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REVIEWS
Singing in Shropshire
I've just started a new voice training venture with Anna Gillions and our first night was Sep 22nd.
It was a wonderful evening with 20 budding singers from around shropshire. The usual response when I ask people how they are feeling at the beginning of the session is 'quite scared', and this, indeed, was the case. After a series of carefully prepared enjoyable excercises (physical and vocal), everyone felt so much better and were already wondering what there was to be afraid of. Then we immersed into simple harmony songs and, as always at these events, the sound was fantastic. People were amazed that they were part of something that sounded so good.
There's a simple joy in combining voices (good and not so good, it really doesn't matter) that lifts the spirits immeasurably and takes away self-consciosness and fear of incompetence.
There wasn't a person in the room who didn't feel uplifted by the experience; and many of them had believed they weren't good singers at the beginning of the evening.
'Sing from the heart' I say and all will be well.
Abbie Lathe
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Low summer...netrhythms 2006
Currently still touring with Maddy Prior & The Girls, Abbie's nevertheless a major imaginative talent in her own right, as her previous solo album Spring (2003) demonstrated. Its followup, Low Summer, though two whole summers in coming, does however prove worth the wait; it's a further collection of intriguing original songs by Abbie herself (with the exception of Swallows, penned by Jon Fletcher), carrying the torch for poetic, strongly individual and highly aware contemporary songwriting. Once again Abbie's lyrics embody an acute understanding of observation and perception and how they impact on reality, all the while comprehending that it's a two-way process. Standout cuts this time round - notably the ostensibly more unusual, Pooka-esque (sorry, it's the only really relevant reference point I feel) ones like Broken and Therapy - display every bit as much imagination and originality as their counterparts on Spring. Elsewhere, Lucky reminded me of Laurie Anderson with its cool vocalising and eerie programmed beats, and the hip-jazz idiom proves apt for the philosophy of Secret Communication, while Let It Fall and the delicately pensive piano-backed Better Days have a dreamy Kate Bush ambience and Treachery is an inventively, lusciously scored piece loosely following the style of a traditional ballad (though considerably more economical in scope). There's still the very occasional, slightly frustrating, nagging sense that in Abbie's quest for economy of poetic expression an idea or situation is not quite fully developed, but generally the songs' brevity (or, putting it another way, their limited expansiveness) is but one of their strengths – another, of course, being Abbie's powerful use of simple imagery. As on Spring, Abbie herself plays the vast majority of the instruments heard on the recording ("yep, even the melodica!"), although she again calls on Jane Griffiths for some glorious string arrangements on three songs and her now-regular mini-team of Tony Poole (12-string), Colin Fletcher (bass) and Ady Milward (drums) appear here and there. I feel the CD probably tails off a bit towards the end, with Safe To Be and the final track (which is effectively just a brief slow air played - albeit beautifully - on low whistle) somewhat losing the sense of direction maintained throughout the foregoing tracks. On Low Summer as an overall entity there's not quite the sense of onward, forward artistic development from Spring that one might have then expected, but to be honest I'd far rather have another consistent disc that preserves the abnormally high standard Abbie had already set on those first two albums - so I've no complaints on that score.
www.abbielathe.co.uk
David Kidman
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Singing Workshop review by Andy Rushton
"Sixteen souls (and a cat) to carnforth fared, to stand all day in a cold church hall. Abbie lathe soon took the chill off with a series of progressive workouts for the body, voice and muse.
The struggle continued." (song ref) "Somehow, in steps so small that no-one would refuse, we grew from a silent anonymous assembly into a smooth singing machine. The struggle was over by midday, and four part harmony broke out across the whole hall. (there were attempts at five and six part harmony, some intentional, but that seemed a bridge too far).
we lunched on stew and home made toffee-treacle-fudge-and-sugar cake, whilst the cat sat, meditating, on a railway track" (song ref) " (or perhaps I just imagined that).
As a frosty morning gave way to a sunny (but still cold) afternoon, the focus shifted to each individual who wanted to perform a solo. Abbie provided expert and positive but perceptive criticism, managing to disembarrass us. I had to make up the word disembarrass. What I mean is, if Abbie told the King he had no clothes, he would smile serenely amd march majestically down with a new confidence in his own royalty. This is a talent well-suited to coaxing improvement from insecure singers.
The finale was a concert-style rendition of the communal and solo songs (every one a winner). Then, after a few exchanges of phone numbers and venue recommendations, we melted away in the cold dark night. A choir that came from the void, shone briefly (not unlike the november sun) then was no more. And what happened to the cat? Well, strange to say, the cat went home with the singers, with each of them and with all of them. Which was odd, because as you know, as a rule, cats don't do that?
Why not ask one of the Bothy folk who were there (www.bothyfolkclub.co.uk) Or better still take that small step yourself the next time Abbie's at large.
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SPRING ALBUM REVIEW - NETRYTHMS - DAVID KIDMAN
If you've heard the Maddy Prior & The Girls' release Bib And Tuck you can't have missed the small contingent of songs therein which were composed by Abbie Lathe (the trio's lone non-Prior-Family member). Songs like Rain, which possess a striking character at once pretty and disturbing, delicate and forthright. Not "folk" by any real stretch of the imagination, of course, but nevertheless entirely typical of Abbie's abundantly imaginative approach both in terms of lyrics and sound-world. A couple of throwaway doodles aside, Spring amounts to an uninterrupted and beautifully atmospheric collection of original songs. Original they certainly are, too, with an earthy consciousness and an unusual kind of poetry that entices and insinuates rather than allowing for instant appreciation. In terms of sound alone, though, if nothing else, more than once was I reminded of the work of Pooka (the curious yet logical harmonies in Free To Go, the tingling waywardness of Autumn Rain) or Kate Bush (the adventurous Beginning To Be) or Helen Watson (the insouciant rootsy jazziness of Easter and Under The Sea). Those comments aren't meant to play down the individuality of Abbie's distinctive and unsettling music; it's often ethereal and other-worldly, but with feet firmly planted on contemporary earth. Abbie herself is responsible for most of the instrumentation, but there are some telling contributions from a handful of other musicians including Martin Bransden (double-bass), Roy Dodds and Ady Milward (drums). I also liked the textural enhancement brought by Jane Griffiths' violin and/or viola on Houdini and (especially) So Cold and Free To Go. The only non-Abbie composition, John Blanchard's Finnish Song (which to all intents and purposes "finnishes" the album!), is a rich vocal exercise performed a-capella with definite overtones of Slav religious music. This is an altogether stimulating release; a harbinger of great things to come from Abbie, I'm convinced.
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"AVEBURY" REVIEW..DAVID KERR
LIVE REVIEW OF ABBIE AND MARTIN BRUNSDEN
'AVEBURY' REVIEW
Yippee...a fan! Scroll down to 4th entry in january 2004
'MODERNDANCE' REVIEW OF 'AVEBURY'
RADIO 2 REVIEW OF AVEBURY
M.U. MAGAZINE REVIEW OF 'SPRING'
Abbie Lathe is an Oxford based singer-songwriter who has toured and recorded with Maddy Prior. Spring is a well packaged CD illustrated with the singer's own paintings and with a fresh, sometimes quirky approach to melody and rhythm. Lathe sings with a compelling urgency and is well supported by some able backing musicians who include former Jacquie Dankworth double bassist Martin Brunsden and Jane Griffiths on violin and viola. A promising debut recording.
Dave Laing
CUSTOMER REVIEW OF 'AVEBURY'
Rating..5
Where has she been hiding?
this is Abbie Lathe's first commercially released solo album, and what a debut! the content is superb and the song-writing first class. her unique voice is a joy to listen to, she also plays acoustic guitar, piano and whistles, and with the addition of some excellent double bass playing from Martin Brunsden she manages to convey an authentic air of mystery and magic one would get from visiting any of england's stone age monuments, ( goosebumps or what ). On this evidence she is definitely a folk superstar for the future. Although her vocal and song-writing talents are unique, i would have no hesitation in including her name with the 'greats', Sandy Denny, maddy Prior and Suzanne Vega.
ESSENTIAL FOLK REVIEW MOJO JAN 2004
3 star rating
The world is full of over- rated female U.S acts, so its a boon to discover an English act other than thea Gilmore who may show them a clean pair of heels. lathe mixes her own lively songs with assured interpretations of traditional classics. highly promising.
CUSTOMER REVIEW OF 'AVEBURY'
5 star rating
having waited in anticipation on the release of abbie's new CD Avebury by Park Records I am glad to relate that I wasn't disappointed. i first heard abbie on the CD Maddy and the Girls along with Maddy Prior and her daughter rose Kemp and so enjoyed her tracks that I found her e-mail address and found she had two CDs on sale at the time, Spring and Polly's Kitchen which I bought and thoroughly enjoyed, so I was over the moon to find park were equally impressed, enough to produce the new CD Avebury. The CD itself is a collection of songs, some self-penned by Abbie, others arrangements of traditional songs of old England and a couple of covers of well-known songs, the best of which is Gilbert O'sullivan's Nothing Rhymed which, to me, is better than the original and well worth releasing as a single. listing all the tracks would be a waste of time as they are not well known but emphasis must be put on the opening track avebury song, and the arrangement of the traditional Searching for Lambs. All inb all there is nothing bad to say about this CD ( in fact the only bad part is having to wait for the next one ). If you like artists like Suzanne Vega, Eddi reader, Eliza carthy or any singer like them, then this is a must for your CD collection. we should expect great things in the future from this talented multi-instrumentalist and song-writer.
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AVEBURY ALBUM REVIEW - NETRYTHMS - MIKE DAVIES
One third of Maddy Prior & The Girls, this is Chard born Lathe's third album and her first solo recording for her new label, a traditional folk flavoured collection that brings together the inevitable trad arr with self-penned material and some interesting covers. Taking its cue from the title track which uses the rows between residents and celebrants over the pagan festivals staged there as a springboard to lament the spiritual decline of the nation many, her own songs are very much thoughtfully concerned with the atmospheres of old England and the contemporary resonance of its passing. Listen to 100 Years inspired by the ruin of a manor in an Oxfordshire hamlet, Runaway which details ambiguous feelings about leaving and staying, the Beauty and the Beast like folk legend of Man On The Hill and even Beside My Love where the sanctuary of which she sings could as easily be a land as a lover. And, accompanying herself on piano as thoughts of June Tabor meeting Kate Bush come to mind, on Curlew she finds hope in the simple sound of a bird cry over the wild moor. The traditional choices follow a familiar route of meeting true loves on a May morning (the largely multi-tracked a capella Searching For Lambs) and lovers lost at sea (Lady Franklin's Lament), but there's nothing predictable about her choice of covers. Paul Weller's English Rose is transformed into an almost classical folk song with bowed double bass and low whistle, Jane Griffiths brings violin to Lathe's piano for the spare elegiac and rich Two island Swans written by Gail Collins and Felix Pappalardi while no less than Raymond (that's Gilbert to you and me) O'Sullivan's Nothing Rhymed sees her accentuating the accent while texturing the liltingly melancholic arrangement with Indian harmonium and John Spier's melodeon. Producer and 12 string guitarist Tony Poole (yes, he of long lost and lamented legends Starry Eyed and Laughing) also contributes a track in the glorious open sky bracing mountain air of Come Away, a nigh folkily anthemic song custom built to be sung around bonfires, maypoles and the sort of festivals to which Avebury's born ancient witness. Looks like English folk just found itself another rising star.
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AVEBURY ALBUM REVIEW - FOLKING.COM
Abbie Lathe has recently found success as part of Maddy Prior & The Girls and in the wake releases her debut album for Park Records. And what a fine recording it proves. Starting with ‘Avebury Song’ from the introduction you would think this a chapter from the Suzanne Vega songbook but no, it’s penned by our hero and joined by Jane Griffiths (Violin) and Martin Brunsden (Mandolin) the lightness of being that these instruments provide lend well to the lyrical content of the song – a little bit mystical if you get my drift? I suppose quirky, maybe even hippy-ish is how some might perceive the arrangement but at least it grabs your attention from the offset. The first track is such a contrast to ‘Searching For Lambs’ that you won’t be prepared for the starkness of the unaccompanied vocals or oh, so subtle muted harmonies. And that my friend is where the crux of the album lies. In not knowing what the lady is going to do next each track is like a voyage of discovery. The quintessential English-ness is what makes the recording stand out and she even covers (rather well as it goes) ‘Nothing Rhymed’. Yes, the hoary old Gilbert O’Sullivan chestnut! There has been a lot of time and attention to detail spent on the finished result and Tony Poole’s production shows. He along with Abbie are names to look out for. Having said all this, the album won’t be everybody’s cup of tea but give it a spin and see if it grabs you the way it did me - at least it’s refreshing.
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UNPLUGGED & INTIMATE @ CELLAR BAR, SOUTH HILL PARK ARTS CENTRE, BRACKNELL - 12 MARCH 2002 - JOSAKA REVIEW
The final performance for me tonight was a female duet fronted by Abbie Lathe. Abbie sang lead and played acoustic guitar, and was vocally backed up by Zoe. Abbie looked extremely happy on stage, unlike Zoe who struggled to hide her nerves, I think initially she was holding back a little – but it always takes a while to warm up and by the time she did it was well worth the wait. Both girls were fantastic – definitely the best act so far. It was very humbling when Abbie announces that she is worried that we will find her music too strange. Strange was definitely the wrong word – captivating is better. The audience were so quiet throughout their set that I was afraid to turn the pages of my notebook for fear of disturbing. The male onlookers resembled sailors, from Homer’s The Odyssey, who had just sailed into the depths of Siren territory. I think if Badly Drawn Boy can get away with being original, then so should these girls. It was nice to hear some really meaningful lyrics. The only real shame was that tonight is was only us hearing this music.
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