Summer Sampler (trial members only)

Gwyneth Herbert – So Worn Out and My Narrow Man

After releasing an album with both tiny jazz indie Dean Street Records and major label Universal, Herbert chose to make her next record herself with her own band and Seb Rochford in the producer’s chair.  The resulting album, ‘Between Me and the Wardrobe,’ a lo-fi, acoustic affair recorded live in one big room, has been hailed as ‘brilliantly original’ by Mojo and described as sounding “Halfway between Janis Ian and Susannah And The Magical Orchestra” by the Observer Music Monthly, who awarded the recording five stars. Originally released by Herbert on her own label, Monkeywood, it became a word-of-mouth hit, leading to a deal with Blue Note Records in the UK, who released the album last September.  It has confirmed Herbert’s arrival as a song-writer of note as well as a gifted singer, and as an artist who refuses to be pigeon –holed; whose sometimes witty, sometimes desperately sad tales draw on influences from Schostakovich to Regina Spektor, Janis Ian to Rufus Wainwright. She recorded Ten Lives especially for B&W at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios and had this to say about the two tracks selected here:

Tom Kerstens – Utopia and The Croydon Grand Prix

Tom Kerstens is a major figure in the guitar world. He is highly regarded as a versatile performer on modern and period instruments and is an influential champion of the guitar in his roles as player, recording artist and artistic director. An acclaimed solo performer, Kerstens has also collaborated with many leading UK orchestras and ensembles, recently forming his own ensemble, G Plus, which is dedicated to performing especially commissioned new work. Utopia is G Plus’ debut recording.
Tom on the recording of his album for B&W: 

“This instrumentation combined with the quality of recording offered by Real World in its atmospheric studio and the lack of compression and quality of reproduction in its outstanding, ‘lossless’ recordings, means that there can be real clarity and warmth.
For once, a recording can adequately reflect the range of sounds that the listener should be able to hear”.