Marty Willson-Piper

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News

Mark Wilkin, Noctorum drummer, killed in motorbike accident in May

It is with great sadness that I have to report that Mark Wilkin, Noctorum drummer, who played on the first three albums, was tragically killed in a motorbike accident on May 6th near Helston in Cornwall. It’s taken a while to report this as I didn’t really know how to say it. Mark was a lovely man with the poshest accent and although we hadn’t seen him recently due to the rather large gaps between recording Noctorum albums we will always remember him fondly and gratefully for his musicianship and good vibes. Condolences to friends and family.

Anekdoten Gigs 2018

I will be performing with angular Swedish Progressive Rock masters Anekdoten in 2018, starting at the beginning of June in Italy and playing two shows, one in Milan and one in Rome before heading to Bergen in Norway later that week. In August we will be at the beautiful Château de Villersexel in France and later in the year we will be in Scandinavia with a show confirmed at the prestigious Nordic Music Days festival in Helsinki. This will be the first appearance in Finland for Anekdoten in 12 years and we will be in serious historical company following in the footsteps of Edvard Grieg who performed at the first edition of Nordic Music Days 1888, Jean Sibelius appeared in 1919 and now it’s time for Anekdoten in 2018, 130 years after the first event.

Tickets: anekdoten.com/tourdates

 

Spirit Level Record Store Day Photos

I hope everybody had a wonderful Record Store Day and got everything they wanted. I had to pay over the odds for David Sylvian’s Dead Bees On A Cake and ended up getting it twice in the frenzy of securing a copy. Many people told me they had found a copy of SPIRIT LEVEL – check out their photos:

If you’d like to be included in this gallery, send your photos to olivia@martywillson-piper.com

US Tour 2018 – Gallery & Thank You’s

Live at the Cutting Room, New York City, 22/02/2018

Live at Colony, Woodstock, 20/02/2018 [Audio]

High As A Kite, San Francisco, 13/02/2018

Gig Gallery

THANK YOU to an amazing band:

Olivia Willson-Piper (Violin, Cellolin & Backing Vocals)
Don Piper (Acoustic Guitar & Backing Vocals)
Hannah Moorhead (Bass & Backing Vocals)
Patti Hood (Harp in Los Angeles)
Rory Mackenzie (Drums in Los Angeles)
Jonny Cragg (Drums in Seattle)

And everyone who made this tour possible:

John Bechtold
Trevor & Tricia Boyd
William Buras & Julie Bell Buras
Denny Burkes
Bucks Burnett
John Caldwell
John Cole & Mo Serrao Cole
Jonny Cragg, Cindy Howlett & Domino
Aram Delgado
Marc Geiger & Leilani Sarelle
Rachel Gutek
Dean Hunter
Steven Koontz
Steve Lang
Jeanne Laudon Stahlman
Patti & Mike Lindsey
Sarah Henry
Dare Mason
Salim Nourallah
Dennis “Spyder” Rhodes & Cynthia
Melani & Ed Rogers + TV GENERATION
Robert Rankin Walker
…among others…

Thanks to everyone for coming, singing along, spreading the word, being enthusiastic, contributing photos and videos and buying merch! Until next time!

RECORD STORE DAY 2018: Spirit Level on Vinyl!

Marty Willson-Piper Record Store Day Release 2018 Spirit Level

SPIRIT LEVEL ON VINYL!!!

As Record Store Day approaches we are excited to announce the imminent re-release on clear vinyl of Marty’s 1992 album SPIRIT LEVEL through SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS out of North Carolina.

Only previously available on CD and long deleted, the album comes with a gatefold sleeve and features lyrics and photographs taken from the original artwork (Photos by Håkan Lindell).

This super limited release of 500 copies can only be purchased at participating stores on April 21st, 2018 and only in the USA.

Stores listed here: http://recordstoreday.com/Stores
http://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/9948

Spirit Level:

I Can’t Cry
Will I Start To Bleed 
Turn Away To The Stars 
Luscious Ghost 
Scandinavian Stare 
Can’t Ever Risk An Openness With You
Even Though You Are My Friend 
Adelle Yvonne 
The Saddest House In Stockholm
Kiss You To Death 
Melts My Heart

“SPIRIT LEVEL was recorded at Dream Machine Studio in Stockholm, Sweden, in the early nineties with trusty friend, Noctorum collaborator and producer Dare Mason. On the previous album Rhyme we took the tape recorder into a room, unpacked it and set it up as a temporary creative space. This time we went into a proper studio and were grateful for having a sofa and a kettle.”

“We befriended Stockholmer Anders Hernestam who plays drums with two of Sweden’s most well-known acts, Thåström and Weeping Willows. Anders also played with the more recent MOAT project (the collaboration with German-Swede Niko Röhlcke). Recently relocated, now Swedish resident, American ex-pat Michael Blair who had played with Elvis Costello, Lou Reed and Tom Waits also contributed drums along with bass sessioneer Matts Alsberg on I Can’t Cry. Other Swedish luminaries appear throughout the album, including Mats Ronnerstam on the rest of the bass and Martin Rössel on slide guitar on Even Though You Are My Friend.”

SPIRIT LEVEL is a more organic album than its predecessor and includes the atmospheric Scandinavian Stare, fan-favourite Luscious Ghost and the aforementioned I Can’t Cry (covered by the high-cheek-boned Charlie Sexton, presently Bob Dylan’s long time guitarist). A French setting for Adelle Yvonne and the gentle catharsis of Will I Start To Bleed, back to Scandinavia for The Saddest House In Stockholm and to warmer climes and the River Nile for Melts My Heart with its hypnotic primitive beat, exemplifying an eerie yet accessible beauty that pervades all of the songs on this captivating album.