Reviewers of the Madrid-born, Chicago-raised, Cornwall-based singer/songwriter’s previous albums have repeatedly alluded to her “relative obscurity” (The Big Takeover) and “under-the-radar” (The Vinyl District) profile.
Sarah McQuaid: The Tug Of The Moon (Single)
Release Date: November 3, 2017
Label: Shovel And A Spade Records
Genre: Folk/World/Acoustic/Singer-Songwriter
Cat. No: SAASCD0011
The
Tug Of The Moon is the first single from IF WE DIG ANY DEEPER IT COULD GET DANGEROUS, the fifth solo album
by UK-based singer/songwriter Sarah
McQuaid. Produced by guitar icon Michael
Chapman (memorably described in The Guardian as “the godfather of new
cosmic Americana”), the album will
be released worldwide on Friday 2 February 2018. The single is being released
for radio and online streaming only, and is not available for sale, but is
included as an immediate free download with pre-orders of the new album, which
open this week.
Sarah
shares: The album features what I’m
convinced is by far my best batch of original songs and instrumentals ever ...
plus another co-write with the wonderful Gerry O’Beirne, an arrangement of the
medieval chant “Dies Irae” and a cover of Jeff Wayne’s classic “Forever
Autumn”. In addition to my custom-made Andy Manson and 1965 Martin D-28
acoustic guitars, I’m also playing electric guitar (a lovely Ibanez Artist
model that Michael’s kindly given me on long-term loan) and piano!
Click
on http://www.sarahmcquaid.com/listen__buy/ to see pre-order options
including vinyl LPs, test pressings with original hand-drawn artwork, CDs, T-shirts
and a beautiful 30-page hardcover book containing behind-the-scenes photographs
and reminiscences from the album recording sessions, photo shoot and video
shoot.
Inspired
by the leap second added last New Year’s Eve, “The Tug Of The Moon” morphs scientific
fact into a poignant and heart-rendingly emotional waltz-tempo ballad (see
lyrics overleaf), with Sarah’s rich voice accompanied only by her own plangent,
tremolo-enhanced fingerpicking on an Ibanez electric guitar given to her by
Michael Chapman on long-term loan.
“The precision and sophistication of the writing and playing blows me away. I am so glad to be involved,” Chapman writes in his liner notes for the album. The legendary singer-songwriter and guitar sage (whose January 2017 Steve Gunn-produced release 50 has drawn widespread acclaim) first met Sarah when both artists played the Village Pump Festival in 2014. Since then, he’s become a staunch friend and supporter, even performing as Sarah’s opening act at a local concert he and his wife Andru arranged for her a few months after the festival. Sarah became a regular visitor to the Chapmans’ farmhouse in Cumbria, and during one visit he made her an offer she couldn’t refuse: “We were having a chat and a glass of wine, and he said ‘Why don’t you let me produce your next album?’,” Sarah recalls. “I’m glad he said it, because I’d never have dared ask otherwise!”
While
the single (like Sarah’s live concerts) is a solo performance, Chapman does
play on many of the other album tracks; guest musicians also include Roger
Luxton on drums and percussion, Samuel Hollis on upright and electric bass,
Richard Evans on trumpet, Georgia Ellery on violin and Joe Pritchard on cello.
A
video for “The Tug Of The Moon”, filmed in St Buryan Village Hall by Cornwall-based
filmmaker Mawgan Lewis of Purple Knif Productions, is due to be released later
this month, and will be followed by other music videos, plus a promotional
video featuring album recording footage and interview clips with both Michael
and Sarah. The video production and the album itself have been made possible
thanks to financial support from Arts Council England Grants For The Arts,
using public money from the Government and the National Lottery, and from
Cultivator, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund, the
European Social Fund, Arts Council England and Cornwall Council.
Recently
honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ards International
Guitar Festival, Sarah’s also drawn critical praise for her voice
(variously likened to malt whiskey and melted chocolate) and her
engaging rapport with audiences: “I’ve attended hundreds of concerts
of all kinds, and her subtle mastery onstage launches her straight into my
fave shows ever,” wrote The Huffington Post.
Reviewers of the Madrid-born, Chicago-raised, Cornwall-based singer/songwriter’s previous albums have repeatedly alluded to her “relative obscurity” (The Big Takeover) and “under-the-radar” (The Vinyl District) profile. With her new album – on which she expands her battery of instruments to include piano and the aforementioned electric guitar – she looks set to change that.
If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get
Dangerous will be launched with a concert at the Acorn arts centre
in Sarah’s adopted home town of Penzance on Thursday, 25 January, following
which she’ll be touring the album extensively in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands,
Germany and the USA.
Thurs January 25, 2018 - The Acorn, Penzance (Parade Street, TR18 4BU)
(Album launch)
Fri January
26, 2018 -: Limelight Theatre, Aylesbury
(Queens Park Arts Centre, Queens Park HP21 7RT)
Sunday
January 28, 2018 - The Black Robin Inn, Folk In The Barn, Kingston (Covet Lane, Canterbury CT4 6HS) £12 Event
Monday
January 29, 2018 - Colchester Folk Club, Colchester
Arts Centre (Church Street, Colchester CO1 1NF)
Tues January
30, 2018 -: The Roses, Tewkesbury (Sun
Street, GL20 5NX)
Weds January
31, 2018: Pavilions Teignmouth, Teignmouth
(The Den Crescent, TQ14 8BG)
Fri February 2, 2018 - The Poly, Falmouth (24 Church Street TR11 3EG)
Sat February
3, 2018 -: The Millpool Centre, West
Looe (PL13 2AF Looe)
Sat Feb
4: The Square and Compass, Worth
Matravers (Swanage, Dorset, BH19 3LF)
Thurs February
8, 2018 - The Brindley Studio, Runcorn:
(High Street, Runcorn, Cheshire WA7 1BG) Event
Sat February
10, 2018 - Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal, Bath
(Sawclose, Bath BA1 1ET)
Pre-order music merch
IF WE DIG ANY DEEPER IT COULD GET
DANGEROUS: Digital Album, Compact Disc & CD/ Vinyl Bundles - https://sarahmcquaid.bandcamp.com
CONNECT with Sarah McQuaid:
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