Silk Mill - Glenaphuca Album Tour

“Vocals to melt the hearts of angels” FRUK.

Alt Folk artist Lewis Barfoot announces her headline Irish and UK tour to celebrate the release of her debut album, Glenaphuca released in March 2021. A gorgeous album that condenses modern maturity into a melodic simplicity.  Tonight Lewis will be joined by Essa Flett on Fiddle and Jarltha Mulholland on Clarinet. Expect exquisite harmonies and gently uplifting melodies to warm your heart and sooth your soul. “A Terrific Debut” – FATEA. “Balm For The Soul” – Lillian Smith, RTÉ1. 

Described by Folk Radio UK as: “The delightful sound of a musician who is both an accomplished composer of original material and a torchbearer keeping alive traditional styles and song, Unequivocally enjoyable, Glenaphuca is an absolute treat”. The tour includes dates in Cork, London, Brighton, Frome and Stroud with a scattering of intimate house concerts along the way. Featuring popular singles White Dress, Sweet Dreams, Fisherman as heard on RTE Radio 1, Raidio na Gaeltacht, FRUK and across BBC Radio. Lewis works with an uncomplicated loveliness of sound, blending ethereal, evocative vocals with original compositions and reinventions of traditional songs from Ireland and the UK. Frequently compared to the likes of Kate Rusby, Sandy Denny, Maíre Brennan and Julie Fowlis.

Glenaphuca

Glenaphuca is a folk prayer to the ancestors. Poignant and profound, melancholic and beautiful, Lewis muses upon life, death, loss and the silenced feminine voice with the deepest grace. “There is nothing dark, dreary or morbid about this album, because Lewis knows that those who are gone before us are with us, are our constant companions. I think you will also find much beauty in this remarkable album” (Seán Laffey, Irish Music Magazine). In White Dress, an elegiac lament for Lewis’s mother, she ponders life after death, with The Fox and Twa Corbies she honours the natural cycles of death in nature and in Sweet Dreams she celebrates a life that has passed. “It is difficult to believe that this is a debut album, such is its assured quality”  (FRUK). “It won’t be long before this hugely talented artist is well known in her own right” (Jonathan Roscoe).

Glenaphuca was produced by Lewis at Soup Studios, London and mastered by Pete Maher.  Featuring guest musicians Elisabeth Flett (Fiddle), the late Matt Dibble (Clarinet, Piano), Hannah Thomas (Cello), Maria Rodriguez Reina (Cello on White Dress), Ansuman Biswas (Percussion) and Jonny Huddersfield Helm (Drums). Having previously performed in Irish folk ensemble Rún, Lewis has since cut her teeth as a solo artist on the London folk circuit, appearing regularly for institutions such as Nest Collective before moving back to her maternal home of Ireland.

Supporting Lewis Barfoot Currer Bell are an alt-folk duo and 21st century Victorian philosopher witches. In real life, they go by Faron and Merle, sisters who’ve grown up spinning tales and playing music together. They were homeschooled and often felt like modern Brontës, living on a windy hill and spending our days in the company of books and made-up characters.

Their music is influenced by the folk tradition, and lyrics are often inspired by the literature they love. They started gigging in 2016, and toured as a support act, all the while writing original material. More recently, they became founding members of the all-female Kerchief Theatre, composing and performing music for interpretations of classic folktales. Last year they recorded and produced their debut EP, Lullabies for an Apocalypse, which features renowned drummer Gary Husband. The songs are a ragtag band of stories about catastrophes, personal, public and planetary. Inspired by classic writing and myth, they wanted to spin these timeless yarns to address modern issues.

Glenaphuca album review highlights

• “A Terrific Debut” (Mike Davies, Fatea Magazine)
• “The delightful sound of a musician who is both an accomplished composer of original material and a torchbearer keeping alive traditional styles and song” (David Pratt, FRUK)
• “There is nothing dark, dreary or morbid about this album, because Lewis knows that those who are gone before us are with us, are our constant companions. I think you will also find much beauty in this remarkable album” (Seán Laffey, Irish Music Magazine)
• “A balm for the soul” (Lillian Smith, RTÉ Radio 1)
• “That’s rather splendid” (Mark Liveridge, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire)
• “It is difficult to believe that this is a debut album, such is its assured quality”  (FRUK)
• “An arrestingly good vocalist and song writer”  (John O’Regan, Living Tradition Magazine)
• ‘Underlying the whole album are Lewis’s undeniably beautiful, crystal-clear vocals, vocals that could melt the hearts of angels.  Unequivocally enjoyable, Glenaphuca is an absolute treat. More please’ (David Pratt, FRUK)
• “Lewis’ vocals rest in the same lovely featherbed as Triona Ni Dhomhnaill, Marie Brennan of Clannad and Capercaille’s Karen Matheson” (Folking, Bill Golembeski)
• ‘A gorgeous album that condenses modern maturity into a melodic simplicity’ (Folking, Bill Golembeski)
• “It won’t be long before this hugely talented artist is well known in her own right” (Jonathan Roscoe)

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