Tag: bishopskin

The upcoming debut by avant-folk nine-piece Bishopskin is shaping up to be something really special and unlike anything we heard before. They already have shared a couple of amazing songs, and now we get the final album teaser, a groovy “Mother’s Steel Bike”.

The single would be a part of Babble, which is set for release on October 13 via Isolar Records and was written in collaboration with band clarinettist (and qualified priest) Tati Gutteridge (who also shares lead vocal duties). Detailing the halcyon memories that informed the track’s meaning, band frontman Tiger Nicholson explains:

“Before I was old enough to go to school my mother would have to cycle me in to drop two of my elder sisters off – I on the front of her bike and my twin sister on the back. As is common with early memories, they are often made by an unconscious blending of one’s own young memories, and the colours of our beloved ones’ memories. I conjure up a smaller, snot-nosed me, singing nonsense into the wind. My mother would say I’d sing this way a lot before I could talk”.

Stream below and get the song here.

Formed as a lockdown project by vocalist/artist Tiger Nicholson and guitarist James Donovan (formerly of HMLTD), Bishopskin is now a nine-piece supergroup that does not have any boundaries or limits of expression in their music. They just go for it and embrace all the references and ideas in their songs, be that a blend of English pastoral folk, blues, punk, 19th Century Romanticism or mediaeval hymns.

Their new one is special as well. On the eclectic “Stella Splendens” the band mixes 14th Century Latin hymn with modern Ukrainian folk-pop (similar to Go_A, ONUKA or DakhaBrakha). With clarinettist/vocalist Tati Gutteridge taking lead vocal duties on the track, it is an exciting piece of underground avant-garde folk.

The single was recorded at North London’s Hermitage studios, engineered/produced by Matt Cooke and mixed by Jake Cartwright (Jockstrap). It would be a part of Bishopskin’s upcoming debut album Babble, which is set for release on October 12 via not-for-profit label Isolar Records.

Listen below and get the song here.

In a musical landscape where there are no borders in terms of genres or any formalities, it is only natural that such collectives as Bishopskin appear on the scene. Formed as a lockdown project by vocalist/artist Tiger Nicholson and guitarist James Donovan (formerly of HMLTD), it is now a nine-piece supergroup of sorts that plays, as described, a blend of English folk, blues, punk, 19th-century romanticism and Medieval hymn.

They have just put out a new single “Hey Little Sister”, which is equally innovative and adventurous. It floats neatly and all the elements are organically combined here. It is not all about avant-garde as well, the track has that pop element and driving hook that makes the listener come back to it after listening. A successful experiment from the unique band — hopefully we will get more soon.

Check it out below and find the song on all streaming platforms here.