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Young Folk Award Finals on Mike Harding
As you may know, we were competing in the Radio 2 Young Folk Awards on the 4th at the Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House, London. For those of you who were not lucky enough to get tickets, the finals will be broadcast on Mike Harding’s show this Wednesday the 9th of December, on Radio 2 at 7pm. All the acts were absolutely brilliant so this special hour and half long programme will be well worth a listen. The winner was James Findlay, a traditional English singer, fiddler and guitarist from Dorset http://www.myspace.com/jfindlay.
BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award Finalists!
Just to update you all – we made to the finals! They are held on the 4th December in London. You can find out more about the other 5 finalists at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/events/young-folk-awards-2010/
Wish us luck!
Laura and Charlotte
Radio Devon this Sunday
Hello all!
Just a quick note to say we’ll be on BBC Radio Devon (103.4FM, 94.8FM, 95.8FM, 96FM, 104.3FM & DAB or online at www.bbc.co.uk/devon/local_radio/ ) this Sunday the 27th of September 2009 with John Govier. The show is between 14.30 and 16.30.
Happy listening!
Charlotte and Laura
Young Folk Award 2010 Semi-finalists!
A couple of weeks ago we sent off our entry for the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award 2010 and were very excited to recieve a ‘Succesful’ letter on Friday! There are 12 semi-finalists who will perform at the Civic Hall in Stratford upon Avon on the 10th of October for a place in the finals on the 4th of December. Only 6 entrants go through so wish us luck! http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/events/young-folk-awards-2010/
A few CD reviews
We are starting to get some great reviews for our latest CD Jupiters Corner. Here’s what we’ve got so far.
From Maverick Magazine (www.maverick-country.com)
The Carrivick Sisters
JUPITER’S CORNER
Self-Released
*****
Demonstrating rare instrumental and vocal superiority that puts their colleagues to shame.
This being their third album, English band The Carrivick Sisters have made quite a name for themselves in such a short space of time. Currently on tour in Canada with having played at Glastonbury 2009 and soon to appear at the Didmarton Bluegrass Festival, this is one duo which is going places with more accolade heaped upon them due to the release of their new album.
Consisting of eleven self-penned and one traditional track, the width and breadth of their talent is immeasurable. For a start, Charlotte plays three instruments with Laura expert on four. And, if that wasn’t enough, their fine writing and instrumental abilities are evident on such tracks as Song for the Year. With an Americana/folk beginning on mandolin, it has such a simple sound about it as it sings about the changes in the world around us during the seasons. Not so easy when you think about it, but here this process is executed with such love and sweetness that it makes you listen just that little bit more attentively. Beginning with some serene banjo strumming and fiddling, the albums title track demonstrates what fine instrumentalists the sisters are, and it has to be stated that the said attempts are as fine as I’ve ever heard. The historically provocative Stars, which makes their audience imagine the world when it was a much simpler place, has that observational quality held dear to the hearts of many Maverick readers. It seems that, what with the current trend of overcomplicating tracks by using too many instruments/machines in its mix, all you really need is a couple of voices and just one or two instruments to make a fantastic song; Stars is certainly an example of this and, gosh, what a fine track it is.
With several tours happening all around the UK until the end of the year there is really no excuse not to see this talented pair performing their material which really is some of the best heard by this reviewer for some time. RH
From Rambles.NET (www.rambles.net)
The Carrivick Sisters,
Jupiter’s Corner
(independent, 2009)
Jupiter’s Corner
(independent, 2009)
Twin sisters Laura and Charlotte Carrivick have, since a tender age, been immersed in music together. Their style is based in bluegrass but also has a strong English folk influence. This new album, their third, features 11 original tracks and one traditional song. Sensitively mixed by Joe Rusby, it also features guest musicians John Breese on banjo and Jeremy Carrivick on guitar.
The Carravick Sisters’ musical talent is undeniable. They perform their songs on guitar, fiddle, mandolin, dobro and clawhammer banjo. Often artists of such ability focus on pure technical skill to the detriment of soul, but fortunately the sisters have plenty of both.
None other than Ralph McTell said of them, “The girls sing and play as one and their work is characterised by great musicality. They are not only very talented instrumentalists and singers but they write really good songs as well.”
The old-time song “Darlin’ Corey” kicks of the album; it’s one of the best versions I have heard of this, and I’ve heard most of them. The vocals on the album are shared between the sisters, with them taking turns with lead and harmony. The vocal harmonies are strangely beguiling, perhaps because they are twins.
“Stars” and “Song for the Year” are deceptively simple songs with a warmth all of their own. The latter track is an uplifting ode to the seasons. “The William & Emma” and “The Herzogin Cecile” recount true stories of shipwrecks from the sisters hometown of Salcombe.
“The Sticky Bread Set” includes two original toe-tapping instrumentals tied in with the old Scottish tune “Darked Haired Youth.” One part of the set titled “Sticky Bread Made a Black Hole in My Kitchen” must share best song title with Clive Batkin and Joel McDermott’s “Don’t Touch My Pig.”
The sisters’ love of their natural surroundings is evident in “Only Hills” and is tinged with a nostalgic melancholy in the beautiful “The Old Apple Tree.” “All the Times” is a very personal song, as is “Slip Away” in a totally different way. The obligatory train song “Waiting for a Train” is a cracking bluegrass number as is the final tune, “Jupiter’s Corner,” which is an upbeat instrumental.
Jupiters’s Corner is an album littered with enticing tunes and songs from the heart, a must for all bluegrass and English folk lovers. Simply put, this is the best new album I’ve heard for a long while.
From FAME (www.acousticmusic.com)
Ralph McTell isn’t very well known on these shores but in England he’s revered as a saint of the United Kingdom folk movement. The guy released a number of LPs, and his songs have been fairly well covered by others. Thus, when he recommends someone, it only stands to reason we’re talking about exceptional achievement in the genre. Well, he’s speaking up for the Carrivick twins and has plenty of reason to.
Charlotte and Laura Carrivick are musical prodigies, playing almost everything on this CD: guitar, mandolin, clawhammer banjo, dobro, cello, and fiddle as well as covering the vocals. Only two cuts usher in a guest artist, yet each track sounds like a spontaneous and long-rehearsed ensemble of top drawer players, so well do the two know precisely what they want to say in each song. Every number is quite traditional, though only two compositions are actually taken from the olden catalogue, the rest written by one or both of the sisters.
The air here is at one with what Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Fotheringay, and other Brit folk-madrigal groups were doing in more fidelitous genre moments, and the girls have even opened for such acts as Curved Air, the legendary progrock band. Later this year, they’ll be touring with Eliza Carthy, Martin Simpson, and McTell himself, yet here’s what’s really intriguing: both are deeply in love with American bluegrass, their true root of inspiration though it sounds otherwise due to the riveting fusion of the two cultures. We’ve seen this before in rock and blues, and the result of such trans-Atlantic exchanges has always been extremely profitable.
That’s the case here. Your ears will deceive you, and you’ll swear you’ve heard the songs previously, but you haven’t. Then you’ll quickly warm to the common ground in their nuanced flawless playing. Next, you’ll be sitting enraptured, floating in a pool of balmily familiar waters just like the koi fish in the very cool cover painting provided by…have you guessed it?…yep, the Carrivick Sisters. Is there anything these young ladies can’t do?
Canada/USA!
Hello everyone!
We leave tomorrow for Canada where we will be performing at the Vancouver Island Music Festival (www.islandmusicfest.com) where we played last year and feel very fortunate to be going back to such a fantastic festival again this year, and also at the Harrison Festival of the Arts (www.harrisonfestival.com). After that we’re heading down to Colorado for Rockygrass, we’re not playing but Charlotte is entering the mandolin contest and Laura is entering dobro and fiddle so wish us luck! Because we’ll be away for a while (until the 29th July) we won’t be able to send out any CD’s you may have ordered, so please be patient – we’ll send them as soon as we get back!
Laura and Charlotte
Jupiter’s Corner Released!
Good news! It’s finally out and available to buy. This latest release feature 11 original tracks and one traditional song. The album was mixed by Joe Rusby at Pure Studios. On the album Laura is playing fiddle, dobro, guitar and cello and Charlotte is playing guitar, mandolin and clawhammer banjo. Jupiter’s Corner also features guest musicians, John Breese (banjo) and Jeremy Carrivick (guitar). Enjoy!
Welcome
Welcome to what is to be the new Carrivick Sisters site! Still in progress at the minute but check back soon and it should all be sorted.
Charlotte and Laura
