XS NOIZE – UNSIGNED SHOWCASE #7 – KELLY OLIVER

XS NOIZE – UNSIGNED SHOWCASE #7 - KELLY OLIVER

At XS Noize, new music is dear to our hearts and we believe that genuinely talented fresh artists deserve a platform to share their material with the world. As such, we will now be showcasing one unsigned act every week, hand picked from submissions by Tom Day for the world to hear. Great news for all you audiophiles out there, but more importantly for those who’s voices deserve to be lifted from the crowd.

This Weeks Artist:

Kelly Oliver

For Fans Of:

Karine Polwart, Show of Hands, Lau, Jewel

In Her Own Words:

Alongside acoustic guitar melodies and notes of Irish storytelling, Kelly Oliver includes harmonica, self-taught, which has led to sponsorship from leading brand HOHNER.

This Land, released in October 2014 features legendary fiddle player Dave Swarbrick, as well as BBC Folk Award Nominees Sunjay and Luke Jackson. Kelly has appeared live on BBC regional stations, including BBC London radio in an interview with Gaby Roslin. Her singles ‘Diamond Girl’, ‘Jericho’, ‘Rio‘ and ‘Same World’ have enjoyed numerous regional BBC and local radio plays, including on BBC Radio 2’s Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe, Bob Harris’ BBC Radio 2 Sunday show and Chris Hawkins’ BBC 6 Music show

The Royal Holloway graduate has gone from strength to strength since the early days of open mic at her university. Upon finishing her studies, Kelly travelled through Europe and South America, before throwing herself into penning music.

2014 saw 4* album reviews from R2 Magazine and The Telegraph Music and ‘This Land‘ was included in The Telegraph’s 68 Best Folk Albums of 2014. It also earned a nomination for FATEA Magazine’s Best Debut Album of 2014. Festival credentials include Larmer Tree Festival, Rhythms of the World andaking her first live TV appearance on London Live. In October 2015, Kelly was awarded Best Female Solo Artist at the Cambridge NMG Awards, along with an upcoming slot at Secret Garden Party in 2016. She was also a BBC Introducing guest on The Mark Forrest Show, was which broadcast to all 40 regional BBC stations.

Kelly was thrilled to record for the Whispering Bob Harris Broadcasting Company and be interviewed by Bob himself for his “Under The Apple Tree Sessons”, and has just been announced for the line up for Bob Harris’s first ever festival Under the Apple Tree Roots Festival which is taking place at the end of May at Silverstone Woodlands.

Kelly has just finished recording her second album, with her singles ‘Jericho’ and ‘Miles To Tralee’ attracting rave reviews and write ups from The Telegraph and Folk Radio UK, for whom her second album Bedlam is a featured album of the month. She is working with producers Nigel Stonier (Thea Gilmore) and Stu Hanna (Show of Hands) (Megson)and the album is due for release by Folkstock Records on March 6th 2016. Her latest single ‘Miles To Tralee‘ was out on 20th November and you can listen to it below.

Kelly has recently finished her UK tour as Thea Gilmore’s official tour support and is about to embark on her own headline UK tour starting at the end of January and running to the end of March with a return to Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage on the last date 31st March.

Featured Tracks:

“Bedlam”

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“Miles to Tralee” 

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/227953251″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Featured Video:

“Miles to Tralee” 

Why Tom chose Kelly for the showcase:

I rarely hear a folk artist being championed outside the specialist press, those you do are usually well established within their niche. Once in a blue moon I hear something worth sharing and Kelly’s music is just that. I’m unsurprised that she’s managed to get sponsorship from the likes of Hohner with her high and sweet voice and poignant and traditional storytelling style. She’s far from commercial, but Kelly has the potential to go far in the folk circuit.

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Avatar for Thomas S. Day
Thomas S. Day 93 Articles
Fav Band: Bombay Bicycle Club Fave Album: Black Holes And Revelations - Muse Email: tom@xsnoize.com

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