Releases
Stornoway - Beachcomber's Windowsill Instores June 29th
4AD presents the label debut from Stornoway, Beachcomber’s Windowsill, which is currently #4 on the UK iTunes chart (#1 Alternative) and poised to debut impressively on the national chart.
Five years in the making, the album is a labour of love that includes over a hundred different instruments: the chimes of a Dutch church bell, one Morse Code message and the sound of several carrots being chopped. More importantly, it is an album of extraordinary beauty, that is by turns fiery and wistful and
exuberant, and that marks out Stornoway as Britain’s most talented young band.
In the last 12 months, they have acquired the support of Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, played Radio 1’s Big Weekend, wooed the crowds at Glastonbury, found themselves shortlisted for Radio 1’s Sound of 2010, played a sold-out UK tour and appeared on Later… With Jools Holland.
The core of the band are Brian Briggs (guitar, vox), Jonathan Ouin playing keys and strings and brothers Ollie and Rob Steadman on bass and drums respectively. Augmenting the quartet for live performances are Brian’s brother Adam Briggs on brass and Rahul Satija playing violin.
Stornoway are endowed with a natural ability to write that very earthy, rooted kind of song; mined deep from the land it was conceived in. Their choral harmonies and use of strings and improvised instruments is also reminiscent of US bluegrass, but what sets them apart and gives them their further mysterious magnetism is singer and songwriter Brian Briggs exceptional ear for that very distinctive of sounds – the
British pop melody.
To stream music, please visit www.myspace.com/stornoway and www.stornoway.eu
For more information, please visit www.4ad.com and www.beggarsgroup.ca
“Poignant and enduring.” – The Observer
“Stornoway tug at every emotional fibre in the body.” – NME
“Our new favourite band.” – The Guardian
“The first great album of the summer.” – The Times
“It’s hard not to be felled by the utter gorgeousness of this record.” – BBC
“Like a blast of sea air that hits you as you alight an overnight train.” – Mojo
“‘Watching Birds’ is surely the most vibrant song ever written.” – Financial Times
“Truly billows the heart.” – TheTelegraph
Stornoway began quietly one freshers’ week at Oxford University, when lead singer and principal songwriter Brian Briggs approached Jon Ouin (keys/banjo/electric guitar/cello) and asked if he happened to like Teenage Fanclub. They began playing music together soon afterwards, in the dining hall of Wolfson College and immediately set to work on their own fledgling compositions. A short while later they were emboldened enough to enter the college talent competition, where they were runners-up to a group of Norse singers, and received a consolation prize of a large bowl of fruit.
2010 is already shaping up to be a strong year for Stornoway, one to match their not inconsiderable successes of 2009. Being booked for an unprecedented four stages at Glastonbury, a headline slot on the Introducing Stage at Radio 1’s One Big Weekend, playing to fans Jay-Z and Dave Grohl on Later…with Jools Holland and hosting their own sold-out show in Oxford’s magnificent Christopher Wren
designed Sheldonian Theatre among the highlights.
January saw the Oxford ‘Faux Pop’ songsmiths being credited with the enviable accolade of a position in the highly influential BBC Sound of 2010 tastemaker poll. It is rare that the BBC gets its predictions wrong and previous early tips from them have all gone on to achieve greatness. The band are now moving on from being phenomenally credible, independent, unsigned artists to signing to 4AD and
releasing their debut album.
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