Reviews & Coverage of Breaking the Spell

“A powerful, poignant set”
**** Guardian

Over the past few months ‘Breaking the Spell of Loneliness’ has been covered quite a bit across the UK media. Things got off to a good start when we were let loose on BBC Two’s Newsnight programme; George discussing the project with presenter Evan Davis and me playing the show out with a rendition of ‘Such A Thing As Society’, our album’s opening track. Shortly before this BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction dedicated a show to the subject of loneliness and featured our project on it. Since then we’ve been live on BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends and performed a live music-and-spoken-word taster of the show on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune. More recently BBC Radio Scotland‘s Janice Forsyth Show had us on to talk about our project and the broader subject, which followed a similar spot on the fantastic Travelling Folk in the Autumn.

“A cry to bring to an end the community alienation and loneliness in contemporary life”
**** Songlines

We also managed to get onto the Froots Playlist - and were in great company on that, as you might expect. On the album’s release in October we had the privelege of recording a Guardian Arts Podcast, which you can listen back to here. The Guardian G2 arts magazine also ran a feature on the collaboration, with George laying out what we hoped to achieve, musically and politically.

“A charming evening… they are starting a conversation; it is up to us to respond.”
The Times

It’s been a real pleasure for us both getting a chance to perform the show to audiences up and down the country over the last few months. From these occasions we’ve already heard many inspiring stories of people coming together, helping each other out and taking away with them new friendships and community ideas. The tour has also given us the chance to link up with the incredible charity and community groups across the UK tackling loneliness; a chance to hear first-hand from these people and, from the stage, to shine a light on invaluable work they do.

***** EDS (English Song and Dance)

“Impossible to ignore”
**** R2