James Raynard UK Dates
James Raynard has announced new UK dates
For details click here
James Raynard Album no. 6
James Raynard's album "Strange Histories" has been voted No. 6 in the Mojo Best folk album of the Year. Congratulations!
1. Cruel Sister by Rachel Unthank & The Winterset
2. No Earthly Man by Alasdair Roberts
3. The Lark Descending by Chris Wood
4. Rough Music by Eliza Carthy
5. The Reckoning by John Tams
6. Strange Histories by James Raynard
7. When All Is Said And Done by Danu
8. Songs by John Spiers and Jon Boden
9. Unruly by Barry Dransfield
10. Folk Roots by Davy Graham and Shirley Collins
To buy this debut album click here
James Raynard
James Raynard is a young English folk singer, guitarist and fiddle player, based in Yorkshire, who in 2005 signed to One Little Indian Record’s new folk imprint Unearthed and is due to launch his debut album at Cambridge Folk Festival, July 28th-31st.
James Raynard is a curiosity among folk artists: young and vital as a performer, private and at times reclusive off stage, a man who discovered folk music in his early twenties via Bob Dylan.
His enchantment with English song led him to a study of Folklore at Sheffield University and a close friendship with folk hero Martin Carthy, who says of him,
‘James Raynard loves music, is inquisitive, passionate and brave. He is willing to take the sort of chances which make music an exciting place in which to work.’
James studied under Carthy and gifted violinist Gina Le Faux who herself was the last pupil of the late James Carmichael of Ballymena and currently teaches for Folkworks, Folk South West, Hands On Music and The Yorkshire Dales Workshops. At the same time, with performances alongside such well-known folk names as John and Benji Kirkpatrick, Eddie Upton and Rob Harbron, James began to develop a style of his own.
His interest in the earliest known English music started to pepper his repertoire with an echo of the medieval, perhaps most apparent in his rendition of The Outlandish Knight, an epic tale of abduction and murder on the shores of The Dead Sea. At the same time he was in demand as an accompanist for traditional dances, where he developed the strong sense of rhythm that runs through his performances. The result is an artist who brings a youthful energy and his own sound to his live shows and recordings, while steadfastly upholding the simplest methods of presentation.
By Spring 2005 James Raynard could be found in the great hall of a castle somewhere in Herefordshire trying to warm up by an open fire between recording sessions for his debut album. Perhaps unexpectedly Jim Moray, best known for his highly contemporary arrangements of folk songs on his own debut Sweet England, was keeping James company, providing production for the new album. That two young artists with such different approaches to folk music should be collaborating brought a frisson of anticipation to the project and left everyone involved guessing at the result.
James Raynard’s debut album will be showcased at Cambridge Folk Festival where he will perform on Friday 29th July and pre-release copies of the album will be available. The album will be released on the Unearthed imprint through One Little Indian on Monday 12th September 2005.
