Psalm & Squall by Janie Mitchell
Janie Mitchell Psalm & Squall
Now this is a surprise – a British singer/songwriter putting together a gem of a debut that runs the gamut stylistically from Enyaesque atmosphere, to moody neo-folk, to pop, with some clever lyrics adapted from Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Ovid, recorded not in Jolly Olde but in Portland, Oregon. Janie Mitchell’s flexible voice resembles Kate Bush one minute (“Renascence” or “Takilma Nic”) and Dead Can Dance (if they sang intelligible English lyrics) the next. She gets a lot of good input from multi-instrumentalist Daniel Crommie (synths, drum programming, flute and penny whistle). From the Welsh border to Portland, Oregon – hat’s off to New Weave Records for a real discovery.
Dirty Linen, 1994.
Tracklist
| 1. | Isle of Noises | 3:01 |
| 2. | Renascence | 3:59 |
| 3. | Home Sweet Home | 3:34 |
| 4. | The World is Too Much With Us | 4:59 |
| 5. | Sapphira | 4:05 |
| 6. | Black Nights and White Squalls | 6:15 |
| 7. | Wy'East and the Diamond Cutters | 5:41 |
| 8. | Charlie's Angel | 3:18 |
| 9. | Sophisticate | 4:17 |
| 10. | Takilma Nic | 3:07 |
| 11. | A Bed of One's Own | 3:38 |
| 12. | Isle of Voices | 4:28 |
| 13. | Renascence (extended remix) | 4:22 |
Credits
Produced and engineered by Daniel Crommie. Recorded between December 1991 and June 1992 at The Living Room. Remastered in June 1994 by Jamie Haggerty at Nightwings studio. Cover design by Neil McKamey. Cover illustration by Charlie Blank. Photos: Annie Callan.
License
All rights reserved.
Daniel Crommie is a progressive directed songwriter, multi-instrumentalist (mandolins, dulcimer, balalaika, recorders, flutes, synthesizers, etc.) and producer (Janie Mitchell, Kaitlyn ni Donovan, Lew Jones, Karen Searcy) who has released over three dozen solo albums, numerous albums with Group Du Jour, Echo System, Saturnalia Trio & DC Sound Collective over the last 35 years on New Weave.