The self-titled debut EP from JANICE BURNS & JON DORAN is out now, and it's a thing of real beauty, we're sure you will agree. It was recorded live on location by David De La Haye and features stunning artwork by Clare Armstrong.
And Janice & Jon will celebrate with an EP launch at the prestigious MANCHESTER FOLK FESTIVAL this Thursday evening (21st November).
The EP features five tracks, kicking off with Song of the Fishgutters, which was originally written by Ewan MacColl as part of the BBC Radio Ballads series. This song was featured on Singing the Fishing, released in 1960, an episode which followed the lives of the men and women from East Anglia and North East Scotland working in the herring trade.
The second track, Sir Richard's Song, was originally a poem by Rudyard Kipling, set to music by Peter Bellamy. Janice & Jon learned the song from James Fagan, and their arrangement retains a lot of features from his version with Nancy Kerr. It was the first song Janice & Jon sang together as a duo and has remained a favourite.
Then come three traditional tracks: Glasgow Peggy, a Scots ballad which the duo learned from the singing of Ewan MacColl on his album The English and Scottish Popular Ballads Volume 2: Child Ballads; Georgie, which they learned from the singing of brothers Levi and Jasper Smith, travellers from the South East of England; and finally Ploughboy's Dream, a song that was collected in 1907 from Daniel Wigg in Hampshire. The words were written down by George Gardiner, assisted by Charles Gamblin who notated the melody.
JANICE BURNS & JON DORAN are an Anglo-Scottish duo who formed in 2017, after discovering a shared love of traditional music. They find their songs in archives that span the depths of our history; songs that, regardless of age, tell vivid stories about the nature of life, from the ethereal landscapes of ancient ballads to the urban rhythms of work songs. Their compelling storytelling comes alive through tight vocal harmonies and sensitive interplay between mandolin and bouzouki, with arrangements that balance intricacy with energy. Their dynamic performances are a celebration of their own musical and geographic backgrounds, embracing the differences that connect them.
The duo met whilst studying folk and traditional music at Newcastle University, spending one year at the University of South-East Norway together. These experiences allowed them to hone their craft whilst expanding their audiences further beyond the UK.
All radio play is welcome, whether you're BBC Radio 2 or a little hospital radio station, or anything in between. Please do let us know if you plan to play one of the tracks from the EP and we'll make sure it's added to our list.
Janice & Jon are also very happy to do phone interviews, or selected live/pre-recorded sessions. Please contact Ant Miles on 07837 881941 or ant.miles@fancourtmusic.com to arrange this.
All five tracks are suitable for radio play, and can be downloaded in MP3 or WAV format via the button below. Also available is the EP artwork. If you need anything else at all, please don't hesitate to ask.
