Newly remixed, remastered and reissued, Hilary James' highly acclaimed debut album 'Burning Sun' is a magical and atmospheric blend of folk songs and originals with haunting words and melodies.

'Burning Sun', includes the spell-binding folk tales of 'The Two Sisters' and 'Polly Vaughan' alongside Handel's beautiful lament, 'Laschia Ch'io Pianga' sung with a bell-like purity. 

Studio guests include the basso profundo vocals of Hungarian singer Zoltán Kátai, Alan Whetton’s sublime soprano saxophone and Simon Mayor on mandolin and a host of other stringed instruments. 

The album was first issued in 1993 after Simon Mayor persuaded Hilary James to step out from behind the scenes where she had been working to release and promote Simon’s early mandolin albums.

Burning Sun - Musicians:

Hilary James vocals, acoustic, and electric double bass/mandobass.

Simon Mayor guitar, mandolin, mandola, mandocello, fiddle and whistle. 

Simon Mayor is one of the world's leading mandolinists as well as a fine fiddle player, guitarist, composer and wit. His live performances are a riot of humourous anecdotes and off-the-cuff wit alongside dazzling musicianship. Simon has produced a wealth of teaching books and DVDs, including 'New Celtic Mandolin' and 'The Mandolin Tutor', which is now widely regarded as the standard work for the instrument. He is also a regular columnist for Acoustic Magazine. A huge fan of fellow Yorkshireman, the late, great Jake Thackray, Simon often performs a special programme of Jake's songs….‘A Take On Jake’.

Zoltán Kátai vocals.

Zoltán visited these shores several times during the early nineties as a singer and lutenist with Hungarian folkgroup Mákvirág. He is an authority on Hungarian medieval historical and renaissance songs as well as an actor/musician, known for his appearances in historical dramas for Hungaran television.                                                                             

Brendan Power chromatic harmonica.

UK-based New Zealander Brendan Power is acknowledged by many as one of the most creative, skilled & versatile harmonica players around today. Equally at ease on both the earthy Blues Harp as well as the sophisticated Chromatic Harmonica, he tunes them to his own scales to create a highly original style. He has recorded fifteen solo CDs to date, in a wide variety of musical genres.

Since he moved to Britain in 1992, Brendan’s eclectic skills and sympathetic ear have made him an in-demand session player, leading to live and recording work with artists such as Sting, James Galway, Van Morrison, Paul Young, Shirley Bassey, John Williams and many more. His playing is also heard on many Hollywood movie soundtracks and UK TV series. He’s featured on the Jools Holland Show and toured worldwide, performing in venues such as China’s Great Hall of the People and The Kremlin. Brendan Power’s soulful harmonica features on the sound track to “Atonement”.

In addition to his Pop, Jazz & Blues skills, Brendan is an expert player of Irish traditional music (winning the 1993 All Ireland Title), and performed for three years as soloist in the Riverdance Show.  

Alan Whetton soprano saxophone.

Alan has played with Dexys Midnight Runners, Vin Garbutt, Howard Hughes, The Associates and many more.

Phil Fentimen guitar & double bass.

Phil is an old friend who played with James and Mayor in their first band ‘Spredthick’ from student days. He has also contributed to a number of albums made by Acoustics Records.

Andy Baum vocals 

A fellow member (with James and Mayor) of Slim Panatella and the Mellow Virginians.

One of the most stirring female voices in contemporary British folk music belongs to Hilary James. "One of Britain’s finest voices"  BBC Radio 4.

Spiritually rooted in folk song she may be, but her superb voice easily crosses the great musical divides and is equally impressive singing blues, torch songs and classical pieces by Fauré and Handel.  

Her albums have now been played across the media spectrum from BBC Radio’s 2 + 3 + 4 and The BBC World Service, BBC Regional to Classic FM as well as appearing on numerous radio playlists world wide.

Apart from her fine singing Hilary James is an accomplished double bassist, guitarist and mando-bassist  -  her enormous bass mandolin is now her trademark. She appears in concert regularly with long-time partner, mandolin virtuoso and multi- instrumentalist, Simon Mayor. You’ll usually find them as a duo, but they’re also half of Britain’s first modern mandolin quartet with Richard Collins and Gerald Garcia collectively known as The Mandolinquents.  

It was during a four year spell studying Fine Art at Reading University that her interest in music broadened and blossomed. Running the University Folk Club, she acquired a vast and diverse repertoire of traditional ballads, country blues, swing, bluegrass and classical songs. Her taste for the stage was further whetted by spells fronting the University Big Band and performances at the Edinburgh Festival with the University Drama Society. Student days over, she embarked upon a musical career which would find her touring throughout the world.

Her highly acclaimed debut album Burning Sun was a magical and atmospheric blend of folk songs and originals with haunting words and melodies. It reached the album playlist on BBC Radio 2. Plays followed on BBC World Service and stations as far away as Los Angeles and Latvia.  The album led to a video shoot in Hollywood with MTV award winning editor/producer Dan Lebenthal.

Love Lust & Loss, her follow-up, was an all traditional affair, a collaboration with improvisatory pianist Beryl Marriott. It prompted an equally appreciative press.
Q Magazine described it as "A powerful combination of improvisation and musical rigour" while Dirty Linen (USA) effused: "An exquisite piece of work...  a total joy”.

While these early recordings had been hailed as milestones in the interpretation of British folk song, her third album, ‘Bluesy’, was a daring departure and represented a side of her repertoire that had so far been largely neglected on CD. The supporting cast was extensive and included drummer Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson Band and Jethro Tull), legendary blues guitarist Ian Campbell as well as her long-time collaborator Simon Mayor on mandolin, violin and guitar. 

In tandem with her life as a professional singer, Hilary has always been keenly involved with music for children. After University she gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education and, with Simon Mayor, began writing and recording the Musical Mystery Tour series of albums.

These five albums have achieved true cult status among the young and not so young alike. The Musical Mystery Tour show began to tour internationally and recorded a couple of extended Christmas ‘specials’ for Singapore TV. 

In 1986 she began a six year period (alongside regular concert work) of presenting and writing for BBC Schools Radio and children’s television. Spin offs were frequent and varied! On more than one occasion she found herself writing topical songs simultaneously for such diverse outlets as Newsnight and Play School. She has now written over sixty songs for children and the Musical Mystery Tour series has reached its fifth album. 

The experience of working in radio proved invaluable to the independently minded James (she and Simon Mayor were among the first musicians to set up their own label back in 1979), and in 1996 the pair set up their own production company to produce the acclaimed series Marooned with a Mandolin, described as "the best programme on Radio 2 this week" by Gillian Reynolds in the Independent.  

Although she chose music as her career, Hilary is a keen artist and illustrator and her work can be seen throughout the CDs issued on the Acoustics label. She also illustrated her own song book for Faber Music. In November 2007 at ‘The Gallery’ in Ilkley, Yorkshire Hilary James enjoyed her first exhibition of paintings. 

For her most recent studio album ‘Laughing with the Moon’ (a return to her roots with a mix of traditional and original songs and tunes) the plaudits have pretty much gone off the scale.  Although it’s her fourth solo album, it features Simon Mayor's mandolin on four instrumental tracks. Her new CD for children (with Mayor), Lullabies with Mandolins has received similar glowing press notices. 

Her first solo album has just been remixed, remastered and reissued, Hilary James' highly acclaimed debut album 'Burning Sun' is a magical and atmospheric blend of folk songs and originals with haunting words and melodies.

'Burning Sun', includes the spell-binding folk tales of 'The Two Sisters' and 'Polly Vaughan' alongside Handel's beautiful lament, 'Laschia Ch'io Pianga' sung with a bell-like purity. 

Studio guests include the basso profundo vocals of Hungarian singer Zoltán Kátai, Alan Whetton’s sublime soprano saxophone and Simon Mayor on mandolin and a host of other stringed instruments. 

The album was first issued in 1993 after Simon Mayor persuaded Hilary James to step out from behind the scenes where she had been working to release and promote Simon’s early mandolin albums.

Hilary is currently recording a collection of English music, mixing traditional songs with new settings of English poetry. On the blues and jazz side of her output she is working on what she describes as jazzy-bluesy songs from an English perspective.

Hilary James: Discography:

2004     Laughing with the Moon                         CDACS 047       Solo

2001     Duos                                                     CDACS 042       Duo

1999     Bluesy                                                  CDACS 041       Solo

1996     Love, Lust and Loss                               CDACS 029       Solo

1993     Burning Sun                                          CDACS 016       Solo

With Simon Mayor & Simon Mayor’s Mandolinquents 

2007     Music From a Small Island                     CDACS 055

2007     Dance of the Comedians                        CDACS 056      

1998     New Celtic Mandolin                               CDACS 035      

1997     Mandolinquents                                      CDACS 034      

1992     Winter with Mandolins                             CDACS 015      

1990     The Mandolin Album                              CDACS 012

Children’s Catologue:

2005     Children’s Favourites                              CDACS 054       Duo

2004     Lullabies with Mandolins                         CDACS 048       Duo

  
Musical Mystery Tour, A Series For Children.

2000     Midsummer Market                                CDACS 040       Duo

2000     Snowmen & Kings                                  CDACS 039       Duo

2000     A Big Surprise                                       CDACS 038       Duo

2000     Up in a Big Balloon                                CDACS 037       Duo

2000     Gobble! Gobble!                                    CDACS 037       Duo

1990     Children’s Favourites from Acoustics       CDACS 054       Duo

Books:

1989     Musical Mystery Tour (songbook)            Faber Music      Duo

Hilary has also released music with Slim Panatella & the Mellow Virginians & Spredthick

See website www.acousticrecords.co.uk for full catalogue

Associated websites
Hilary James www.folksong.co.uk
Simon Mayor www.mandolin.co.uk
Acoustic Records www.acousticsrecords.co.uk
Children’s Music www.childrensmusic.co.uk

Pat Tynan Media
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Providing recorded music to associated media, radio producers, film and documentary makers.