Painted Sky announce debut album From The Blue

Painted Sky
Painted Sky

‘To the shore, only when, the tides will bring us home again’

After making waves with their first EP, Dawn, Painted Sky’s debut album From The Blue stands as a testimony to the sibling duo’s 20 years of making music together.

George Brandon (guitar/vocal) and Holly Brandon (fiddle/vocal) have both worked on individual projects, with George performing solo and Holly, perhaps best known as part of transatlantic folk band The Magpies, but the siblings have always been drawn back to each other’s playing. In their debut album, grown from the bedrock of a lifelong repertoire, new material blends seamlessly with old favourites.

Forged from a traditional lineage, From The Blue balances musical conservation, whilst being unafraid to bring tradition to the modern day. It breaks genres open to create whirlpools of indie rock, dance beats and gypsy jazz. The result is an album with a refreshing sea view, where waves of contemporary textures and arrangements create a debut that arrives truly from the blue.

The album opens with ‘Devil Is The Sun’, an original sea shanty underpinned by driving rhythms and hooky riffs. It falls unexpectedly into exquisite gypsy jazz inspired tune ‘Ktsat Savlanut’. ‘Lakes of Colfinn’ and ‘The Key’ retell traditional ideas, juxtaposing folk concepts and styles with modern harmonies and structures. These contemporary renditions sit comfortably either side of toe-tapping jig, ‘The Three Tuns’. Bodhran from Evan Carson brings to life the bustle and riot of the Bristol pub this original instrumental is named after. A stripped back and thoughtful rendition of the classic ‘False True Love’ showcases the siblings’ harmonies and lingers with a melancholy, like the ghost of the lover lost to the song’s tragic protagonist.

Overall From The Blue delivers traditional songs and ideas with a refreshing mindset. Songs of love and death flow into the expanse of timeless British folk, sparkling with contemporary treatment.

Produced by award-winning singer-songwriter Blair Dunlop, who also plays banjo, bass and electric guitars on the album, From The Blue will be released on Gilded Lily Records on 22nd May 2024. Painted Sky will be celebrating the release of their album by accompanying Blair on his nationwide UK tour this Spring 2024, alongside headline album launch shows in Bristol and London in May.

Thursday 23rd May – To The Moon, Bristol
Sunday 26th May – The Green Note, London

‘And with the whales we will sing, in the deep this song for you, in the ocean from the blue’

Artists’ website: paintedskyfolk.weebly.com

‘The Unquiet Grave’ – official video:

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