Ghost Owl

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Regular: £12.99

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Cat No: RGBM-2102C

Release Date: 20 October 2023

Label: Ear Trumpet Music

Packaging Type: Digipak

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 5051078988627

Genres: Folk

Description
"Williams is a guitarist in possession of rich vocal powers and a talent for lyrical imagery, his songs are imbued with uplifting generosity" RnR magazine. Opportunity comes from unlikely places. This past year it came to guitarist-singer-songwriter Brooks Williams in the shape of a ghostly, stealth-winged flyer with a heart-shaped face. The Barn Owl, Hoolet, Billy Wix or Ghost Owl. It all started when Wildlife Conservationist and Filmmaker/Photographer Simon Hurwitz, featured on The One Show on the BBC recently, asked Williams to record a couple of guitar tunes to accompany a few of his short films. The two are related, so they know each other's work. At the time, Williams had thought he'd be working on two singer-songwriter projects, but with touring on hold for the foreseeable future, he eagerly agreed.

Two things happened very quickly. Firstly, the more Williams learned about the Barn Owl, the more he wrote. A couple of tunes turned into an album's worth. Secondly, he knew he wanted Aaron Catlow to play violin on the album. Aaron agreed and the result is Ghost Owl. The guitar and violin are made for one another. It has a long history in folk, bluegrass, Cajun, gypsy and jazz. On Ghost Owl, Williams and Catlow bring their singular voices to this tradition with soaring melodies, heart-tugging counter-melodies and agile rhythms. They seamlessly connect Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Mediterranean overtones with technical brilliance. These two are masters of their respective instruments. Ghost Owl, the title track, features misty minor melodicism, while Night Shift bounces between American Old Time and British Isles folk rhythms. First Dusk is a classic waltz, the kind you might hear at a late night Ceilidh. Hoolet playfully shifts between West Virginia Bluegrass and Indian Raga, while Rene's Garden pays homage to nature with deep stillness at the core of its melody.

Williams and Catlow met on tour in The Netherlands a couple of years ago. Later that same year, Williams invited Aaron to play with him on his 30th Anniversary album, Work My Claim. A subsequent Anniversary Tour was booked throughout the UK for most of 2020. Then...well, you know what happened next.
Tracklisting