Describing herself simply as a ' modern English musician', Eliza Carthy is
one of the most recognisable faces in British folk.

From the purest unaccompanied traditional songs to original music incorporating myriad infuences, she has moved through English folk music like a force of nature, both stirring it up & putting it back on the map, and as a member of big bands The Imagined Village, and the musical force- of- nature that was The Wayward Band she has headlined main stages at festivals around the world. With a wealth of musical & life experience under her belt, Eliza's talent has matured and is fourishing. She continues to bring new audiences to English folk through well-judged recordings, performances, and collaborations with the likes of Paul Weller, Jools Holland, Patrick Wolf, and Kae Tempest. 2022 sees Eliza celebrating an incredible 30 years in the music business with album Queen Of The Whirl, featuring new interpretations of fan- selected favourites from her previous albums, recorded with her band Eliza Carthy & The Restitution.

TRACK LISTING

1. Whirly Whorl
2. The Snow It Melts The Soonest
3. The Company Of Men
4. Jacky Tar
5. Stumbling On
6. Mohair
7. Mr Magnifco
8. My Father's Mansions
9. Space Girl / Two Tears
10. Blood On My Boots
11. Pretty Ploughboy
12. In London So Fair
13. Accordion Song
14. Good Morning Mr Walker

As two of the UK’s finest exponents of traditional song, Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy’s rich, distinctive and authentic voices have engaged new audiences and admirers across two generations. Between them, they have three prestigious Mercury Prize nominations, an MBE each for services to English music and have both been presented with BBC Folk Singer of the Year awards, as well as innumerable other accolades. Eliza recently embarked on her most ambitious project yet by recording and touring with the 12 piece Wayward Band, a 12-piece. The resulting album, ‘Big Machine,’ garnered both acclaim and more Radio 2 Folk Awards nominatiions in 2018 (‘Best Group’ and ‘Best Album’).

Although they have recorded independently and together on many occasions over the years, ‘Gift’ (2010) was Norma and Eliza’s first duo release, produced by Eliza. The album went on to pick up Best Album and Best Traditional Track at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

The remarkable new album, ‘Anchor,’ produced by Neill MacColl and Kate St. John, was recorded in their English home town of Robin Hood’s Bay and features an eclectic and beguiling collection of both traditional and contemporary songs. Amongst the 11 tracks we find Norma leading on Tom Waits’ ‘Strange Weather’ and ‘The Beast in Me’ by Nick Lowe. Trad Arr. ‘The Elfin Knight’ sees Eliza supported by Norma, Martin and extended family, ‘Lost in the Stars’ is a wonderful take on the Kurt Weill classic, while ‘Shanty of the Whale’, also featuring guest vocals of Martin Carthy, is a track written by KT Tunstall inspired by the singing of the Watersons, now come full circle in mutual respect and admiration.

Pioneering English traditional folk powerhouse, Eliza Carthy, first assembled the Wayward Band in 2013 in order to explore and celebrate her long and varied career in folk music; 'the last truly underground music scene'.

To do this Eliza put together a team of hugely talented people from across the UK, and set out on the road to promote her 'Best Of' compilation, 'Wayward Daughter,' which coincided with a biography of the same name. Since then, the band has become a festival favourite, and Eliza has been awarded the MBE for services to folk music. Eliza and the Wayward Band loved playing together so much it seemed natural and inevitable, as well as characteristically ambitious, that this 12-piece would set about recording an album. Early in 2016 they did just that. 'Big Machine' is the result and the renowned Real World and Rockfield Studios are where it all happened.

The material represents a healthy slice of everything good that is happening in traditional music now, across a sparkling spectrum of sound. The album features three contemporary songs; Eliza's own 'You Know Me' about the migrant crisis and notions of hospitality (featuring MC Dizraeli), a powerful cover of Ewan Maccoll's Radio Ballad 'The Fitter's Song' (at the behest of Peggy Seeger - and the song which inspired the album title) and an affectionate reworking of 'Hug You Like a Mountain' (Rory MacLeod), re-imagined here as a duet with Teddy Thompson.

There are also several examples of the Broadside ballad collections housed in Chetham's Library in Manchester given a new twist with music by Eliza and the band. This follows an acclaimed programme Eliza presented for Radio 4 about the Manchester Ballads last year, covering everything from songs about and caused by domestic abuse ('Devil in the Woman,' 'Fade and Fall (Love Not)'), to love of the seafaring life ('The Sea'). Added to that a couple of searing instrumentals, a song about dying from custard poisoning and a heartbreaking traditional ballad 'I Wish that the Wars were all Over' (performed live with the band onstage in Real World Studios' Studio One and featuring Irish superstar Damien Dempsey), and you begin to get the picture.

A very Big picture, a Big Machine firing on all cylinders. 'Big Machine' is one of Eliza Carthy's most adventurous and accomplished works to date -- and given that Eliza is the most passionate and groundbreaking English traditional singer of her generation, 'Big Machine' is an album you really won't want to miss.

The daughter of guitarist / vocalist Martin Carthy and vocalist Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy has continued in her parents' footsteps and has become one of the leading lights of the new generation to carry on the folk tradition. She has almost assumed the mantle of Sandy Denny on her brilliant new album "Anglicana", her work again showcasing her ability to breathe new life into England's folk music. Eliza Carthy is one of the few people who can take this wonderful music and perform it in a totally convincing contemporary style - both true to its sources and firmly relevant to today's values. This is what traditional music in the twenty-first century is all about. A true triumph.