After recently announcing their hotly-tipped sixth studio album ‘Carried In Sound’ with the wondrous lead single “Vanishing Line“, alt-folk duo Smoke Fairies continue the support for their forthcoming full-length with the emotive new offering “Seek It With Me“.
Much like what we experienced with “Vanishing Line”, this new outing conjures up a beautifully serene and tender atmosphere throughout. Honing more of that warm and immersive aesthetic the duo have cultivated since they first emerged, “Seek It With Me” stands as a bright and alluring addition to their next LP.
Adding about the new track, they said, “Full of hope for the future, this song celebrates love with the invitation to seek and build a home together. When the worries and uncertainties of the world swirl around it looks inwards to the joy of feeling like you’re filling the room with love. We can’t know what the future holds so we just have to close our eyes and jump to see where we will flow.”
To celebrate the release of ‘Carried In Sound’, Smoke Fairies will also embark on an intimate five-date tour across the UK taking in spectacular churches and ruins. See below for the full list of confirmed dates and find more information HERE.
Smoke Fairies UK Tour Dates:
21st Nov – Portsmouth, Square Tower [Sold Out]
22nd Nov – Nottingham, Metronome
23rd Nov – London, St Matthias Church [Sold Out]
24th Nov – Leeds, Hyde Park Book Club [Sold Out]
25th Nov – Manchester, St. Michaels [Sold Out]
Smoke Fairies’ sixth studio album ‘Carried In Sound’ will follow on from their highly-praised 2020 LP ‘Darkness Brings Wonders Home’, which was applauded by the likes of Mojo, Clash Magazine, Q and many more.
Smoke Fairies is a project founded on friendship. Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies have known one another since they were kids, forming a band to escape the humdrum of high school. Over time, it’s become the one true constant in their lives – moments of joy or sadness may pass, but there’s a permanency to Smoke Fairies, and what it adds to their soul. On new album ‘Carried In Sound’ the duo prove themselves to be utterly self-reliant, moving through a pandemic, home recording, and true independence to forge something completely faithful to their ambitions.
Recorded in a terrace house with the volume dialled down to protect the neighbours, the results have a curiously intimate, hushed appeal. A record that feels remarkably self-contained, ‘Carried In Sound’ is truly special, marked by audio invention, and a desire to speak nothing but the truth. A break from their former work, the album carries a very unique form of magic.
“It wasn’t particularly odd for us to make a record in isolation,” Katherine notes. |But we had so much personal stuff going on – losing family members, for example. We wanted to explore themes of grief and loss in a way we hadnt done previously. We tried to be very raw.”
It’s a record marked by their incredible experiences. Two kids who made their way to New Orleans to uncover the blues, Smoke Fairies became the first UK band to sign with Jack White’s Third Man imprint, later recording with the man himself. Releasing two hugely successful albums on the mighty V2 Records, they’ve sold out countless UK tours in the process. Now working on a completely independent basis, fans were kept in the loop through the process of recording this album via their Patreon subscription page – it’s a true community. “Our journey through music has really been this rollercoaster, with all sorts of ups and downs,” says Jessica. “But we’ve settled on something now which is balanced and positive – we do everything on our own terms. It feels incredibly empowering to be able to say that.”
Limitation became a means of invention. Digging a jumble sale keyboard back out of the cupboard, Smoke Fairies would use whatever came to hand for ad hoc percussion – bin lids, old suitcases, and a broken snare drum borrowed from their nine-year-old neighbour. “I love the sound of things that are broken,” Katherine says. “We didn’t make it easy for ourselves… but we wanted it to be unique.”
Blurring the lines between autobiography and storytelling, ‘Carried In Sound’ is enriched by their own experiences. Written with specific spaces – and a specific audience – in mind, it will be accompanied by an intimate UK tour, frequently making use of church spaces. A complete aesthetic statement, it often moves like a perfume – scarcely perceptive in its subtlety yet conjuring profound memories. “Music is a spiritual place – it’s a place of shelter,” Katherine affirms. “There’s something about the process of being quieter that can be a bit more considered.”
Moving away from their past, ‘Carried In Sound’ embodies something timeless. Forged through friendship, it’s a series of happy accidents, radiating a joyful sadness. “Everything happens for a reason,” Jessica notes.. “But equally, everything is a reaction.”
“We’ve done this record completely on our own, and this feels important,” Katherine says. “It proves that we’re enough.”
Album track listing
Vague Ideas
Vanishing Line
Carried In Sound
There Was A Hope
Seek It With Me
Sticks and Stones
Part Of It All
2022
Perseus
Come To My Mind
Seek It With Me (instrumental)