Top 40 Official Folk Chart success for THE IMPOSSIBLE WILD
the new debut album from
THE LAST INKLINGS
THE LAST INKLINGS have hit the Official Folk Charts Top 40 this month with their debut album The Impossible Wild! A fantastic achievement, not just because it's their debut album, but as there were 10 new entries this month, a quarter of the chart and the highest number in the chart's history, and from some big names too, including Ferocious Dog, Karine Polwart and Grace Petrie!
We are now seeking featured album and interview spots for the band.
*New debut album The Impossible Wild out now
* Top 40 chart position in November's Official Folk Chart
* All tracks available for immediate radio play
* Three singles have been released - Hunter's Folly, Sleeping Giant, and Vespers
*All reviews and radio play welcome
* The Last Inklings are available for interviews and live/pre-recorded radio session
THE LAST INKLINGS are Leonardo MacKenzie and David Hoyland, both accomplished multi- instrumentalists with a solid folk background. The band's innovative sound crosses genres, centred around cello, mandolin and vocal harmony, layered with guitar, piano, strings, synths and percussion. With vibrant backstories and creative musicianship, their songs have a modern flavour that is rich with imagery and narrative, exploring at their core what it is to be human.
The new 12-track debut album, The Impossible Wild, explores the role of nature, myth and superstition in the modern world. The album is a wonderful celebration of storytelling that uses symphonic arrangements and narrative lyrics to conjure up a variety of themes and imagery. Through the lens of music and metaphor, The Last Inklings explore contemporary issues including mental health, personal wellbeing and growth, and our impact on the environment.
Speaking about the concepts behind the album, Leo and David say:
“Story and myth have always helped us to define who we are, and they are just as relevant today.” say David and Leonardo. “In many ways, these old stories have lost their meaning in society and have been replaced by consumer narratives in TV and film. Our detachment from true myth and meaning could be a reason why we have become so far removed from our natural state, which has left us more vulnerable to mental health issues. Yet we have the power to shape our own lives if we can learn to live outside our ego, whilst recognising and rebalancing our place in the world.”
“All stories have power, but the stories we tell about ourselves have the most.”
Three singles have been released from The Impossible Wild this year, all accompanied by hand made stop frame animations made by the band themselves who put the long months of lockdown to good use learning and refining these new skills. While conceived as stand alone stories, the videos were written to flow seamlessly into each other and will be combined into a short film. The videos draw on the themes of nature and the supernatural that are woven through the debut album and reference specific landscapes in the band's native Dorset.
Hunter's Folly takes the traditional song Hunting the Hare and flips it on its head, with the hunter becoming the hunted. Sleeping Giant is an extended metaphor which uses woodland creatures to explore themes of grief and mortality. And Vespers parallels the cock-stride ghost myths with contemporary mental health issues.
The Last Inklings - The Impossible Wild - hand made animated video trilogy
BIOGRAPHY
The Last Inklings, Leonardo MacKenzie and David Hoyland, are former members of Kadia who performed a mix of traditional and original folk inspired songs with their debut release East Of Alexandria (2015) featuring in the Telegraph’s Top Folk Albums.
Leonardo MacKenzie is a classically trained cellist with 15 years of live session work in studios across the country alongside producers including Mark Tucker (Portishead, Jethro Tull, Show Of Hands, Fairport Convention); and musicians such as Ninebarrow (BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Nominees) and John Parker (Nizlopi, Ward Parker).
David Hoyland began his musical career as a percussionist playing drums in jazz, blues and rock bands. With a largely grass roots musical education and experience of songwriting, David now also runs Impossible Audio, a studio offering mixing, mastering and composition for film, TV and video games soundtracks.
The Impossible Wild is available now to purchase and stream from Bandcamp and all digital outlets.All reviews and radio play welcome. Please let us know if you intend to feature the album so we can share on our socials.
We are now seeking featured album spots. Please get in touch to arrange a phone interview or live/pre-recorded radio session.
