Salt House [folk]

‘Awfy Bonnie’ Roddy Hart, BBC Radio Scotland

‘Light and quick, profound and full of care, it is an album of serenely balanced opposites.’ Folk Radio

‘A gentle lulling delight’ The Guardian

Salt House has been a mainstay of the folk scene for almost a decade. New songs that sound as if they’ve always been here. Ancient ballads woke up. Poems given the melodies they’ve long deserved. Songs about place, politics, landscape and birds.

Their latest releases (‘Working for Zeus’ and ‘Huam’) – produced by Andy Bell and released on Hudson Records – have seen them solidify their reputation as fine interpreters of words both old and new. Salt House are Jenny Sturgeon, Ewan MacPherson and Lauren MacColl.

The Salt House sound is carefully honed – melancholy viola entangled round rich vocals and double-guitar interplay. There’s a sense of place in their music – with the band based between the Scottish Highlands and Shetland. Taking their name from a dock in Ewan’s native Liverpool, Salt House draw on a wide range of influences from their varied backgrounds in folk, singer-songwriter and traditional music. Whether it’s on the festival stage or in an intimate theatre, the band share their songs with an empathy that has won them fans far and wide.

More about the band members:
Singer, guitarist and keys player Jenny has a PHD in seabird ecology. Described by R2 Magazine as ‘a singer-songwriter who brings together the old and new with a rare skill.’  Her solo project ‘The Living Mountain’ based on the writing of Nan Shepherd was recently released to wide critical acclaim.

Ewan has brought his sound to a myriad of bands and projects in Scotland over the last 25 years since graduating from LIPA. His long awaited solo project ‘Hushman’ showcases his own songwriting and arranging with a host of guests.

You can hear the Highlands in Lauren’s elegant bowing, honed while performing with the quartet RANT, Heal & Harrow and in her own right. Her latest solo work will be her 5th solo album to date.

‘Wonderful… a trio of exceptional talent’ Folk Radio UK

‘Effortless’ Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music

LINEUP
Ewan MacPherson – vocals, guitars
Jenny Sturgeon – vocals, keys, guitar
Lauren MacColl – fiddle, viola, vocals