WOMAD

Fernhill

From United Kingdom

Biography By Andy Morgan, July 2002:Globalisation often stretches the imagination. Try and picture the King of Swaziland settling down to an educative evening of contemporary Welsh folk music sung in Welsh. Or the good citizens of Ho Chi Minh City in northern Vietnam singing along to ‘Cariad fel y môr’ (‘Love like the Sea’) and dreaming of a sunset over the promenade at Aberystwyth. Mind you, Fernhill’s charismatic lead singer Julie Murphy has the kind of pure silver voice which could send anybody, from Tonga to Tijuana, into never never land. Quite apart from the global domination of the Manics, Catatonia, Stereophonics, Zygotic Monkeys et al, it seems that traditional Welsh music is under-going a full-on renaissance at the minute and Fernhill are right there in the vanguard. Guitarist Richard Llewellyn, fiddler Cass Meurig, trumpeter Tomos Williams and double bassist Andy Coughlan as well as the aforementioned Ms Murphy, have circled the globe twice over, taking their Taff Gospel to the unlikeliest places. The band’s debut album, ‘Whilia’ on the Beautiful Jo record label has been harvesting abundant praise and plaudits and Julie Murphy’s solo record, ‘Black Mountains’, which featured a collaboration with that other wayward ex-Velvet Underground Welshman, John Cale, was Mojo Mag’s Folk Album of the Year in 1999. What do they sound like you may wonder? Well, imagine spending a beautiful summer’s afternoon on a beach on the Gower peninsula and feeling relaxed, invigorated and fresh… not sentimental, mind… but positive and pensive. That’s the effect Fernhill’s music has on you. The world can thank the lord… they are a musical nation!Francis Dunnery (UK)Francis Dunnery is a man who’s been to the very heart of showbiz Babylon and returned with a sack load of gruesome tales and a determination to plough his own furrow from here on in. After an apprenticeship first as a drummer and then guitarist / keyboardist in the gritty rural backwaters of his native Cumbria, Dunnery formed the band ‘It Bites’ and set off to London to scoop up the gold from the pavement. The band quickly scored a hit with ‘Calling All the Heroes’ on Virgin Records, but even after this early success and the subsequent release of three acclaimed albums, the sidewalks of the capital still only offered up dog shit and butt ends. Next stop was the USA where Dunnery’s sparkling guitar skills landed him a slot in the Robert Plant Band and grabbed the attention of Plant’s manager Bill Curbishley who wrangled a deal with Atlantic Records. Four superb solo albums, ‘Fearless’ (1994) and ‘Tall Blonde Helicopter’ (1995), the live acoustic set ‘One Night in Sauchiehall Street’ and ‘Let’s Go Do What Happens’ cemented a healthy transatlantic following and a growing reverence for Dunnery’s guitar-playing skills. After that Dunnery seemed to go to earth, even though his axe-wielding prowess was there for all to hear on albums by Lauryn Hill and Carlos Santana, only to remerge with a new backing band, The Grass Virgins, a new label, Aquarian Nation Records, and a new album ‘Man’, purchasable exclusively from the man’s website. From now on it’s going to be a question of a supremely talented guitarist doing exactly what he wants, when he wants and how he wants. Sounds good, dunnit! Information provided by artist management, May 2002:www.bejo.co.uk www.fernhill.info Since they formed in 1996, fernhill have become important cultural ambassadors for Wales and its music having toured in 20 countries including performances for the King of Swaziland and the President of Mozambique. They have recorded three critically acclaimed albums, the latest, Whilia, was a top twenty album in the Folk Roots poll 2000. fernhill create a new musical landscape from the indigenous dance rhythms and folk poetry of Wales. Julie Murphy's passionate singing combined with guitar, fiddle, double bass and trumpet produces a sound both gutsy and enchanting. PRESS .... these daring musical deconstructionists have become the prime movers in a crop of talented bands injecting new life and an exciting contemporary dynamic into traditional Welsh music WESTERN MAIL Murphy is a gorgeously soulful singer GUARDIAN Julie Murphy is a must-see-must-hear singer TIME OUT The band at the heart of the Welsh renaissance MOJO live band line up.... Julie Murphy vocals Richard Llewellyn guitar Cass Meurig fiddle Tomos Williams trumpet Andy Coughlan double bass NEWS Julie has just recorded a track with Robert Plant for the new album by Afro Celt Sound System on Peter Gabriel's Realworld label... 'Julie Murphy all but steals the show to underline her emergence as one of the greatest singers in the land with her electrifying counterpoint to Robert Plant on Life Begins Again.' - Colin Irwin, fROOTS (Review of Afro-Celt Sound System - Vol 3) BBC2 Wales broadcast a half hour programme about Julie Murphy as part of their 'Sounds Welsh' series in February 2002. In 2000 the band contributed a performance to the film 'Beautiful mistake' about the Welsh music scene which included performances by James Dean Bradfield, Catatonia, Super Furry Animals, and Gorkys Zygotic Mynci. Julie Murphy, fernhill's singer, also collaborated with ex Velvet Underground member John Cale, he accompanied her on a track from her solo album Black mountains revisited ( a MOJO folk album of 99 ) INTERNATIONAL GIG HISTORY • 1996 Tour Southern Africa including performance at the Market theatre, Jo'burg. • 1997 Tour East Africa including workshops and performances with musicians from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. • 1998 Fete du Cournouaille, Quimper, Brittany. • 1998 British council tour of Swaziland and Mozambique; performed for the King of Swaziland at the Royal palace and the President of Mozambique alongside traditional musicians from both countries. • 1998 Britain and Greece festival. Athens concert hall and Volos theatre. • 1999 Telemark festival. Norway • 2000 Fete du Lannion et Fete La Roche Bernard, Brittany. • 2000 Vietnam . concerts and workshops with Vietnamese musicians in Sapa, Hanoi and Ho chi Minh City. • 2001 La Tentation. Brussels. • 2001 Teatro de Vittorio. Rome. • 2001 Tokyo. Club Ayoma Cay. • 2001 Aljustrel. Portugal / encontros musicais de comunidades mineiras. • 2001 Celtic night festival / Leeurwarden Holland in concert with Altan. • 2001 Celtic festival Apeldoorn, Holland in concert with Sharon Shannon. • 2001 Live radio concert for Radio Bremen, Germany.