Son of the famous Clare fiddler PJ Hayes, Martin Hayes is both a tradition bearer of the Clare fiddle style and a great innovator and artist in his own right. Hayes is known for his dreamy style in the studio and a more frenetic aproach to live performance. Hayes cites Kevin Burke as a major influence.
Jez Lowe is an English folk singer-songwriter. Lowe is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, particularly in his hometown of Easington Colliery. He performs both as a solo artist and with his backing band, The Bad Pennies. Lowe was born into a coal mining family with Irish roots, and raised in County Durham, England, where he grew up witnessing the decline of the coal-mining industry that had defined the region's economic profile for generations.
Refused is a hardcore punk band originating from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1991. The band's final lineup comprised its founding members, vocalist Dennis Lyxzén and drummer David Sandström, as well as guitarists Kristofer Steen and Jon Brännström. Their lyrics were often of a non-conformist and politically far-left nature. The band released five EPs and three albums before initially splitting up in 1998.
Picturebook – Bilderbuch. Tatsächlich gibt es wohl kaum einen Ausdruck der die Musik der Indie-Folk-Pop Band aus Muri besser beschreiben könnte. Die Songs der drei Musiker wirken wie Bilder aus einem Fotoalbum, die in der Lage sind Erinnerung und Träume zu wecken.
Seit rund sechs Jahren begeistern sie ein breites Publikum. Selbst unter Fachleuten fand Ihre Musik Anklang und mit dem Gewinn des Swiss Top Awards 2000 wurde es Picturebook ermöglicht, ihre erste CD Still Water zu produzieren. Anschliessend folgten Konzerte in der ganzen Schweiz.
Scary Mansion is Leah Hayes. She lives in Brooklyn and writes music on her thunderstick. When Leah Hayes accompanies her fragile, cracking voice with the thunderstick, the result is reminiscent of Harry Smith Anthology folk: simple, breaking, and humble. When running it through a distortion pedal, the noisy, feedback-y texture is closer to Royal Trux or Sonic Youth. Leah Hayes's melodies are always beautifully wrought and melancholy, and her voice has the expressiveness and simplicity of Will Oldham or Cat Power.
From the confinements of four bedroom walls in the West Midlands, Scott Matthews produced the music that made him the first artist to be signed to record label San Remo Records in 2004. As a Wolverhampton-born singer/songwriter Scott has captivated audiences across the Midlands and beyond. On the 2nd of October 2006 he released his debut album Passing Stranger. At seven years old Matthews aquired his first guitar, a junior-sized 'Kapok' acoustic (which he still has), although things didn’t quite go to plan.
Grey Reverend is the solo project of singer/songwriter/composer L.D Brown. His music is best described as "simple songs about the more complicated things in life". Based in Brooklyn, NY, he has been working on this project as well as collaborating with other songwriters and composers from around the world. A large portion of these collaborations have been done with the U.K.-based group, The Cinematic Orchestra (TCO).
Anathallo is an indie band originally from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, now mostly based in Chicago. Anathallo utilizes a wide variety of instruments, including horns, guitars, drums, piano, bells, and even unconventional objects like chains, velcro strips, stomp boxes, and pipes. The band has released several recordings through Selah Records, a vinyl release through Potential Getaway Driver, as well as completely independent releases.
Mark Fry's second album, Shooting The Moon, was released in January 2008, 35 years after his debut, the 1972 psych-folk classic Dreaming With Alice, recorded in Rome, Italy. In 2000, Akarma Records bootlegged the album as a CD, with a sleeve closely resembling that of Donovan's Barabajagal. In 2006, Sunbeam Records reissued the album in both CD and gatefold vinyl with the original cover artwork. The rediscovered Dreaming With Alice has been hailed as "a defining masterpiece of psychedelic folk".