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[Andy Mulhern]

Astrid Williamson, originally from Shetland, playing The Tunnels on Tuesday 9th May.
I saw her support Amy Rigby in the Wild Boar in 2005, she is very good!

http://www.astridwilliamson.net
http://www.myspace.com/astridwilliamson

"SHETLAND-raised singer-songwriter Astrid made one of 1998's finest, most distinctive debut albums, Boy For You, before vanishing from view. This is actually her second album since then, but it's a more confident comeback than 2002's Carnation. Tonight, Shhh and Superman 2 are among her best songs to date - grown-up, world-weary but still defiantly romantic." - Andrew Eaton, The Scotsman



Imagine a place where the stimulating strangeness of Radiohead might meet the melodic sensuality of Suzanne Vega, where the soul-bearing intensity of a cult singer-songwriter like Lisa Germano might melt into the funky ambiences conjured by Daniel Lanois, where the minimalist keyboard backwash of Erik Satie might drift across the surreal landscapes of Laura Veirs.

Until now, such places existed only in dreams, as if waiting to be born.

Astrid Williamson's third solo album, Day Of The Lone Wolf, is the place where all these magical sounds, and more besides, have finally come together, to rub one up against the other, collide and spark brightly, illuminating the darker corners of the human heart.

Shetland-born Williamson started to dream of a career as a musician when she was just eleven, having played the piano, guitar and fiddle since early childhood. She continued on the classical music path and gained a music degree from the Royal Scottish Academy in Glasgow, while putting together the band that would become critically acclaimed as Goya Dress in the mid-1990s.

Goya Dress made just one album for Nude records, the John Cale-produced Rooms, in 1996. "I loved being in Goya Dress," Williamson says, "and the media were mostly very kind to us, but the big sales never really kicked in." The record-buying public were similarly scandalously unmoved by Williamsons solo debut, 1998's Boy For You, also released by Nude, and produced by Malcolm Burn in New Orleans.

The true colours of any artist destined for greater things are invariably revealed in adversity, and thats certainly true of Astrid Williamson.

"Theres a before-and-after aspect to my career," she acknowledges. "After the crash when my deal with Nude ended, everything fell apart and I didnt really know where I was going. There was lots of staring at the sea until I got my confidence back."

Williamson rebuilt her career from the ground up, launching her own record label, Incarnation, and releasing her third album, the self-financed album Astrid in 2003. Its successor, Day Of The Lone Wolf, may be the record she's spent this long journey trying to make. "Even if it turns out to be the last album I ever record," she says, "I will not regret anything about it. There's more of me on this album than anything I've done before."

[Jan Deal]

SIBC were giving her alot of airplay when I was in Shetland last week...

[Alan Cynic]

I was on the same bill at the Wild Boar, and liked her set very much. Tuesday night's not a good one for me, but I'll try to get there.

[Andy Mulhern]

Originally Posted by SlowDazzle

SIBC were giving her alot of airplay when I was in Shetland last week...

I miss SIBC ...

Emma Forman & Dusty Valentino to support.
http://www.myspace.com/emmatheelf

[Jan Deal]

Originally Posted by Andy Mulhern

I miss SIBC ...

Emma Forman and Dusty to support.

Now I don't get SIBC anymore, I find it pretty difficult to keep up with all the Norwegian fishing news.

[Andy Mulhern]

Originally Posted by SlowDazzle

Now I don't get SIBC anymore, I find it pretty difficult to keep up with all the Norwegian fishing news.

Not to worry! Just learn Norwegian and this is all you need .... http://www.fiskaren.no/

[Andy Mulhern]

Callel, duo from Edinburgh, also playing.
http://www.myspace.com/callelmusic

[Andy Mulhern]

Well tonight folks. Bump Bump!
£5 from 8pm

[Graeme]

Can't manage tonight. Say hi to Astrid for me.

[Andy Mulhern]

Originally Posted by Graeme

Can't manage tonight. Say hi to Astrid for me.

Sorry forgot to say hi from you.
Excellent gig in terms of Astrid & bands performance - i really enjoyed it. Just pity such a poor turnout....