Stornoway – Dig The Mountain (Eco Mix LP, 140g in Natural craft manila brown recycled board) PRE ORDER: 08\/09\/23 During their original run, Stornoway achieved immense critical acclaim, fan adoration and two Top 20 albums, one of which (their debut \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcBeachcomber\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Windowsill\u00e2\u20ac\u2122) was certified Silver. But in 2016 they announced that they were ending on a high (2015\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcBonxie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 being \u00e2\u20ac\u0153their best album yet\u00e2\u20ac\u009d according to The Guardian) with the following year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s farewell tour, although their rapturously received WOMAD set (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153a magnificent farewell\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, The Spectator) was delayed until 2022. They still earned new fans, however, when their version of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThe Only Way Is Up\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 exceeded 2 million streams after being used in an advert and in various TV shows. Vocalist\/guitarist Brian Briggs stopped songwriting altogether and instead pursued a new career passion managing a wetland for water voles and lapwings. Nonetheless, Brian and bandmates Jon Ouin (keyboard) and Oli Steadman (bass) stayed in touch, and step-by-step they reconnected with the love of creating music that had first inspired them to start a band. With Brian writing in a makeshift studio on a remote coastal hilltop and Jon readying a series of ideas of his own, eventually an entirely unexpected fourth Stornoway album emerged – \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDig The Mountain!\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, which is set to be released on September 8th via Cooking Vinyl. The album is launched alongside the new track \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcTrouble With The Green\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 – the first new music in eight years – which has just received its first play courtesy of Chris Hawkins at BBC Radio 6 Music. Brian Briggs says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Stornoway did not exist. I was creating with no goal or plan and it was exhilarating. I am a playful person and I got completely lost in the adventure of songwriting, not knowing where a song might take me, what feelings I might discover and how they might turn into sound. Every song was an emotional and physical journey I was only partly in control of. Once I got the taste of a song forming, I was completely hooked. I would disappear in it for days, emerging from the shed as high as a kite, with the sea roaring in the distance and no light but the blinking stars.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Stornoway introduce the album with the new song \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcTrouble With The Green\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the glory of sunrise (or sunset) set to music, as painted by a keen-eyed but perhaps overwhelmed observer. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a synaesthetic wonder, rippling with sights and sounds and birdsong. In contrast to its uplifting sound, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a whirlwind of tumultuous emotions which can be succinctly summarised by its striking lyric, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcRed sun, low on the page. You can decide if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going up or down\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Brian explains, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have a friend and fellow bird lover with ADHD and her mind fizzes with ideas and colours. She recently managed to escape from a very dark place fighting an addiction, and I was so scared for her when I painted this song. I tried to get inside her head, to speak to her, balancing the texture and beauty in nature with an intense bass and drum part, representing the dark undertow of her addiction.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The trio all contributed to the record from their own locations: Brian in southwest Wales, Oli in southeast London and Jon in Oxford, with Mike Lindsay of acid folk pioneers Tunng on production duties. While Oli\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brother Rob (drums) isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t part of this new chapter of Stornoway having started a new life in America, so Mike Monaghan (Gaz Coombes, Saint Etienne) contributes drums throughout. Nonetheless, the album is packed with inspiring collaborations. Sam Lee features on the sinuous, woodsy folk-funk of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThe Navigator\u00e2\u20ac\u2122; Chinese musician Yijia Tu contributes gorgeous vocals to Stornoway\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rootsy take on Bj\u00c3\u00b6rk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Not Up To You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122; Guillemot Fyfe Dangerfield sings on \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcAnwen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, a song inspired by Brian\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s daughter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s joyful dancing; former Black Mountains poet Paul Henry wrote the lyrics for \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcKicking The Stone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122; and Gareth Bonello (The Gentle Good) wrote the original version of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThe Fisherman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 before it was reinvented by Stornoway. And of course, Stornoway live for nature and conservation in a way that no other band do. Even before Brian\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s experiences in the wetlands, the band might be found offering birdwatching trips as a special extra for album bundles, or finding ways to benefit a variety of wildlife charities, or even appearing on BBC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Springwatch. The latest development comes next month when Brian plays a series of Singing With Nightingales events in Highnam Woods, Gloucestershire. Tracklist: 1. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcTrouble With The Green\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 2. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcBag In The Wind\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 3. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcAnwen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 4. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDig The Mountain!\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 5. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Not Up To You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 6. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThe Fisherman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 7. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcSea Legs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 8. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThe Navigator\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 9. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThe Manatee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 10. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcKicking The Stone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 11. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcExcelsior\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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