Storm the Charts!

The Red Clay Halo and I have a chance of getting into the Top 40 UK charts next week with our song Nostalgia!
But we need your help to make it happen.

Nostalgia was chosen 1st (!) amongst hundreds of songs to be a part of an incredibly ambitious campaign called Storm the Charts.

You can read what Storm in the Charts is all about here: http://stormthecharts.wordpress.com/about/

But in a nutshell, it's aim is to get 40 songs by independent musicians into the UK charts for the week starting tomorrow 27th June until 4th July (the charts are usually dominated by those on major record labels.)

How you can help make this happen...

1. We ask if you could please download Nostalgia for 79p from iTunes or Amazon online stores. Here is a list of all the 40 artists and where you can buy their songs from (including ours): http://bit.ly/stormitunes
But please don't use this until midnight tonight though!

2. You can also help by telling your friends and family about it. Forward them this email, post the link above on your facebook page, twitter it, blog it or just tell people you see.

To prepare ourselves for a potential chart experience I called upon director/film-maker Al Mackay (Bales, Good Men of Leicester) to do us a music video for Nostalgia.
Thanks to Al and also Jody Vandenburg (The Tunnel) we've finished the film the day before downloading for Storm the Charts commences.

Thank you very much for your help everyone.

Emily x

The new 'Nostalgia' film by Al Mackay

Storm the Charts begins this Sunday 27th June!

And we've got our new video for Nostalgia all set to go thanks to director and camera man Al Mackay (Good men of Leicester, Bales.)

It was made in a rapeseed field belonging to farmer Alan Robinson of Welland Valley Oil.

With your help we have a strong chance of getting into the charts.
The Storm the Charts campaign group – numbering over 30,000 members on Facebook so far – has chosen not one old favourite, but a list of 40 original songs from bands who aren't on major labels and haven't charted before (of which we are one.)
They are asking all music fans to check out the list and download any they'd like to see in the chart – or as many as they can – in hope of taking as many slots as possible for independents between Sunday 27th June to Sunday July 4th.
Here is the list: http://bit.ly/stormfinal40

Please download Nostalgia and help us Storm the Charts grassroots style!

Little Deaths- photos, tour and film.

Photo by Daniela Terrazzini

Hello there.
Some of you will know that we're currently recording our 3rd album. The single is going to be 'Little Deaths' which you may have heard live before. It is due for release on the 4th October this year.

A couple of weeks ago a team of 8 women all had an adventure to Norfolk to make a film for 'Little Deaths.'
Apart from The Red Clay Halo and I, there was...
Our director Poppy Jackson
Our camera woman (film and photos) Patti Gaal-Holmes
Our makeup artist Bunny Allen
And our photographer and illustrator Daniela Terrazzini

Take a peak at the photos below to see what we got up to...
(Photos by Patti and Jo)


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

And here is our 'Little Deaths' tour in October just announced!

Fri 16th July at 4:15pm @ Larmer Tree Festival, Dorset
Tues 5th Oct Leeds, Oporto
Wed 6th Oct Sheffield, Boardwalk
Thu 7th Oct Aberdeenshire, Tin Hut
Fri 8th Oct Teesdale, Club Cotherstone
Sat 9th Oct Barnsley, Womb Well Folk
Sun 10th Oct (afternoon) Doncaster, Folk Delivering Hope
Sun 10th Oct (evening) Liverpool, Leaf Tea Shop
Mon 11th Oct Bristol, Pindrop @ Bristol Music Club
Wed 13th Oct Leicester, Donkey
Thu 14th Oct London, Exmouth Market Church Hall
Fri 15th Oct Nailsworth, Ruskin Mill
Weds 20th Oct Petersfield, St Peters Church (duo with Gill)

A morning of meandering...

I took the morning off.
I'm in London staying with a friend just off Kingsland Road N1.
I went for an eastward stroll along the Regent's Canal.
The sunlight illuminated peculiar underwater objects: traffic cones, shopping trolleys and bicycles all wrapped up in algae like alien parcels.
Plastic bags floated eerily through the water, breathing in and out like jelly fish.
Cootlings and their parents waded over this strange world and bright, blue dragonflies tumbled their reflections through the sunlight.


A hoola hoop packet and an onion bobbing.
Kids in kayaks crashing into the bricks of the towpath wall.
The sun on my back heading east along the Regents canal.

The Tunnel by Jody VandenBurg

"In the middle of the industrial wasteland in South East London lies an unsung piece of comedy history: The Tunnel Club."

I watched this film last night about the underground comedy scene in South East London in the 1980's.
It is beautiful and sad and hilarious and I thoroughly recommend spending half an hour watching it.



And it has been shortlisted for the Film London Best of Boroughs Awards.
You can watch the full film here as well as vote for it too...
http://filmlondon.org.uk/best_of_boroughs/the_tunnel/

London single launch announced!

Photo by Patti Gaal-Holmes

Date: Thursday, October 14, 2010
Time:7:00pm - 10:30pm
Location: Exmouth Market Church Hall (5 mins for Angel Tube)
Street:24 Exxmouth Market, EC1R 4QE London, United Kingdom

Arctic Circle & Brill present:

Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo with Adrian Crowley
DJ J Max Brill

The first single due off her new album is due on 4th October 2010 / Second single & album due 31st January 2011.

VERY LIMTED TICKETS. £8 in advance:
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/85429

www.myspace.com/adriancrowley
www.jointhecircle.net

Come down early for tunes and autumnal ales, ciders, meads and wines provided by The Betsey Trotwood.

Spring Watch

Recently I've discovered the delights of the Spring Watch webcams. I have become slightly obsessed and find myself checking in on the nestlings every hour or so: http://www.bbc.co.uk/springwatch/webcams/
I also just found this beautiful flickr stream of people home-documenting the fauna and flora of spring.



For the full photostream visist: http://www.flickr.com/groups/bbcspringwatch/pool/

Some photos by Ian Scott Kettle...

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Our Pledge Campaign

To fund our last album, Despite the Snow, we did a handful of wonderfully varied house gigs all over the country. This was a fantastic success not to mention a lot of fun. Thank you to all who generously hosted us.
This time around to fund what will be our 3rd album, we're going through Pledge Music.
Pledge Music provides fans and artists with the opportunity to work together to make new records and raise money for charity. Through our Pledge page you will be able to hear the new music as we make it, share some unique experiences and participate in the recording process.
Our aim is to raise £3000 to contribute to our recording budget. From this we are going to donate 10% to Friends of the Earth.

We really hope you get involved, your support is really appreciated.

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/emilybarkerhalo

Little Deaths

Tomorrow a group of us will head out to Norfolk to commence filming for our single-to-be 'Little Deaths.'
The Red Clay Halo and I will brace the wind and rain on Holcombe beach with Patti Gaal-Holmes on the camera, Bunny on the make-up and Poppy Jackson, a performance artist, as our director.
Poppy has come up with the idea for our little film. Here are the first two pages of her storyboard below...



And here is a picture of the 5 meter-long dress Poppy has made for me to wear when perched half-way up a Norfolk pine tree...


We shall reveal more of the film-making process during and post our adventure to Norfolk tomorrow.
Little Deaths is due to be released as a single this coming October.
Emily x

Coffee shop worker's music career perks up after TV exposure

A FORMER Finsbury coffee shop worker has been catapulted to the top of the charts after one of her songs was used as the theme tune to a hit TV drama.

Rising folk star Emily Barker, 29, has all but quit her day job at Brill coffee house and record shop, in Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell, swapping lattes for a life on the road.

Last year her song Nostalgia was picked to open the BBC's flagship Sunday night detective serial Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh.

The exposure has seen the Australian and her backing band The Red Clay Halo gain Radio 2 airplay and a string of top festival appearances.

Emily, who until recently lived on a house boat on the Regent's Canal, said: "It's been amazing. We were top of the iTunes singer songwriter charts and Amazon folk charts for weeks.

"I'm independent - it's my own label so it has been quite slow-burning. We were never expecting to have a big break.

"A lot of opportunities came from working in Brill. A TV producer asked us to play at his house in Tufnell Park for a house party. The composer for the series was there. He rang two days later and said 'what's the name of that song you played at the end - can I use it for this new show with Kenneth Branagh?' I've never had a TV in my life, so I'd never even heard of him!"

The all-female band is currently touring the UK before heading into the studio to record their third album.

"I still have stints at Brill from time to time - partly for the cash flow but mainly because I love it. It's a great vibe on Exmouth Market. There's a real community and I think Brill is a big part of that."

Proud shop owner Jeremy Brill, 49, added: "Emily's incredibly committed about what she does. She takes it seriously but at the same time she's a lovely person. I'm pleased for her and hope it will grow and grow."

Coffee shop star quits daily grind! | News

This article appeared today in the London Evening Standard...




To read it online please go here
Now that, my friends is grind-breaking news...
eeeww, terrible, terrible pun sorry about that.
Have a lovely weekend.
Emily

Bright Ava our ray of sunshine last Sunday afternoon.

Last Sunday afternoon we did a house gig to celebrate Laryssa's birthday and her 4 year old friend Ava got up and sang 'Bright Phoebus' with us. It bought the whole room to tears she was so sweet!