If you’ve been paying attention to our YouTube channel lately, or keeping up to date with our amazing Facebook page, then you may have noticed that we have another brand new session to share with you all – this week seeing the turn of Indie-Folkster Martin Longstaff, more widely known as The Lake Poets.
I think it’s fair to say that the past year has been a fairly hectic one for Mr Lake Poet himself. After a death in the family gave him the impetus to pick up his acoustic guitar on a more regular basis, it wasn’t long before the demos recorded in his bedroom led to regular gigs, high profile support slots and becoming one half of the Old Friends/Bookends team responsible for the North East’s premier monthly folk night at The Independent in Sunderland.
Being so heavily involved in any kind of scene is always going to lead to collaborations of some sort, evidence of which can be seen via Martin’s inclusion in not only The Tunstall Hill Sessions but also his much coveted slot at Split Festival towards the end of 2010 – both of which obviously pale in comparison to a day spent at Blank Studios with The Amazing Session team I’m sure..
On the day itself we were lucky enough to record two exclusive tracks for our sessions archive, unavailable anywhere except for our Amazing Sessions page. You can find both Edinburgh and the very special Rain simply by clicking here. As regular readers will know we now have a run of videos to accompany our audio based output – the first of two from Martin’s session showing the in studio recording of the aforementioned Rain – very much worth a look.
You may already be familiar with the other two tracks from the day, Windowsill has been receiving a lot of attention from Amazing Radio ever since it was uploaded to The Lake Poets profile at amazingtunes.com. Currently sitting at No.11 in our Amazing Chart you can hear the live version from the day go out on Amazing Afternoons with Kyle Wilkinson from 3pm.
The fourth and final track Friends is available on his self-titled e.p in addition to the live version we recorded. It was also chosen for the On Location video shoot which you can see just below. We had a great time filming in the beautiful – if freezing- Jesmond Dene, trying to capture the last of the afternoons sunlight was a worthwhile experience for all involved and the song itself has quickly become a favourite amongst the team.
As well as his own tourdates across the country, the upcoming Old Friends/Bookends night on the 5th March, plus the fact that he’s supporting Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly on the 3rd April, Martin is also responsible for organising a collaborative charity night on the 18th of March in aid of those suffering from Motor Neurone Disease. It’s only £3 entry and promises to be an excellent night, again at The Independent in Sunderland so make sure you make the effort and get down early.
When asked about his music and what drives him, Martin explained that it was the realisation that life is too short that constantly spurs him on:
‘I began playing last year after my grandfather died suddenly, it sounds cheesy but I just thought you only live once and you must do what makes you happy… it’s just been me by myself doing it DIY style, meeting people, playing songs and having a laugh, which is wheat I think it should be all about!
I’ve got a tour starting on Friday in London and I’m buzzing for my gig with The Prison Library and Grandfather Birds at The Cluny in Newcastle on the 17th. In terms of The Amazing Sessions themselves I really enjoyed my day, it was a pleasure to meet everyone and I think things went really well, thank you very much!‘
It was a pleasure to have The Lake Poets in the studio with us last week and the songs speak for themselves. Martin is a talented writer and musician and personally speaking it’s a welcome change to listen to music inspired by something more substantial than an argument with your partner/that girl you can’t get/that boy who left.
It’s still early days for The Lake Poets in terms of being a touring artist but already there’s a body of work that’s sure to stand him in good stead for 2011. Catch him live on the 17th at The Cluny, Newcastle and on tour as of the 18th at The O2 Academy in Islington, in support of Ben Montague and Leddra Chapman, more details of which can be found at The Lake Poets Facebook page You can also follow regular updates via his Twitter page @thelakepoets.
Catch the full session tracks from 3pm today on Amazing Afternoons with Kyle Wilkinson and listen back at our dedicated Amazing Sessions page. Next week – Vinyl Jacket
