Artists on Grand Harmonium Records

Steve Adey creates slow burning piano and vocal led music that is drop dead beautiful. His debut album 'All Things Real' was released in 2006 to huge critical acclaim. It was the Sunday Times CD of the week and also made the Times best of 2006.
His own compositions sit gracefully alongside a cover of the Dylan classic 'Shelter From the Storm' - slowed down to funeral pace with a vocal that has emotionally charged passion in the delivery and a sense of foreboding running throughout.
Will Oldham's 'I See A Darkness' is also deconstructed with Adey sounding even more desperate than Oldham. Ian Mathers, writing for Stylus (US) writes "Adey sounds like a man at the end of his rope, possibly while standing on a chair". US journal for improvised and progressive music Signal to Noise heralded Adey's work as "haunting folk into straight-up epic territory."

Latest news: recording, recording and recording...

A Singer Must Die first started producing their distinctive sound in 2005. Musicians Manuel Ferrer and Philippe Le Guern share a deep founded obsession not only with The Beatles, Lennon and Brian Wilson, The Smiths and Elliott Smith, but also with the early sounds of the Dark Wave and its electro-shock agitation. These may seem unexpected musical contrasts, but they can be explained by personal experiences. After playing in an early ’90s cult group, Philippe hit a low point, hung up his guitar and turned away from any musical involvement. This dark period lasted ten years and could have lasted a lot longer without a chance meeting with Manuel. It was Manuel’s lyrical style in complete contrast to the French scene of the time which brought Philippe back to writing.

The band’s approach to song-writing means they haven’t fallen into reproducing the predictable clichés of the Made in France music scene or the formatted side of some Brit Pop bands. In the summer of 2006 the pair decided to take a break and look for new inspiration. They travelled to Newcastle and found a city full of contrasts which echoed their musical vision. Tough, troubled and eccentric in parts maybe, but also a city with a great sense of belonging, proud of its differences in which you quickly feel good.

It’s only recently that Manuel and Philippe found out that they not only came from the same working class neighbourhood, but that they’d also lived in the same street. In many ways Newcastle is a bit like the street the two musicians grew up in with Ian Curtis who would sing neo-folk psychedelic stuff at one end, Lennon playing in a new-wave combo at the other and Elliott Smith sounding like a young Bowie somewhere in the middle. Yet it’s in the cover versions of Depeche Mode, Simon & Garfunkel and in Johnny Cash’s last albums that A Singer Must Die has really found its mark to produce a totally different inspirational sound - haunting, fragile, brutal and yet familiar.

Debut album 'Today, it's a wonderful day' was released on 14.05.07.
Selected reviews:

Magic [France]: "Beautiful indie pop in the great tradition of the most mythical duos".

MusicOMH: "Packed with fallen out of love songs that sound even more charming because of Ferrer's unusually guttural French accent".

Tasty Fanzine: "Well crafted songs".

Popnews [France]: ""I really like the tone of singer - Ferrer, often on the verge of snapping, and with a sense of theatre". [This album] "a sound, close to Elliott Smith's records (to whom - among others the album is dedicated, that leaves a haunting shade throughout".

CDreviews [US]: "The vocals throughout the album contain an encompassing worldly-wise tone that is reminiscent in places as bands such as Hefner and The Smiths".

Big Takeover [US]: "A Singer Must Die have debuted with an album of slow-burning, UK-styled guitar gloom, and there are some quality songs here too".

BBC Radio Bristol: "Very excellent band, great session".

The Devil Has The Best Tuna: "If you're going to take your name from the title of a Leonard Cohen song then you have to be either, extremely mad, extremely confident or extremely good. French duo A Singer Must Die are probably all three".

Latest news: new single scheduled for spring 2008.

Check out their Myspace page here.

The world doesn't know Royal Edinburgh Music yet. It is in fact likely that the world at large never will, that the band will instead enjoy the attentions of a smaller but fiercely devoted collective of fans.
This is not to suggest that the band will be anything but successful; it is simply a qualification, a suggestion that theirs will be a different kind of success. Songs filled with phrases like "drink the sadness from your eyes" require a different commitment from listeners than the recycled, mindless love songs that sell a million copies and are forgotten as soon as the next rehash comes along. There is a proverb that tells us, roughly, "of he to whom much is given, much is asked." In its original context, it refers to God's gifts and how we should use them.
But a secularized version of this sentiment seems apt with regard to the relationship between rich and complex artistic pieces of any vintage and the consumers of said pieces.
The compositions offered thus far by Royal Edinburgh Music provide a fine example of this dynamic. Songs like "The Fortune" seem dense and slow to reveal themselves at times. And while there are always elements in such songs that catch the listener's attention the first time through, the thing to remember is that these are songs of endurance, rather than something disposable or easily forgotten. At the end of a new Royal Edinburgh Music song, there is always the feeling that you have missed something. And repeat listens confirm this impression; nuances are revealed each time through - an instrumental flourish unnoticed at first, a turn of phrase - and the cumulative effect of this slow reveal is a feeling of gratitude that music so earnest and finely wrought is still being made.
Royal Edinburgh Music's bio says that the band formed through a shared love of Nico and American Music Club. You can hear echoes of both in these songs, but the music is far from derivative. Neither is it tied to any sort of fad or movement. These are songs that exist outside of time, in that they reflect only the sorts of things that one generation after another struggles with - loss, longing, the search for meaning amid ever-increasing randomness. Yes, the songs are underpinned by echoes from the past, but they are carried along by a hope that is very much Alive. They may shuffle, as if struggling to balance this weighty burden, Hope, at times, but they never limp, and should these hopes be realized, and we find ourselves better able to solve these riddles than those before us, the better world that emerges in the aftermath will be a testament to the sort of endurance that characterizes the songs of Royal Edinburgh Music. John Thomas McIntyre

Helena MacGilp is a singer, musician based in Edinburgh.
Former singer with the band Desc. Helena's debut record, as yet untitled, will be released later this year.
Helena has collaborated with a whole host of musicians, songwriters and bands, adorning records by Ballboy, The Starlets, Steve Mason (the Beta Band), Ostle Bay and Steve Adey.
We look forward in anticipation to the album.



	Artists on Grand Harmonium Records Steve Adey creates slow burning piano and vocal led music that is drop dead beautiful. His debut album 'All Things Real' was released in 2006 to huge critical acclaim. It was the Sunday Times CD of the week and also made the Times best of 2006. His own compositions sit gracefully alongside a cover of the Dylan classic 'Shelter From the Storm' - slowed down to funeral pace with a vocal that has emotionally charged passion in the delivery and a sense of foreboding running throughout. Will Oldham's 'I See A Darkness' is also deconstructed with Adey sounding even more desperate than Oldham. Ian Mathers, writing for Stylus (US) writes "Adey sounds like a man at the end of his rope, possibly while standing on a chair". US journal for improvised and progressive music Signal to Noise heralded Adey's work as "haunting folk into straight-up epic territory." Latest news: recording, recording and recording... A Singer Must Die first started producing their distinctive sound in 2005. Musicians Manuel Ferrer and Philippe Le Guern share a deep founded obsession not only with The Beatles, Lennon and Brian Wilson, The Smiths and Elliott Smith, but also with the early sounds of the Dark Wave and its electro-shock agitation. These may seem unexpected musical contrasts, but they can be explained by personal experiences. After playing in an early ’90s cult group, Philippe hit a low point, hung up his guitar and turned away from any musical involvement. This dark period lasted ten years and could have lasted a lot longer without a chance meeting with Manuel. It was Manuel’s lyrical style in complete contrast to the French scene of the time which brought Philippe back to writing. The band’s approach to song-writing means they haven’t fallen into reproducing the predictable clichés of the Made in France music scene or the formatted side of some Brit Pop bands. In the summer of 2006 the pair decided to take a break and look for new inspiration. They travelled to Newcastle and found a city full of contrasts which echoed their musical vision. Tough, troubled and eccentric in parts maybe, but also a city with a great sense of belonging, proud of its differences in which you quickly feel good. It’s only recently that Manuel and Philippe found out that they not only came from the same working class neighbourhood, but that they’d also lived in the same street. In many ways Newcastle is a bit like the street the two musicians grew up in with Ian Curtis who would sing neo-folk psychedelic stuff at one end, Lennon playing in a new-wave combo at the other and Elliott Smith sounding like a young Bowie somewhere in the middle. Yet it’s in the cover versions of Depeche Mode, Simon & Garfunkel and in Johnny Cash’s last albums that A Singer Must Die has really found its mark to produce a totally different inspirational sound - haunting, fragile, brutal and yet familiar. Debut album 'Today, it's a wonderful day' was released on 14.05.07. Selected reviews: Magic [France]: "Beautiful indie pop in the great tradition of the most mythical duos". MusicOMH: "Packed with fallen out of love songs that sound even more charming because of Ferrer's unusually guttural French accent". Tasty Fanzine: "Well crafted songs". Popnews [France]: ""I really like the tone of singer - Ferrer, often on the verge of snapping, and with a sense of theatre". [This album] "a sound, close to Elliott Smith's records (to whom - among others the album is dedicated, that leaves a haunting shade throughout". CDreviews [US]: "The vocals throughout the album contain an encompassing worldly-wise tone that is reminiscent in places as bands such as Hefner and The Smiths". Big Takeover [US]: "A Singer Must Die have debuted with an album of slow-burning, UK-styled guitar gloom, and there are some quality songs here too". BBC Radio Bristol: "Very excellent band, great session". The Devil Has The Best Tuna: "If you're going to take your name from the title of a Leonard Cohen song then you have to be either, extremely mad, extremely confident or extremely good. French duo A Singer Must Die are probably all three". Latest news: new single scheduled for spring 2008. Check out their Myspace page here. The world doesn't know Royal Edinburgh Music yet. It is in fact likely that the world at large never will, that the band will instead enjoy the attentions of a smaller but fiercely devoted collective of fans. This is not to suggest that the band will be anything but successful; it is simply a qualification, a suggestion that theirs will be a different kind of success. Songs filled with phrases like "drink the sadness from your eyes" require a different commitment from listeners than the recycled, mindless love songs that sell a million copies and are forgotten as soon as the next rehash comes along. There is a proverb that tells us, roughly, "of he to whom much is given, much is asked." In its original context, it refers to God's gifts and how we should use them. But a secularized version of this sentiment seems apt with regard to the relationship between rich and complex artistic pieces of any vintage and the consumers of said pieces. The compositions offered thus far by Royal Edinburgh Music provide a fine example of this dynamic. Songs like "The Fortune" seem dense and slow to reveal themselves at times. And while there are always elements in such songs that catch the listener's attention the first time through, the thing to remember is that these are songs of endurance, rather than something disposable or easily forgotten. At the end of a new Royal Edinburgh Music song, there is always the feeling that you have missed something. And repeat listens confirm this impression; nuances are revealed each time through - an instrumental flourish unnoticed at first, a turn of phrase - and the cumulative effect of this slow reveal is a feeling of gratitude that music so earnest and finely wrought is still being made. Royal Edinburgh Music's bio says that the band formed through a shared love of Nico and American Music Club. You can hear echoes of both in these songs, but the music is far from derivative. Neither is it tied to any sort of fad or movement. These are songs that exist outside of time, in that they reflect only the sorts of things that one generation after another struggles with - loss, longing, the search for meaning amid ever-increasing randomness. Yes, the songs are underpinned by echoes from the past, but they are carried along by a hope that is very much Alive. They may shuffle, as if struggling to balance this weighty burden, Hope, at times, but they never limp, and should these hopes be realized, and we find ourselves better able to solve these riddles than those before us, the better world that emerges in the aftermath will be a testament to the sort of endurance that characterizes the songs of Royal Edinburgh Music. John Thomas McIntyre Helena MacGilp is a singer, musician based in Edinburgh. Former singer with the band Desc. Helena's debut record, as yet untitled, will be released later this year. Helena has collaborated with a whole host of musicians, songwriters and bands, adorning records by Ballboy, The Starlets, Steve Mason (the Beta Band), Ostle Bay and Steve Adey. We look forward in anticipation to the album. © 2006 Grand Harmonium Ltd

Contact Grand Harmonium Records PO BOX 23742, Edinburgh, EH6 4WR © 2006 Grand Harmonium Ltd