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Foy Vance releases debut album in Ireland
13 Aug 2007, 17:13
County Down acoustic soul rebel Foy Vance releases his debut album, entitled ‘Hope’; on Rubyworks on September 7th. Using a voice and guitar template, Foy brings a fresh, honest and genuinely soulful insight into the art of song and performance. His gifts being an astonishing set of vocal pipes, an unflinching eye for the human condition; and an unfettered, natural approach to the recording process. Messrs Redding, Havens, Waits and Morrison are all useful compass points when plotting a course for Planet Vance, and while Foy would acknowledge the gravitational pull of the aforementioned quartet, he very much exists in his own universe.
‘Hope’ was recorded in a cottage in the Mourne Mountains. The recording process was very organic and spontaneous capturing the live element and the rawness of Foy’s performance. In his own words: “I’ve used studios in the past and I’ve always found them a bit difficult when it comes to really getting into the vibe so I figured - I’ll just buy the recording gear I need, hire a cottage, stick a piano in it and record. The whole idea was NOT TO have a design and let the album produce itself. Every night we’d get the fire burning, open a bottle of wine put some mics up and record. A lot of what came out of that is what the album is”.
Musically it flows like a live session and it brings out Foy’s soul, blues, gospel and jazz influences soaked up while growing up in Oklahoma but also from spending time in Alabama and New Orleans with his preacher father who played an intrinsic part in the way Foy observes the world. Lyrically, Foy has an amazing talent for telling great stories in a song, as is so poignantly displayed in ‘Indiscriminate Act of Kindness’ and ‘Gabriel and the Vagabond’. The album has many highlights including the southern-fried funk of album opener ‘Be with Me’, the Led Zeppelin meets Donna Summer groove of ‘Hope, Peace & Love’ and the rhythm & blues of ‘Shed a little light’. Heartfelt songs such as ‘Treading Water’, ‘I Was Made’ and ‘First of July’ complete an eclectic package of beautifully crafted songs, which as Foy puts it, ‘I see this album as small ornaments and trinkets that form the mantelpiece’.
‘Hope’ is a theme that defines Foy’s life and which is present throughout the album, whether in a positive or a negative way. ‘I named the album Hope because that’s something that’s been hereditary for me. It came from my dad who was eternally hopeful and every song on the album has an element or is some sort of study of hope’.
The album was written, performed, recorded, produced and mixed by Foy himself. Tchad Blake who is best known for his work with Pearl Jam, Tom Waits and Elvis Costello has also contributed to the mixing of some tracks.
Foy Vance will be touring venues around Ireland in support of the release of ‘Hope’:
8th Sept – Cork – Cyprus Ave.
9th Sept – Galway – Roisin Dubh
10th Sept – Limerick – Dolans
11th Sept – Dundalk – Spirit Store
‘Hope’ was recorded in a cottage in the Mourne Mountains. The recording process was very organic and spontaneous capturing the live element and the rawness of Foy’s performance. In his own words: “I’ve used studios in the past and I’ve always found them a bit difficult when it comes to really getting into the vibe so I figured - I’ll just buy the recording gear I need, hire a cottage, stick a piano in it and record. The whole idea was NOT TO have a design and let the album produce itself. Every night we’d get the fire burning, open a bottle of wine put some mics up and record. A lot of what came out of that is what the album is”.
Musically it flows like a live session and it brings out Foy’s soul, blues, gospel and jazz influences soaked up while growing up in Oklahoma but also from spending time in Alabama and New Orleans with his preacher father who played an intrinsic part in the way Foy observes the world. Lyrically, Foy has an amazing talent for telling great stories in a song, as is so poignantly displayed in ‘Indiscriminate Act of Kindness’ and ‘Gabriel and the Vagabond’. The album has many highlights including the southern-fried funk of album opener ‘Be with Me’, the Led Zeppelin meets Donna Summer groove of ‘Hope, Peace & Love’ and the rhythm & blues of ‘Shed a little light’. Heartfelt songs such as ‘Treading Water’, ‘I Was Made’ and ‘First of July’ complete an eclectic package of beautifully crafted songs, which as Foy puts it, ‘I see this album as small ornaments and trinkets that form the mantelpiece’.
‘Hope’ is a theme that defines Foy’s life and which is present throughout the album, whether in a positive or a negative way. ‘I named the album Hope because that’s something that’s been hereditary for me. It came from my dad who was eternally hopeful and every song on the album has an element or is some sort of study of hope’.
The album was written, performed, recorded, produced and mixed by Foy himself. Tchad Blake who is best known for his work with Pearl Jam, Tom Waits and Elvis Costello has also contributed to the mixing of some tracks.
Foy Vance will be touring venues around Ireland in support of the release of ‘Hope’:
8th Sept – Cork – Cyprus Ave.
9th Sept – Galway – Roisin Dubh
10th Sept – Limerick – Dolans
11th Sept – Dundalk – Spirit Store
