The EP will be released via Folkroom Records on March 18.
With her debut EP, Lucy Cait brings a very London take on folk music. If the cliché of folk is one of ethereal sounds and woodland imagery, Lucy Cait is redefining her corner of the genre with the clunks of the underground pulling into King’s cross, and the imposing cold steel structures that hang over her local Deptford.
Having made an impact supporting the likes of Catherine Feeny and Melodica, Melody and Me, Lucy Cait starts 2013 with the release of her debut EP, ‘Gabriel’s Wharf’ through Folkroom Records. Named after a corner of London’s South bank, the EP opens with the title track – a strange and hypnotic song that captures the city’s beguiling nature.
Infused with these city sounds, ‘Gabriel’s Wharf’ stands out as being of a different class to other efforts by young female singer-songwriters in the genre. Whilst others are influenced heavily by Laura Marling and Joni Mitchell, Lucy readily admits to having a musical background set far apart from the genre she works in. She never listens to Dylan, and hadn’t even heard of Mitchells’ ‘Blue’ album until her own record was done and dusted. Brought up on the music of John Legend and Kanye West and, more recently, Johnny Flynn and Warpaint, Lucy found herself able to create a form of folk music that is entirely her own.
Its folk yes, but ‘Gabriel’s Wharf’ doesn’t share any of the immediate influences that can be heard elsewhere in the genre. Named after a weathered arts community in South London, soundtracked by a north London tube journey and with photography of the shadowy steel monsters of Deptford, ‘Gabriel’s Wharf’ is an EP that takes its heart not from the music that preceded it, but from the city that gave birth to it.
You can see Lucy live on the following dates:
March 22 – Elbow Rooms, Camden
March 23 – Abany, Deptford (supporting Eska)
March 27 – EP Launch, Paper Dress Vintage
The trailer video for the EP, as produced and premièred by the 405, is also available to view here: