‘Blow The Wind Southerly’ new album by Esbe in Peaceful Radio Show 1526
26 January 2023 Artists
Scroll down and click on photo for Esbe’s website.
Esbe steps into the magical world of a cappella folk songs on her eighth studio album, a
stylish creation of reinterpretations from the folk canon that are as unexpected as they are
beautiful. BLOW THE WIND SOUTHERLY showcases Esbe’s vocal dexterity with richly
layered harmonies and some melodic surprises. Esbe takes the listener to new places with
special reference to her engaging arrangements of ‘Scarborough Fair’, and ‘Sumer Is
Icumen In’ which opens the album. Perfectly recorded as always, Esbe sometimes treats
her multi-tracked vocals as choral groupings, and at other times as if the voice is a
sampled instrument, best shown in her vivacious and eccentric interpretations of ‘Three
Blind Mice’ and ‘Oranges And Lemons’.
From the quirky to the sublime, every song is re-created, as if written anew. And Esbe’s
unusual arrangements fit perfectly within the contemporary choral tradition whilst
displaying her own unique voice in this classical world. The tonal boundaries are redrawn
with new harmonies, sometimes changing with each verse as in the enchanting
‘Greensleeves’. As Esbe says,
“When I plan a new album, I have in mind the overall sound I’d like to explore. My last few
albums have been produced using orchestral instruments and electronica, but I wanted to
make this album all about the voice. I’ve sung these songs all my life, they’ve always been
there… I re-worked the harmonies and arrangements to give them a new twist, to intensify
their emotions, whether serious or frivolous. For the close harmonies on ‘Blow The Wind
Southerly’, I drew inspiration from both French composers such as Debussy, Ravel and
Poulenc, and Eastern European all-female choirs like the Bulgarian Voix Bulgares.”
In the song ‘Blow The Wind Southerly’, famously sung by Kathleen Ferrier CBE, Esbe
departs from a solo vocal rendition to compose heart-wrenching harmonies. Always with a
strong sense of the visual, she imagined a young woman, standing on a cliff in the
moonlight, wishing her lover would return safely from his ocean voyage. The sense of
urgency as she pleads with the ocean to bring his return becomes increasingly poignant as
each bridge chorus gains speed, after slower, more reflective verses.
To further enhance the atmosphere, Esbe has added some delightfully expressive field
recordings which engage the listener and enhance the setting for some of the songs.
Amongst others, a cuckoo heralds ‘Sumer Is Icumen In’, and ocean waves add a blustery
chill to ‘My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean’.
Each of the songs on BLOW THE WIND SOUTHERLY has a particular meaning for Esbe,
from the resonance of the familiar that we all share, to the classic gospel ‘Kumbaya’, which
Esbe fondly remembers singing with her mother as a child, and the 16th century ‘Coventry
Carol’. Usually heard with its medieval chord structure, Esbe has enhanced the reflective
melancholy of this Christmas carol with newly composed tightly wrought harmonies against
the recording of an old church bell.
For those who have followed Esbe’s releases during the past five years, each album is
produced with its own theme and soundscape. Ever changing and developing as both
arranger and producer, BLOW THE WIND SOUTHERLY was conceived as a pure a
cappella album, without orchestration or sound-bank samples. These have both been
strongly featured on Esbe’s previous albums, the serene, ‘I Might Be Dreaming’, which
featured filmic orchestral strings, and ‘Saqqara’, an interesting blend of contemporary
sounds, Middle Eastern vocals, and percussion. BLOW THE WIND SOUTHERLY is a
conscious departure from this production style, enabling Esbe to reacquaint herself with
her Royal Academy of Music training in composition and vocal scoring on manuscript
before recording. As Esbe says:
“I love exploring unexpected harmonies for well-known songs. I did this on my ‘lockdown’
album, ‘Under Cover’ where I picked some of my favourite pop and jazz songs and found
new ways to show them. Some of the songs on ‘Blow The Wind Southerly’ were built
around short vocal phrases whilst others were arranged in a more classical choral tradition.
For these, there was no ‘backing track’ to sing to, so I allowed the natural tempo to unfold.
This was a new way of working – to interpret as if singing live. I found a greater freedom of
expression to reflect on each phrase or word and its emotion.”
Featuring ten well known folk songs, including otherworldly recreations of ‘My Bonnie Lies
Over The Ocean’, ‘Oranges And Lemons’ and ‘Three Blind Mice’, BLOW THE WIND
SOUTHERLY releases through New Cat Music on 27 January, 2023.
Tracks ‘Blow The Wind Southerly’ / Esbe:
1 sumer is icumen in 2:54
2 blow the wind southerly 3:48
3 oranges and lemons 3:14
4 my bonnie lies over the ocean 3:46
5 scarborough fair 3:36
6 three blind mice 2:55
7 greensleeves 3:07
8 go tell aunt nancy 2:38
9 kumbaya 3:22
10 coventry carol 4:41
Total playing time: 34:01
Album Production
Arranged and produced by Esbe.
Mastered by Ian Jones.
Illustrations and cover art by Esbe.
Benno Veugen Blow The Wind Southerly, Esbe, Peaceful Radio, Peaceful Radio Show