nemone's show on 6 Music. [7] Emily and the band again went on the road in the UK, culminating in a complete performance of Almanac at St Giles-in-the-Fields church in London. Almanac was jointly funded by spareroom.com, and a fan-funded campaign on Pledgemusic.com. [8]

The song "Pause" from Almanac was the theme tune for a major 2011 BBC2 drama serial, The Shadow Line , starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Christopher Eccleston. [9] Martin Phipps again adapted the song for the title sequence. [10]

2012

Early in 2012, Emily began a working relationship with producer Calum Malcolm, having been introduced to him by Gilad Tiefenbrun of Linn Products. Emily and The Red Clay Halo went into Gorbals Sound studios in Glasgow and recorded four songs, including a new version of Emily's murder ballad duet, "Fields of June", which had first appeared on Photos.Fires.Fables.; on this version, the male vocal part was sung by Frank Turner and was released as a limited 7" white vinyl on Xtra Mile Recordings. [11] The band then went back in to Gorbals Sound with Calum Malcolm in June 2012 to record their next album, Dear River. Shortly after completing the recordings, Emily, Anna, Gill and Jo were invited by Frank Turner to perform with him at the Olympics Opening Ceremony. [12] In the autumn of 2012, Emily toured Europe alongside Chuck Ragan, Cory Branan, Rocky Votolato, and Jay Malinowski as part of The Revival Tour., [13] and the day after the last date on that tour, on 21 November 2012, Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo played a sold out headline show at London's Union Chapel. [14]

2013

Dear River was released on 8 July 2013, charting at 99 in the official UK album charts, 23 in the Independent Albums chart, [15] and 7 in the Record Store Albums chart, [16] spending 4 weeks in the top 20. [17] Reviews were very favourable in both mainstream and specialist press: Will Hodgkinson in The Times gave the album a four star lead review, saying it contained "heartfelt songwriting... bridging the gap between folk, country and Fleetwood Mac". [18]

2014

Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo released a special limited edition 10" vinyl EP for Record Store Day on 19 April 2014. [19] They celebrated the release by doing a tour of independent record stores, performing at seven stores over the holiday weekend [20] Working once again with Martin Phipps, Emily composed music for The Keeping Room starring Sam Worthington and Brit Marling. She then went on to compose her first feature-length soundtrack for the UK movie Hector (2015) starring Peter Mullan, released in December 2015. [21] [22]

2020

Emily Barker released A Dark Murmuration of Words in 2020. This album was inspired by a concern with the impact of climate change on the natural world. Emily Barker explained: "Last year the climate crisis was very much at the forefront of all of our conversations and thoughts, wondering what we can do to adapt, and feeling helpless and guilty and angry and upset and all these things" [23] Emily Barker commented: ""Environment and equality are very important to me, and it’s finding the right perspective to write that from and being respectful of the people in society who are suffering". [24]

In an interview with Bernard Zuel, Emily Barker elaborated upon her intentions, with the album:

“It was really a response to a lot of what was going on in 2019 with the collective awakening of the environmental crisis. And it was terrifying. It’s something that I’d been aware of before, and I was brought up by parents who were very conscious of that anyway, but I think a lot of people really looked at the personal impact in a big way and started realising the scale of this emergency. It’s so hard to compute but for me, writing songs helps me to make sense of things that I can’t process". [25]

Emily Barker commented that the album involves a "lots of processing the emotional response to the environmental crisis". [26]

Emily Barker also covered a Billy Bragg song, 'Can't Be There Today', in 2020 as part of a campaign to save musical venues during the COVID-19 crisis. [27]

2021

Emily Barker released an alternative version of A Dark Murmuration of Words in 2021 – called Flight Path Rhymes. She discussed the reworking of the album:

Recording A Dark Murmuration of Words was a wonderful immersive experience that involved my live band and multiple conversations with producer Greg Freeman. It was only as the album was coming together that I realised how all the songs intertwined...how, despite their different subjects, there was an underlying theme that tied them all together.

That realisation found an outlet not only in the album itself, but also in a poem I wrote soon after the recording sessions were over. I've always been a fan of poetry, but until a couple of years ago, I'd never written any myself. I took the plunge by signing up to an online course, and began to share my new work with some Stroud-based poet friends. I found it an exciting new outlet for conveying thoughts and ideas that wouldn't necessarily fit within the confines of a song." [28]

2022

Emily Barker and Lukas Drinkwater released an album of covers called Room 822 in 2022, which were recorded during quarantine isolation during the COVID-19 crisis. Emily Barker explained her choices of covers:

I found myself gravitating towards songs that meant a lot to me in my late teens growing up in WA – songs I would put on the tape deck of my yellow VW Beetle while driving to the coast with the windows down, singing at the top of my lungs. From that period we chose 'Black the Sun' by Alex Lloyd, 'Mr. Milk' by You Am I, 'Tomorrow' by Silverchair and 'The Captain' by Kasey Chambers. I also listened to anything and everything by The Waifs, and for obvious reasons, we chose 'London Still'. The Church's 'Under the Milky Way' and Deborah Conway's 'Will You Miss Me When You're Sober' were staples as I was growing up. It was great to share these songs and artists with Lukas, and get his thoughts on them – turns out that he was also a big Silverchair fan as a teenager.

To complete the album we chose some more contemporary songs which we both knew. 'Boys Will be Boys' by Stella Donnelly we discovered when visiting a record shop in Fremantle a couple of years ago when we asked the retailer if he could recommend anything new. He was glowing about Stella’s EP 'Thrush Metal' which we bought on the spot. We then had the pleasure of sharing a stage with Stella at Billy Bragg’s 'Songwriters in the Round' at Glastonbury Festival in 2019. We couldn't not choose a Nick Cave song – after much discussion we landed on 'Push the Sky Away' – nor could we miss Paul Kelly, but rather than delving into his illustrious past, we chose one of his most recent songs, 'Sleep, Australia, Sleep', which shows he has lost none of his urgency and relevance as a songwriter.

Fanny Lumsden appears on the version of 'Under the Milky Way', and Jack Carty appears on 'Black the Sun'.

Discography

Emily Barker

Emily Barker & Lukas Drinkwater

Marry Waterson & Emily Barker

Applewood Road

Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo

Vena Portae

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">808 State</span> English electronic music group

808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, Newbuild, in September 1988 and secured commercial success in 1989, when their song "Pacific State" was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJ Gary Davies and charted for 11 weeks in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Darkness (band)</span> English rock band

The Darkness is a British rock band that formed in Lowestoft, England in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins, his brother Dan Hawkins, Frankie Poullain and Rufus Tiger Taylor.

<i>Reckoning</i> (R.E.M. album) 1984 studio album by R.E.M.

Reckoning is the second studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on April 9, 1984, by I.R.S. Records. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, the album was recorded at Reflection Sound Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, over 16 days in December 1983 and January 1984. Dixon and Easter intended to capture the sound of R.E.M.'s live performances, and used binaural recording on several tracks. Lead singer Michael Stipe dealt with darker subject matter in his lyrics, with water-related imagery being a recurring theme on the album.

<i>Fables of the Reconstruction</i> 1985 album by R.E.M.

Fables of the Reconstruction is the third studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released on June 10, 1985, through I.R.S. Records. It was the band's first album recorded outside of the U.S., with sessions taking place at Livingston Studios in London with producer Joe Boyd. The record displays a darker, murkier sound and lyrics drawing from Southern Gothic themes and characters. Additionally, more varied instrumentation is utilized, including string and brass arrangements and banjo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sin (song)</span> 1990 single by Nine Inch Nails

"Sin" is the third single by American artist Nine Inch Nails from the album Pretty Hate Machine. Released in October 1990, the song peaked at number 35 in the UK Singles Chart.

<i>Time Out of Mind</i> (Bob Dylan album) 1997 studio album by Bob Dylan

Time Out of Mind is the thirtieth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on September 30, 1997, through Columbia Records. It was released as a single CD as well as a double studio album on vinyl, his first since The Basement Tapes in 1975.

<i>Eponymous</i> (album) 1988 greatest hits album by R.E.M.

Eponymous is the first greatest hits album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1988. It was their last authorized release on I.R.S. Records, to whom they had been contracted since 1982, having just signed with Warner Bros. Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monkey Gone to Heaven</span> Song by Pixies

"Monkey Gone to Heaven" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies. Recorded in November 1988 during the sessions for the band's 1989 album Doolittle, it was released as a single in March, and included as the seventh track on the album when it was released a month later in April. The song was written and sung by frontman Black Francis and was produced by Gil Norton. Referencing environmentalism and biblical numerology, the song's lyrics mirrored themes that were explored in Doolittle. "Monkey Gone to Heaven" was the first Pixies song to feature guest musicians: two cellists, Arthur Fiacco and Ann Rorich, and two violinists, Karen Karlsrud and Corine Metter.

<i>The Lonesome Jubilee</i> 1987 studio album by John Cougar Mellencamp

The Lonesome Jubilee is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, credited as John Cougar Mellencamp. The album was released by Mercury Records on August 24, 1987. Four singles were released from the album, the first two in 1987 and the last two in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José González (singer)</span> Swedish indie musician (born 1978)

José Gabriel González is a Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from Gothenburg. González is also a member of the band Junip, along with Tobias Winterkorn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motown Junk</span> Song by Manic Street Preachers

"Motown Junk" is the second single by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 21 January 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radio Free Europe (song)</span> 1981 single by R.E.M.

"Radio Free Europe" is the debut single by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1981 on the short-lived independent record label Hib-Tone. The song features "what were to become the trademark unintelligible lyrics which [sic] have distinguished R.E.M.'s work ever since." The single received critical acclaim, and its success earned the band a record deal with I.R.S. Records. R.E.M. re-recorded the song for their 1983 debut album Murmur. The re-recording for I.R.S. became the group's first charting single, peaking at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is ranked number 389 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2009, it was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for setting "the pattern for later indie rock releases by breaking through on college radio in the face of mainstream radio's general indifference."

<i>Horizontal</i> (album) 1968 studio album by the Bee Gees

Horizontal is the fourth studio album by the Bee Gees, and their second album to receive an international release. The LP was released in early 1968, and included the international hit singles "Massachusetts" and "World". On 5 February 2007, Reprise Records reissued Horizontal with both stereo and mono mixes on one disc and a bonus disc of unreleased songs, non-album tracks, and alternate takes. The album was released in Polydor in many countries and on Atco only in the US and Canada. "And the Sun Will Shine" was released as a single only in France. The influences displayed on the album range from the Beatles to baroque pop.

<i>And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987</i> 2006 compilation album by R.E.M.

And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987 is a compilation album by American band R.E.M. It features songs from the band's years at I.R.S. Records. All tracks have been remastered, and the set was released 12 September 2006. A companion DVD, titled When the Light Is Mine, was released the same day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R.E.M.</span> American rock band (1980–2011)

R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style; Stipe's distinctive vocal quality, unique stage presence, and obscure lyrics; Mills's melodic bass lines and backing vocals; and Berry's tight, economical drumming style. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre. After Berry left the band in 1997, the band continued its career in the 2000s with mixed critical and commercial success. The band broke up amicably in 2011 with members devoting time to solo projects after having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music acts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Dessner</span> American musician

Aaron Brooking Dessner is an American musician. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band The National, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums; a co-founder of the indie rock duo Big Red Machine, teaming with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon; and a collaborator on Taylor Swift's studio albums Folklore and Evermore, both of which contended for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2021 and 2022, respectively, with the former winning the accolade; as well as The Tortured Poets Department (2024).

"The World Is Rated X" is a socially conscious song recorded by Marvin Gaye culled from sessions of the shelved You're the Man project from 1972, later issued on the Motown compilation album, Motown Remembers Marvin Gaye: Never Before Released Masters and released as a promotional single in 1986.

<i>Frank Turner Live from Wembley</i> 2012 video by Frank Turner

Frank Turner Live From Wembley is a Frank Turner concert video released on 3 September 2012. It was filmed on 13 April 2012 at Wembley Arena and the DVD was released on 3 September 2012. The DVD shows the full concert on the first disc, while the second disc contains two documentaries and the promo videos for Frank's singles off his latest album England Keep My Bones. The disc containing the concert was also included as a bonus disc on the compilation of Last Minutes & Lost Evenings, as well as the re-release of England Keep My Bones.

Michael Ian Olmo, known professionally as Iann Dior, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his guest apperance on 24kGoldn's 2020 single "Mood", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and remains his sole entry on the chart. He signed to Internet Money Records and 10K Projects prior to the release of his debut album, Industry Plant (2019), which was followed by On to Better Things (2022)—both of which entered the Billboard 200.

<i>Return of the Dream Canteen</i> 2022 studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Return of the Dream Canteen is the thirteenth studio album by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on October 14, 2022, through Warner Records as a double LP and single CD. Produced by Rick Rubin, it was recorded during the same sessions as the band's previous studio album, Unlimited Love, released earlier in 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Emily Barker discography". Rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  2. ↑ "Masterpiece | Wallander | PBS". pbs.org. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Barton, Laura (3 November 2015). "The playlist – Americana: Bird Dog, Israel Nash and more". The Guardian .
  4. ↑ "Rob Jackson & the Low Country". Archived from the original on 25 December 2011. Retrieved 2010-10-22.
  5. ↑ "BAFTA Awards". Bafta.org.
  6. ↑ "Wallander wins two awards at the Royal Television Society Awards - LEFT BANK Pictures". Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  7. ↑ "Record of the Day – In tune. Informed. Indispensable". Recordoftheday.co.uk. 26 January 2011.
  8. ↑ Lachno, James (8 February 2011). "Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo – Almanac". Thelineofbestfit.com.
  9. ↑ "The Shadow Line (TV Mini-Series 2011)". IMDb.
  10. ↑ McCormick, Neil (1 August 2013). "Emily Barker – Letters, exclusive live session". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo – Fields of June (Featuring Frank Turner)". Discogs. 13 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "Frank Turner plays Olympics opening ceremony". Nme.com. 27 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "The Revival Tour Announces Fall Dates in the UK and Europe – Revival Tour". Therevivaltour.com.
  14. ↑ "Gig Junkies » Blog Archive » Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo @ Union Chapel, London, UK – 21st November 2012". Gigjunkies.com.
  15. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 – Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company .
  16. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 – Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company .
  17. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 – Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company .
  18. ↑ Hodgkinson, Will (6 July 2013). "The Times".
  19. ↑ "Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo – Songs Beneath The River". Discogs. 27 October 2023.
  20. ↑ "Emily Barker – Record Store Day EP (Exclusive Video) – Folk Radio". Folkradio.co.uk. 8 April 2014.
  21. ↑ "Hector – Trailer – Cast & Crew – About – Cinemas". Hector.film.
  22. ↑ "Hector". IMDb. 11 December 2015.
  23. ↑ "Amid Climate Crisis, Emily Barker Brings 'A Dark Murmuration of Words' to Light". The Bluegrass Situation. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  24. ↑ "Amid Climate Crisis, Emily Barker Brings 'A Dark Murmuration of Words' to Light". The Bluegrass Situation. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  25. ↑ Zuel, Bernard (17 August 2020). "EMERGENCY SERVICES: EMILY BARKER'S PLOT TO SAVE THE WORLD". bernardzuel. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  26. ↑ Zuel, Bernard (17 August 2020). "EMERGENCY SERVICES: EMILY BARKER'S PLOT TO SAVE THE WORLD". bernardzuel. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  27. ↑ "Can't Be There Today (Billy Bragg), by Emily Barker". Relay. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  28. ↑ "Flight Path Rhymes, by Emily Barker". Emily Barker. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  29. ↑ https://www.roughtrade.com/en-gb/product/emily-barker/fragile-as-humans
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.