“We were spellbound by her ability to highlight unique perspectives with her songwriting” – Maverick magazine
Released on 7 March, ‘The River’ is the second single from the forthcoming EP by London-based Americana singer-songwriter, Little Lore. A burgeoning presence on the UK Americana scene, Little Lore has received many plaudits, both for her astute, observational songwriting and for her warm, heartfelt vocals.
‘The River’ is one of six songs that will appear on the brand-new Little Lore EP, River Stories, which comes out in April. From rivers, to boats, to canals, to swimming, all six songs on the EP are inspired in some way by the theme of water. The concept for the EP came about following an invitation for Little Lore to become songwriter in residency on Johnson’s Island, an artists’ community set on a tiny island on the Grand Union Canal and the River Brent in West London.
A gentle, reflective song with gorgeous instrumentation, sumptuous vocals and beautiful harmonies ‘The River’ reminds us that rivers can be beautiful, tranquil places but can also be very powerful forces that can wreak great devastation.
Little Lore:“This song was inspired by two enormous storms that battered the UK in November 2023 causing great damage and floods. I had been invited to become songwriter in residence on Johnson’s island- an artists’ studio located in the mouth of the Grand Union Canal and the River Brent. A week before the residency the whole island was flooded including the artist’s room I was due to use. When I got the call letting me know that it was looking 50/50 for the residency to go ahead, I sat on the sofa with my guitar and I thought – damn that river has two sides. And the song came from there, with that phrase and the little guitar riff coming first, unusually for me as I am almost always a lyrics-first kinda gal.”
“The song reflects on the incredible beauty of the river and the destruction it can reap when the right combination of high tides, gravitational pull from the moon and storms collide. I love how Oli interpreted the song – and the addition of violins and cello really evoke the feelings of the water.”
Renowned New York-based producer and multi-instrumentalist, Oli Deakin, (who records under the name of Lowpines) is Little Lore’s principal musical collaborator and again produced the single and the forthcoming EP and provides much of the instrumentation.
Written and performed by: Little Lore AKA Tricia Duffy Produced by: Oli Deakin Violin: Francesca Dardani Cello: Sasha Ono Drums: Morgan Karabel All other instruments: Oli Deakin Artwork: Afiya Paice
About Little Lore:
Little Lore is a London based, Indie-Americana singer-storyteller whose songs are both charmingly accessible and beguilingly challenging. You’ll want to listen twice. When you combine British wit and wordplay with cherished Americana roots, musical magic starts to happen. Based in Chiswick, West London, and originally hailing from Portsmouth, Tricia Duffy started her singing career as a teenager, which included a stint on cruise ships in the United States. She began writing and performing her own material with Americana duo Duffy & Bird and they released a well-received album 5 Lines in 2017 and a follow-up EP Spirit Level in 2019.
Tricia’s solo project Little Lore was created in 2020 during the pandemic. Her debut solo EP, Little Lore, was released in 2021 to glowing reviews. The singles, ‘Shallow’, ‘Brown Liquor John’ and ‘Birds’ were released in 2022 to similar acclaim, followed by another equally well-received single ‘Normal’ in January 2023. Two follow-up EPs Seven Stories Part One and Seven Stories Part Two were then released in late 2023 and early 2024 to enthusiastic reviews and extensive radio airplay. Little Lore has become a force to be reckoned with on the UK Americana scene, picking up a slew of enthusiastic reviews and extensive radio airplay – including BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Ulster, Nashville Worldwide Country Radio and the International Americana Music Show. In her songs, Little Lore brings together an affection for the heart and heritage of Americana music, with an intelligence and maturity of storytelling that can sweep you away into new and unexpected emotional worlds.
An enthusiastic advocate for songwriters, she is the London Chapter Coordinator for NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International), and a member of Ivors Academy and the Americana Music Association UK. She is especially passionate about creating opportunities for female, transgender and non-binary songwriters.
“We were spellbound by her ability to highlight unique perspectives with her songwriting” – Maverick magazine
‘I Can Breathe Underwater’ is the new single from Little Lore, the highly sought-after singer-songwriter on the UK Americana scene. Released on 7 February, it is one of six songs that will appear on a brand-new Little Lore EP called River Stories, which comes out in April.
From rivers, to boats, to canals, to swimming, all six songs on the EP are inspired in some way by the theme of water. This followed an invitation for Little Lore to become songwriter in residency on Johnson’s Island, an artists’ community set on a tiny island on the Grand Union Canal and the River Brent in West London.
With its gorgeous vocals, thoughtful lyrics, irresistible choruses and sumptuous production, ‘I Can Breathe Underwater’ is a tale of resilience that will bring a touch of joy to the seasonal gloom and act as the perfect antidote to those winter blues.
Little Lore:“The inspiration behind this song came from a family tale that when I was two years-old, I fell over in a swimming pool. I wasn’t in the water for long, I was scooped up quickly with no lasting physical impact. I was so young, that I have no recollection of the incident, it was shared with me when I was older by my parents. But although I didn’t remember it something in my psyche held on to this experience because as a child I refused to learn to swim. I can’t emphasise enough what a good girl I was as a kid, I did as I was told most of the time and was pretty compliant but when it came to swimming, I was adamant. There was absolutely no way I was getting into water. I certainly wasn’t going to put my face in and blow bubbles like the other children at swimming lessons. It didn’t matter what anyone said or did – I was immovable.”
“In my teens I got over it enough that I learned to swim, but I still don’t put my face in the water. Some incidents last but they give you strength and a way to prove that you can overcome difficult times. This song is a testimony to overcoming pain, suffering and not allowing it to destroy you but rather to give you a glossy mermaids tail and resilience in all aspects of your life. Sometimes I feel as though nothing can hurt me because I can (metaphorically) breathe underwater.“
The single is again produced by renowned New York-based producer and multi-instrumentalist, Oli Deakin, who records under the name of Lowpines.
‘I Can Breathe Underwater’ is released digitally on 7 February 2025 via:
Written and performed by: Little Lore AKA Tricia Duffy
Produced by: Oli Deakin
Violin: Francesca Dardani
Cello: Sasha Ono
Drums: Morgan Karabel
All other instruments: Oli Deakin
Artwork: Afiya Paice
About Little Lore:
Little Lore is a London based, Indie-Americana singer-storyteller whose songs are both charmingly accessible and beguilingly challenging. You’ll want to listen twice. When you combine British wit and wordplay with cherished Americana roots, musical magic starts to happen. Based in Chiswick, West London, and originally hailing from Portsmouth, Tricia Duffy started her singing career as a teenager, which included a stint on cruise ships in the United States. She began writing and performing her own material with Americana duo Duffy & Bird and they released a well-received album 5 Lines in 2017 and a follow-up EP Spirit Level in 2019.
Tricia’s solo project Little Lore was created in 2020 during the pandemic. Her debut solo EP, Little Lore, was released in 2021 to glowing reviews. The singles, ‘Shallow’, ‘Brown Liquor John’ and ‘Birds’ were released in 2022 to similar acclaim, followed by another equally well-received single ‘Normal’ in January 2023. Two follow-up EPs Seven Stories Part One and Seven Stories Part Two were then released in late 2023 and early 2024 to enthusiastic reviews and extensive radio airplay. Little Lore has become a force to be reckoned with on the UK Americana scene, picking up a slew of enthusiastic reviews and extensive radio airplay – including BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Ulster, Nashville Worldwide Country Radio and the International Americana Music Show. In her songs, Little Lore brings together an affection for the heart and heritage of Americana music, with an intelligence and maturity of storytelling that can sweep you away into new and unexpected emotional worlds.
An enthusiastic advocate for songwriters, she is the London Chapter Coordinator for NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International), and a member of Ivors Academy and the Americana Music Association UK. She is especially passionate about creating opportunities for female, transgender and non-binary songwriters.
The UK guitarist and singer-songwriter, Jake Aaron, has released a new single ahead of what will be his third album next year. ‘Watery Moon’ was released digitally on 25th October 2024.
Jake Aaron: “Watery Moon is the first single from a new album due out next year. I was strumming the opening chords and starting thinking about the brilliant doo-wop songs of the 1950s. I like the melodrama and nostalgia of the piece and enjoyed the lyric writing process too. It was great to record with the same line up from my last two albums: Steve Lodder on piano and Hammond, Davide Mantovani on double bass, Marc Parnell on drums. They just got it immediately and I think this was the first take. Kenny Jones again is engineering.”
A British guitarist and songwriter who has “moved among both folk and jazz circles” (‘Cosmic Jazz’ – Feb 2023) Jake’s first EP of acoustic pieces was released in 2015 to positive reviews from folk and indie reviewers. His 2018 single ‘Give Me Your Horse’ was a bigger, jazzier number which had airplay on both folk stations as well as jazz, including the BBC’s Jazz Nights. He released his first album in 2019 Fag Ash and Beer, a collection of songs, longer lyrical offerings and instrumentals which was nominated for Debut Album of The Year by Fatea Magazine. That was followed up by a second album, Always Seeking, released in May 2023 to positive reviews and extensive airplay.
“Her songwriting hasn’t gone astray, with catchy lines coming thick and fast, alongside the wistful observational writing. The musicality sways in with reverberating, almost shoegaze guitar embellishments and constantly strumming acoustic guitar to ground each song with the brushed drums and light piano accompaniment. – Maverick magazine on Little Lore’s 2023 EP, Seven Stories Part One
With three acclaimed EPs of lush Americana, superb songwriting and heart-felt vocals under her belt, Little Lore has become a force to be reckoned with on the UK Americana scene, picking up a slew of enthusiastic reviews and extensive radio airplay – including BBC Radio Scotland, Nashville Worldwide Country Radio and the International Americana Music Show. Now Little Lore is back with a brand-new single, ‘This Building Is Condemned’, featuring that trademark blend of sharp, observational songwriting, top-notch musicianship and gorgeous vocals.
Little Lore:“This song was inspired at a cross section between a play by Tennessee Williams called This Property is Condemned, and the idea of a condemned building as a metaphor for how it feels to be a post-menopausal women. Yes really! When I was a teenager I did a lot of acting and I often used a monologue from the play for auditions and exams. A 1966 American film inspired by this one act play stared Natalie Wood in the part of Alva and it was her character, oppressed, misunderstood and frustrated that formed the starting point for my writing. I was finding the word ‘property’ wasn’t very singable, so I evolved to building and that inspired me to lean into my own story using the building figuratively. “
“Musically I wanted to capture some of that 1930s Americana feel I got from the film and so I worked with long-time Little Lore collaborator Oli Deakin to create a rich sonic-sound scape using the brilliant talents of Francesca and Sasha for the violin and cello, Morgan on drums with all other instruments played by Oli. I couldn’t be prouder of this song, both lyrically and harmonically, and I am delighted with how it has turned out.”
The single is again produced by renowned New York-based producer and multi-instrumentalist, Oli Deakin (who records under the name of Lowpines). Released digitally on October 11th 2024 it is available via: https://littlelore.bandcamp.com
Release information ‘This Building is Condemned’:
Written and performed by Little Lore / Tricia Duffy
Produced by Oli Deakin
Violin by Francesca Dardani
Cello by Sasha Ono
Drums by Morgan Karabel
All other instruments Oli Deakin
Artwork Afia Paice
About Little Lore:
Little Lore is a London based, Indie-Americana singer-storyteller whose songs are both charmingly accessible and beguilingly challenging. You’ll want to listen twice. When you combine British wit and wordplay with cherished Americana roots, musical magic starts to happen. Based in Chiswick, West London, and originally hailing from Portsmouth, Tricia Duffy started her singing career as a teenager, which included a stint on cruise ships in the United States. She began writing and performing her own material with Americana duo Duffy & Bird and they released a well-received album ‘5 Lines’ in 2017 and a follow-up EP ‘Spirit Level’ in 2019.
Tricia’s solo project Little Lore was created in 2020 during the pandemic. Her debut solo EP, Little Lore, was released in 2021 to glowing reviews. The singles, ‘Shallow’, ‘Brown Liquor John’ and ‘Birds’ were released in 2022 to similar acclaim, followed by another equally well-received single ‘Normal’ in January 2023. Two follow-up EPs Seven Stories Part One and Seven Stories Part Two were then released in late 2023 and early 2024 to enthusiastic reviews and extensive radio airplay.
An enthusiastic advocate for songwriters, she is the London Chapter Coordinator for NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) and is especially passionate about creating opportunities for female, transgender and non-binary songwriters. In her songs, Little Lore brings together an affection for the heart and heritage of Americana music, with an intelligence and maturity of storytelling that can sweep you away into new and unexpected emotional worlds.
I first came across David and Clare Rozzell as two-thirds of the bluegrass/folk trio, Wood Wire & Words. The trio saw David (guitar/vocals) and Clare (double bass/vocals) joined by Clare’s father, Pat Francis (dobro/mandolin), with the trio chalking up a plethora of gigs and festival appearances across the UK and Europe and releasing several albums – one of which I reviewed here.
The constraints of lockdown restrictions, however, meant that the established trio reformulated themselves into a duo and for two years , every Friday evening, the pair would stage their online Folkgrass Lockdown Sessions direct from their home on England’s South Coast.
Recently, the pair released their very first single as a duo, ‘Museum of the Missing’, which came out towards the end of February.
Conceived as the theme song for a sci-fi/horror podcast of the same name, ‘Museum Of The Missing’ is said to be a powerful, dark tale, of a world where all memories and evidence of a global incident in which 3.5 million people vanished, have seemingly been erased from existence.
For David Rozzell, however, the song was also inspired by events much closer to home. On a personal level, the song is about memory loss, something he has experienced himself as a result of a brain injury.
The duo explain: “The museum being that part of the brain where a condition, like Alzheimer’s or a brain injury, such as David has, hides the memories they had before it stole them away.”
With the duo’s trademark blend of David’s deep, rich vocal delivery, poignant lyrics and gentle melodies, ‘Museum of the Missing’ heralds an important new step in David and Clare Rozzell’s continuing musical journey.
Like many regional theatres in the UK, the events programme for the White Rock In Hastings has been the typical mix of touring tribute shows, musicals and panto with the odd stand-out musical gem thrown. Recently, the theatre saw a change in operator with Trafalgar Theatres (who run many similar venues across the UK), giving way to the Guildhall Trust. The latter are a charity that operate the Portsmouth Guildhall and they came in promising “exciting times ahead” and a “broader programme of entertainment” for the White Rock. Certainly, having Robert Plant on stage sets high bar and is hopefully a foretaste of what’s to come once the new team get their feet well and truly under the table.
In the decades since Led Zeppelin’s demise, Plant has had a consistently fascinating career and some fascinating and highly inventive musical collaborations. I remember braving the mud to witness him with Strange Sensation at Green Man festival in 2007 and, more recently, his superb set with Alison Krauss at Hyde Park when they supported the Eagles two years ago.
His latest band is Saving Grace, composed of Plant, alongside Suzi Dian (vocals), Oli Jefferson (percussion), Tony Kelsey (mandolin, baritone, acoustic guitar), and Matt Worley (banjo, acoustic, baritone guitars, cuatro) have been around for five years now with several UK tours behind them. Somewhat rockier than previous projects they are a perfect amalgam of Plant’s long-standing interests in the realms of hard-rock, traditional folk, bluegrass and blues, offering up a compelling mix of rocked-up interpretations of traditional songs and folkified versions of Led Zep classics.
Again, we see him returning to the male/female duet set-up, that worked so spectacularly when Sandy Denny was recruited to provide co-lead vocals for ‘Battle Of Evermore’ on Led Zeppelin IV back in the day and more recently through the work with Alison Krauss. It’s a format that Plant is clearly comfortable with and this latest pairing is equally well-chosen. Whether she’s harmonising or taking the lead, Suzi Dian’s rich but delicate voice is just the perfect fit alongside Plant’s still instantly-recognisable vocal (albeit with a more restrained delivery these days…) The band behind them deliver powerful and at times almost almost hypnotic rhythms, with Tony Kelsey and Matt Worley working their way through a plethora of stringed instruments, both electric and acoustic, alongside Oli Jefferson’s pounding percussion. The effect is simply mesmerising with every song drawing you in completely.
Of all the ‘70s rock gods, Robert Plant is perhaps the one who has most has steadfastly refused to be pigeon-holed in the superannuated, stadium heritage rock act persona. It’s meant he’s continued to surprise and delight with new musical ventures. And it’s meant I could stroll along up the road to see him and his band perform an intimate gig in my local theatre.
Seven Stories (parts one and two): released 23rd February 2024
“Storytelling is at the heart of Duffy’s songwriting but she finds a unique angle or topic on each track that brings a fresh perspective to a common and relatable issue.” – Maverick magazine on the 2021 debut EP from Little Lore
Following her fantastically well-received debut EP as a solo artist back in 2021, Seven Stories is the latest project from Tricia Duffy and her singer-songwriter alter ego, Little Lore. The first four songs, Seven Stories part one, were released digitally back in September 2023 with the final three songs Seven Stories part two being released in February of this year. A CD version, featuring all seven songs from both parts one and two, is also set for release on 23rd February 2024.
Little Lore:“I had seven songs and I decided to release it in two parts: Seven Stories part one and Seven Stories part two. I’m now thrilled to be releasing the final three songs from the project as well as the CD bringing all seven songs in the collection together. There’s a real variety of styles. Death is one of my go to subjects to write about so there are a couple of quite bleak, sad songs. I’ve got some wry wit in there as well. There’s obviously a climate change one as well – I always like to include one of those. It’s a figurative song written from the perspective of the planet.”
Featuring Little Lore’s compelling storytelling, irresistible melodies and heartfelt vocals, Seven Stories is again produced by renowned New York-based producer and multi-instrumentalist, Oli Deakin (who records under the name of Lowpines). As with the debut Little Lore EP and subsequent singles, Oli Deakin provides the lush instrumentation on each of the tracks, with Morgan Karabel, once again, featuring on drums.
Little Lore adds: “I recorded the vocals in a studio in Kent with an amazing producer and engineer called Paul Stanborough. Lowpines (Oli Deakin) has done the production and all of the instrumentation again and Morgan Karabel is playing drums once more. It is important to me to have women in the team so having a female drummer is really cool.”
On working with Little Lore, Oli Deakin comments:“Working with Tricia on her records as Little Lore has been a really fun journey. As a producer it’s always exciting to work with people who have great ideas, and even more so when they’re also open to building on those ideas and trusting where that might lead. Tricia has been very generous with that trust, which I think has given us both a lot of confidence to be adventurous with our approach, both in the writing and the recording. It’s super rewarding to go out on a limb with an idea and have it land in a place we both get excited about!”
For the full interview with Little Lore visit here
Six of the seven tracks were again written by Tricia Duffy while the final track, ‘It Would be Easier to Miss You if You’d Died’ was a writing collaboration between Tricia and musician and songwriter, Thiago Trosso. A part of the US Ska/Punk/Reggae scene and playing as a session musician in his home country, Thiago Trosso moved to the UK in 2015 with the goal of building a career as a songwriter and solo artist. He finished a Songwriting MA in London, and is now doing a PhD in therapeutic songwriting, opening the path for co-writing with numerous artists around the world.
Seven Stories (parts one and two) will be released on CD on 23rd February 2024 and the final three songs from the project will also be available on all the main digital platforms on the same date.
Running on Empty:“Written from the perspective of the planet, it’s sort of a love letter to the human race. The lyrics start “I hold you gently, while you destroy me. Running on Empty. I love you anyway. To get into the frame of mind I needed to write the song, I physically wrote a letter to humanity to help me get the sense of what I wanted to say, that the planet will survive the climate crisis just fine after we humans have wiped ourselves out, but she (Mother Earth) acknowledges that she benefits from some of our interventions. Despite the big topic, it’s a relatively simple song with a haunting Americana vibe.”
Stolen Glances: “I wrote this song in response to a prompt from the Song-a-week challenge run by James Tristan Redding in Nashville. The prompt was “Stolen Glances” and I was travelling home from Cornwall on the train. I remember opening my computer and typing “on a train facing backwards, I steal glances”. It has had quite a lot of re-writes since that first draft – I think the original version is still knocking around on YouTube somewhere – it’s quite a different song lyrically now. I tried to capture the sense of movement and observation that can be inspired on long journeys, the narrator is searching for answers, but there is almost a sense of not quite knowing what questions she is asking. I think we have all felt that way at some point in our lives.”
The Bench: “This devastating song was inspired by the benches that line the seafront in St. Ives in Cornwall and the true story of a friend of mine who tragically lost her husband a few years ago. The song tells the tale of a man and a women who meet and fall in love despite their age difference. He leaves her once because of the social discourse around their circumstances, but later returns and they marry only to have him leave her again. In the bridge it is revealed he hasn’t left her voluntarily, but died. In many societies benches are incredibly important to people, who use them to memorialise their loved ones with plaques that articulate their feelings about a particular place. “He loved this place” – for example. By centring the story around the bench, we have a sense of a specific location with which to build the narrative. And I believe this makes it more relatable as a result.”
Sebastian Says: “This is a song about imposter syndrome and the inner critic. I have named the voice in my head Sebastian so this is my tribute to him and a good way to tell him to button it! Obviously it had to be a man who tells me I am too fat, doormat, too old, too cold etc. It is a full on driving rock Americana song which probably needs to be played at full volume!”
The Jackal: “I originally wrote this for a TV Americana Crime brief, but I liked it so much I decided to release it myself. There are lots of myths surrounding the Jackal, which are known in some communities as ‘death dogs’ or as tricksters. The Egyptian God of the afterlife, Anubis, had the head of a jackal, so seeing a jackal was considered a warning that someone was in danger. A bit like a fox in European folklore, in African folklore the Jackal is recognised for its ability to adapt with cunning and stealth, a wily creature that dodges traps by feigning death. It has a black saddle because it offered to carry the sun on its back, burning his fur, and inspiring the words in my chorus.”
Little Pieces:“I wrote this in response to a brief which was simply to write a song that was titled “little pieces” with a I IV V chord structure. I started mind mapping the words little pieces and somehow landed on the idea of food. I asked myself who eats food in little pieces? The infirm, babies, people at ‘80s dinner parties with pineapple and cheese on sticks? The lack of control people in care feel over all their choices I think can be summed up with the concept of food. Imagining what it must be like to have so little influence over your daily life that you can’t even decide what you eat must be disturbing. I had a lot of doubts about releasing this song as I know it is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea! But I took inspiration and confidence from the likes of Nick Cave and Tom Waits and decided to just go for it – with a lot of support from Oli who always believed. The arrangement is entirely unsettling and I am sure it is not an easy listen but sometimes stories just need to be told.”
It Would be Easier to Miss You if You’d Died*:“This was a co-write with my friend and fellow songwriter, Thiago Trosso. I always like to come to writing sessions prepared with some ‘writable’ ideas. I don’t always need them, but I think it is the spirit of co-writing to bring your best stuff to the room. That day I read out a list of ideas to Thiago and when I told him the concept I had of being ghosted and it being easier to miss that person if they’d died – he smiled and said, “Let’s write that one!”. We knew it had to be a careful balance of wry wit and humour with sadness and I hope that we have struck that balance. It was inspired by a real experience of being ghosted which seems to be more common these days. Or maybe we just notice it more because we are all so connected. I think Oli thought I was crazy when I first sent him the song. It doesn’t fit a typical structure, starting with a half chorus to land the premise from the start. But he really leaned into the wry nature of the song and I think the instrumentation really enhances the feel. This is the first time I have ever cut a co-write, but I am positive it won’t be the last.”
Seven Stories: release information:
All Tracks written by Tricia Duffy except *written by Tricia Duffy and Thiago Trosso
Vocals – Tricia Duffy
Produced by – Oli Deakin
The Bench Drums – Oli Deakin
All other tracks Drums – Morgan Karabel
All other instruments – Oli Deakin
Vocal Recording – Paul Stanborough at Chapel Studio, Kent
Artwork – Afiya Paice
About Little Lore:
Little Lore is a London based, Indie-Americana singer-storyteller whose songs are both charmingly accessible and beguilingly challenging. You’ll want to listen twice. When you combine British wit and wordplay with cherished Americana roots, musical magic starts to happen. Based in Chiswick, West London, and originally hailing from Portsmouth, Tricia Duffy started her singing career as a teenager, which included a stint on cruise ships in the United States. She began writing and performing her own material with Americana duo Duffy & Bird and they released a well-received album ‘5 Lines’ in 2017 and a follow-up EP ‘Spirit Level’ in 2019.
Tricia’s solo project Little Lore was created in 2020 during the pandemic. Her debut solo EP, Little Lore, was released in 2021 to glowing reviews. The singles, ‘Shallow’, ‘Brown Liquor John’ and ‘Birds’ were released in 2022 to similar acclaim, followed by another equally well-received single ‘Normal’ in January 2023. An enthusiastic advocate for songwriters, she is the London Chapter Coordinator for NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) and is especially passionate about creating opportunities for female, transgender and non-binary songwriters.
In her songs, Little Lore brings together an affection for the heart and heritage of Americana music, with an intelligence and maturity of storytelling that can sweep you away into new and unexpected emotional worlds.
Seven Stories (parts one and two): released 23rd February 2024
UK-based Leonardo Giuliani is a guitarist and singer-songwriter whose music embraces elements of rock, blues, country and folk. Featuring thirteen original songs, Rogue, which came out back in February, is Giuliani’s debut album.
His sound is primarily influenced by artists and bands from the late ‘60s and ‘70s, “from acoustic singer-songwriters to electric jam bands, all of whom played something different every night and made every performance unique,” he tells us. In 2019 he had the honour of being invited to sit in with one of his blues heroes, Buddy Guy, playing at his Legends club in Chicago.
It’s clear from the album’s opening tracks that this an artist who has spent considerable time soaking up a rich array of blues influences and he’s an impressive guitarist with some nifty blues licks. As Giuliani himself stresses, however, it’s not the only string to his bow and the Americana and golden-era singer-songwriter influences shine through, too, particularly on tracks like the sublime ‘A Thousand Miles Away From Home’.
Recorded at Forward Studios in Rome and The Switchyard Studio in Nashville, Rogue is produced by four-time Grammy award winner producer, Tom Hambridge, whose empathetic production helps give the album and impeccably authentic blues/Americana feel. Hambridge also contributes drums to the album, alongside Phil Palmer on rhythm guitar, Mick Brill on bass and Peter De Girolamo who provides some deliciously soulful keyboards.
Seven Stories part one (EP): released 22nd September 2023
“Storytelling is at the heart of Duffy’s songwriting but she finds a unique angle or topic on each track that brings a fresh perspective to a common and relatable issue.” – Maverick magazine on the 2021 debut EP from Little Lore
Following her fantastically well-received debut EP as a solo artist back in 2021, Seven Stories is the latest recording project from Tricia Duffy and her singer-songwriter alter ego, Little Lore. Seven Stories will be released digitally in the form of two corresponding EPs, Seven Stories part one, which comes out on 22nd September and Seven Stories part two, which will come out in February next year. A CD version, featuring all seven songs from both parts one and two, will also be released in February 2024.
Little Lore:“I had seven songs and I decided to release it in two parts: Seven Stories part one and Seven Stories part two. There’s a real variety of styles. Death is one of my favourite subjects to write about so there are a couple of quite bleak, sad, death songs. I’ve got some wry wit in there as well. There’s obviously a climate change one as well – I always like to include one of those. It’s a figurative song written from the perspective of the planet.”
For the full interview with Little Lore visit here
Featuring Little Lore’s compelling storytelling, irresistible melodies and heartfelt vocals, Seven Stories is again produced by renowned New York-based producer and multi-instrumentalist, Oli Deakin (who records under the name of Lowpines). As with the debut Little Lore EP and subsequent singles, Oli Deakin provides the lush instrumentation on each of the tracks, with Morgan Karabel, once again, featuring on drums.
Little Lore adds: “I recorded the vocals in a studio in Kent with an amazing producer and engineer called Paul Stanborough. Lowpines (Oli Deakin) has done the production and all of the instrumentation again and Morgan Karabel is playing drums once more. It is important to me to have women in the team so having a female drummer is really cool.”
On working with Little Lore, Oli Deakin comments:“Working with Tricia on her records as Little Lore has been a really fun journey. As a producer it’s always exciting to work with people who have great ideas, and even more so when they’re also open to building on those ideas and trusting where that might lead. Tricia has been very generous with that trust, which I think has given us both a lot of confidence to be adventurous with our approach, both in the writing and the recording. It’s super rewarding to go out on a limb with an idea and have it land in a place we both get excited about!”
Seven Stories part one will be released in all the main digital formats on 22nd September, with a CD featuring all seven songs from parts one and two being released in February 2024.
Running on Empty:“Written from the perspective of the planet, it’s sort of a love letter to the human race. The lyrics start “I hold you gently, while you destroy me. Running on Empty. I love you anyway. To get into the frame of mind I needed to write the song, I physically wrote a letter to humanity to help me get the sense of what I wanted to say, that the planet will survive the climate crisis just fine after we humans have wiped ourselves out, but she (Mother Earth) acknowledges that she benefits from some of our interventions. Despite the big topic, it’s a relatively simple song with a haunting Americana vibe.”
Stolen Glances: “I wrote this song in response to a prompt from the Song-a-week challenge run by James Tristan Redding in Nashville. The prompt was “Stolen Glances” and I was travelling home from Cornwall on the train. I remember opening my computer and typing “on a train facing backwards, I steal glances”. It has had quite a lot of re-writes since that first draft – I think the original version is still knocking around on YouTube somewhere – it’s quite a different song lyrically now. I tried to capture the sense of movement and observation that can be inspired on long journeys, the narrator is searching for answers, but there is almost a sense of not quite knowing what questions she is asking. I think we have all felt that way at some point in our lives.”
The Bench: “This devastating song was inspired by the benches that line the seafront in St. Ives in Cornwall and the true story of a friend of mine who tragically lost her husband a few years ago. The song tells the tale of a man and a women who meet and fall in love despite their age difference. He leaves her once because of the social discourse around their circumstances, but later returns and they marry only to have him leave her again. In the bridge it is revealed he hasn’t left her voluntarily, but died. In many societies benches are incredibly important to people, who use them to memorialise their loved ones with plaques that articulate their feelings about a particular place. “He loved this place” – for example. By centring the story around the bench, we have a sense of a specific location with which to build the narrative. And I believe this makes it more relatable as a result.”
Sebastian Says: “This is a song about imposter syndrome and the inner critic. I have named the voice in my head Sebastian so this is my tribute to him and a good way to tell him to button it! Obviously it had to be a man who tells me I am too fat, doormat, too old, too cold etc. It is a full on driving rock Americana song which probably needs to be played at full volume!”
Seven Stories part one: release information:
Written by – Tricia Duffy
Vocals – Tricia Duffy
Produced by – Oli Deakin
The Bench Drums – Oli Deakin
All other tracks Drums – Morgan Karabel
All other instruments – Oli Deakin
Vocal Recording – Paul Stanborough at Chapel Studio, Kent
Artwork – Afiya Paice
About Little Lore:
Little Lore is a London based, Indie-Americana singer-storyteller whose songs are both charmingly accessible and yet beguilingly challenging. You’ll want to listen twice. When you combine British wit and wordplay with cherished Americana roots, musical magic starts to happen. Based in Chiswick, west London, and originally hailing from Portsmouth, Tricia Duffy started her singing career in a live covers band performing popular rock classics. Over time, however, a strong desire emerged to begin writing and performing her own material and she formed an acoustic Americana duo with fellow musician, Al Bird. Duffy & Bird released a well-received album ‘5 Lines’ in 2017 and a follow-up EP ‘Spirit Level’ in 2019.
While Al subsequently decided to take a back seat from recording and performing, Tricia was keen to take things a step further. Little Lore was born. Her debut solo EP, Little Lore, was released in 2021 to glowing reviews. The singles, ‘Shallow’, ‘Brown Liquor John’ and ‘Birds’ were released in 2022 to similar acclaim, followed by another equally well-received single ‘Normal’ in January 2023. In her songs, Little Lore brings together an affection for the heart and heritage of Americana music, with an intelligence and maturity of storytelling that can sweep you away into new and unexpected emotional worlds.
Lucas Pasley is an old-time fiddler/banjo-player and singer-songwriter from Sparta, North Carolina in the heart of the southern Appalachian mountains. Pasley has spent most of his musical life performing traditional Appalachian music and formed the band, Gap Civil, in 2018 with a motto to “honour and innovate” traditional mountain music. In recent years, however, he has also moved into singer-songwriter territory.
Ponies Back Home is his second solo album and follows Souls Living On, released in 2020.
Still very much rooted in traditional Appalachian music, Pasley is heavily influenced by his grandmother’s songwriting, while also bringing in wider country influences together with his own sense of originality. The result is an album packed full of appealing melodies, heartfelt lyrics and authentic playing.
A number of additional guest vocalists, together with a stellar line-up of musicians complementing Pasley on vocals, guitar and fiddle, makes for a strong album. Ponies Back Home will certainly appeal to those with a love for the Appalachian traditions but there’s plenty here to tempt anyone who enjoys some fine Country/Americana-flavoured singer-songwriting.
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