Folk princess Kim Thompsett releases ‘Woebetide Hill’

Britain’s mystical folk music heroine Kim Thompsettis not one to beat around the bush. On the same day that she is releasing her‘Woebetide Hill’ single, she announces ‘Moonchild’s Lullaby’ as the second single off her sophomore album ‘The Hollows’.

Exploring themes that are rooted in nature, mysticism and the arcane, this album was four years in the making. At last, it will be released on CD, vinyl and digitally. As a taster for the fuller record, Thompsett previews these two captivating tracks with a vintage sound that, combined with Kim’s voice, sends the listener on a trip to past eras.

The album artwork was especially commissioned and created by Gary Williamson. In the video for ‘Moonchild’s Lullaby’, this work is magically brought to life by the prodigious skills of animator James Wright. 

“We settled on the concept of bring the album artwork to life, including some of Kim’s suggestions (e.g. critters moving across the landscape, stars twinkling, and pushing snowdrops from underneath). Here, we start underground and push up through the earth into the wood. We then continue through the woods till we arrive at the burial mound,” explains James Wright. 

“Everything in the video is cut out digitally from the original artwork except the cocoon hanging in the tree and the earth at the beginning screen. I used the cutouts to create separate planes, which allowed me to create perspective and of course more trees. I also managed to animate a few features of the artwork.”

Credit for recording, mixing, mastering and production of this album goes to Harvey Summers at Broadoak Studios in Bexhill, East Sussex, who is well known for his work with Sir Paul McCartney, Daniel Lanois, Moby, Steeleye Span, Pentangle, Ellie Ford, Danny Thompson (Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Nick Drake, Pentangle), Hossam Ramzy (Peter Gabriel, Led Zeppelin), Cutting Crew and Divine Comedy, among others.

‘The Hollows’ is the long-awaited follow-up to ‘Songs from the Uglee Meadow’, her debut album, released in 2008. Thompsett earlier released the single ‘Snowbound’, which also appears on the new album.

Upholding the momentum gained with her debut offering, ‘The Hollows’ evokes an archaic atmosphere and nuances of Celtic and medieval times. At the same time, it branches out into a more experimental and eclectic idiom with a more diverse range of instrumentation and more sophisticated production.  

Songs celebrating ancient connections with forest, with earth, with sky and with water – the shedding of ego and an immersion in the universe. The music itself is most reminiscent of the English folk of the ’70’s with a few other genres for good measure.

“I wanted to make an album that was primarily something I would enjoy listening to. If other people like it too, that’s great. Having come to fruition some ten years after the debut album, I wanted to ensure it was a natural progression from the previous work and that the songs were manifested in the fully-developed compositions that only the songwriter can hear during the creative process,” says Thompsett.

Kim Thompsett has been writing songs and performing, both solo and with various bands, for around 20 years. Her music has attracted a niche following of primarily pagan and traditional folk music fans with a penchant for nature and literary references.  

Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath and Paul Giovanni (The Wicker Man soundtrack) number among her musical influences, as do Circulus, Gong, Pamela Wyn Shannon, Beck Sian, Hexvessel, Cara Dillon, The Strawbs, Fairport Convention, Les Derniers Trouveres, Omnia, Priscilla Hernandez, Pentangle and Steeleye Span.

‘The Hollows’ album will be released via Meniscus Hump Records on May 31, but can already be pre-ordered via Bandcamp. As of April 30, the ‘Woebetide Hill’ single will also be available across online stores like iTunes and streaming platforms such as Spotify.

TRACK ORDER
1 Moonchild’s Lullaby
2 Snowbound
3 Soul Song
4 Woebetide Hill
5 Child of the Breeze
6 Strange Garden
7 Brocéliande
8 Hollow Hill
9 Hollow Tree
10 Say it with Flowers
11 Woebetide Hill (single)

‘Moonlight’s Child’ preview https://youtu.be/trbwEPywP10
‘Moonlight’s Child’https://soundcloud.com/ kimthompsett/moonchilds- lullaby-1
‘Woebetide Hil’https://soundcloud.com/kimthompsett/woebetide-hill-single-master
‘The Hollows’ LP orderhttps://kimthompsett.bandcamp.com/album/the-hollows
Snowboundhttps://kimthompsett.bandcamp.com/track/snowbound
Snowbound video https://youtu.be/cropX3HNu3M

Photo by Bryony Whistlecraft

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