EDDI READER

New album ‘Vagabond’ out February 7^th, 2014

& Irish Tour Dates Announced

The new Eddi Reader album, Vagabondis released by Reveal Records on February 7th 2014. Recorded by Mark Freegard in Eddi’s hometown of Glasgow with a cast of well chosen musicians and friends eager to play their part in this, most captivating, deeply personal yet universal sounding album. Vagabond was produced by Eddi Reader and features many of her long-term musical collaborators including: John Douglas (Trashcan Sinatras), Alan Kelly, Ian Carr, Ewen Vernal, Roy Dodds (Fairground Attraction), John McCusker and Boo Hewerdine.

In Eddi’s own words –

“I have been on a journey with this set of recordings. Two years ago, I began writing and playing with ideas on John’s new piano. Well, I say “new” – it’s a second-hand, small Zender piano. I’d never heard of that make, but when we got it tuned, the fella said that they use this kind of piano to train the piano tuning students. Often, if they got bad marks, the saying goes that they had to ‘return to Zender’. After I kicked him out of my house for that terrible joke, I sat down and began falling for its sweet tone and I attempted to learn my way around it. The guys in the Edinburgh music shop who sold it to me told me that Tom Waits had been in the shop earlier and sat playing on it for a half hour then bought another one. Mr Waits was playing Edinburgh that night, so it seemed plausible. It’s a lovely piano nonetheless. It took me all the winter of that year to become acquainted with the idea that I was writing and that I should start recording. I did, but only the odd day here and there. 2012 was a wonderful and weird one. John and I got married on 8 June. With that we are both blissful, but in other things we were challenged. John developed an incurable illness and we were distracted by health issues and family troubles. I took a while to steady my feet about all of that. Then by the end of the year, I knew I needed to pull the fellas together and try recording live – if only to bring myself back to land. The good news is John is walking the road to recovery and will get better. No fear or doubt! Buíochas le Dia! The recording sessions progressed throughout January 2013, (it’s the best time to grab everyone as most are at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival) and they were amazing. We all squeezed into Mark Freegard’s Kyoti studio with Roy Dodds (drums) and Ewen Vernal (double bass) creating an engine for Boo Hewerdine’s steady rhythms (guitar) to steer through the songs with me (singing) sometimes playing guitar or piano, Ian Carr (guitar) soloing and Alan Kelly (accordion) floating in and out of everything. I recorded around 26 songs and had to choose 12 as 26 won’t fit on a CD. This new album was supposed to be 12 songs that flowed well together but I couldn’t bear to leave some off. So I got John to choose. When I protested he would say, “Those songs are on the next record”. We compromised on 14.”

Eddi grew up in Glasgow and Irvine, Scotland and it was in those towns that she learned to use music as a vehicle for communicating with others through busking and performing at the local folk clubs. In the early 1980s, Eddi travelled around Europe with circus and performance artists before moving to London where she quickly became a sought after session vocalist. She famously harmonised with Annie Lennox touring with the Eurythmics, after her time with successful punk outfit Gang of Four. It was short-lived but warmly remembered Fairground Attraction that really brought her into the limelight and to the attention of a much wider audience. The single “Perfect” and parent album First of a Million Kisses both topped the British charts.

However, it was her subsequent albums which signalled her increasing ability to assimilate different musical styles and make them all very much her own. Her unerring instinct for fine material, whether self penned, collaborative or a carefully chosen cover version resulted in Mirmama (1992), Eddi Reader (1994), Candyfloss & Medicine (1996), Angels & Electricity (1998), Simple Soul (2001).

Eddi tours Ireland in February of 2014;

Tuesday 11 February                         Galway Town Hall, Galway – www.tht.ie

Wednesday 12 February                   Theatre Royal, Waterford – www.theatreroyal.ie

Thursday 13 February                       Vicar St, Dublin – www.vicarstreet.ie

Friday 14 February                             Mullingar Arts Centre, Meath – www.mullingarartscentre.com

Sunday 16 February                           Hawkswell, Sligo – www.hawkswell.com

Monday 17 February                          The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon. Leitrim – www.thedock.ie

Wednesday 19 February                   Grain Store, Ballymaloe, Shanagarry, Cork – ballymaloegrainstore.com 

Thursday 20 February                       Siamsa Tire, Tralee, Kerry – www.siamsatire.com

Friday 21 February                             Glor, Ennis, Clare – www.glor.ie

Saturday 22 February                         Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge , Kildare–  www.riverbank.ie