Today, acclaimed guitarist, singer-songwriter and storyteller, Martin Simpson, unveils ‘New Harmony,’ the second single from his forthcoming album, ‘Skydancers,’ out April 12th on the historic Topic Records label, which celebrates its 85th anniversary this year.
‘New Harmony,’ written by the “old-time” American fiddler/banjo-player/guitarist and singer-songwriter, Craig Johnson, draws on Martin Simpson’s transatlantic dispositions and storied history with American folk music, as explored on last year’s guest-packed collaboration with American producer/guitarist Thomm Jutz, ‘Nothing But Green Willow: The Songs of Mary Sands and Jane Gentry.’ Of the track, Martin shares with us its inspiration:
“The folk tradition can often supply you with the song you are struggling to write. My friend, Josh Michaell, of Mill Valley, CA, likes to find songs for me. He is really good at it. He sent me the recordings of the late Craig Johnson, who was an immensely talented old time musician. He was a great fiddle and banjo player but equally fluent on the guitar. His repertoire included renditions of Skip James’ blues, which are very hard to sing and play convincingly, in addition to dance tunes and songs from Riley Puckett and other stars of the 1920’s recording boom. From time to time, Craig would find it necessary to write a song and he proved to be a major, if not regular, songwriter. Josh brought ‘New Harmony’ to my attention and it is, I think, a beautiful depiction of a Winter road trip through Indiana. It is classic Americana. Craig only made one record, which was released in 2009. He died that same year. He wrote ‘New Harmony’ during and after a Winter road trip through Indiana, thinking of his father and grandfather, the latter having been born in New Harmony, IN.
‘Skydancers’ is Martin’s 12th full length solo record for Topic since 1992 (his 15th album, if you include collaborations). Recorded by Tom Wright and Andy Bell in Simpson’s hometown of Sheffield, ‘Skydancers’ collects new, Simpson-penned originals alongside 18th century broadside ballads and reverent reworkings from the songbooks of, amongst others, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Woody Guthrie, Nancy Kerr and June Tabor.
‘New Harmony’ is available to stream and download on all digital platforms today:
https://found.ee/NewHarmony
‘Skydancers’ is available on double CD/vinyl/download/stream on April 12th, 2024.
Pre-order here: https://martinsimpson.lnk.to/skydancers
