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Nancy Elizabeth

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Nancy Elizabeth

Nancy Elizabeth Cunliffe (born 1983) is a folk singer-songwriter from Wigan in Lancashire, England. Having initially started playing on the Wigan folk scene, she attended Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and moved to playing regularly in Manchester, Liverpool and around England. Her first EP,The Wheel Turning King was released in 2006 and was followed by Battle and Victory in 2007. Her third studio album Wrought Iron was released in 2009. She tours extensively in the UK, Europe and further afield, playing with James Yorkston, Tunng, James Blackshaw and Hauschka. She is an active member of Sōka Gakkai.

Early years

Cunliffe was born in Billinge, Merseyside, near Wigan, England and learned piano and guitar at an early age, the later being entirely self-taught. By the age of 18 she had made one EP, Basis, and one LP, Fly Alley, both of which were recorded, produced, manufactured and distributed by Nancy using home equipment. Around this time Cunliffe started to experiment with other instruments and acquired a Khim from Thailand and a Celtic Harp.

The Wheel Turning King

Nancy's first EP was recorded in an old Corinthian style church on the outskirts of Liverpool and is named after the concept of an ideal ruler in ancient Indian mythology [1]. Recorded at night to reduce traffic noise interference, some distortion can be heard when listening carefully - in particular on the aptly-named "Waiting for Cars". The record was released by Manchesterbased Timbreland [2].

Battle and Victory

The first LP, Battle and Victory [3] was released 24th September 2007 and licensed to The Leaf Label and marked the first record where Cunliffe was dropped as a performing name. It was critically well received [4] and drew favourable comparisons with music by Joanna Newsom [5], Josephine Foster [6] and many others[7]. The release of this album went hand in hand with an increase in the number of live performances that Cunliffe undertook, and started to tour both the UK, Europe and further afield with regularity[8].

Wrought Iron

The second album Wrought Iron was released on the 5th October 2009[9], again with The Leaf Label. It received excellent reviews[10] and prompting a large piece to be written by Laura Barton in the The Guardian[11]. Drawing inspiration from natural sounds of the Faroe Islands (her grandmother’s birthplace), rural Spain and the Lake District the album was recorded in a remote corner of North Wales. Described as "sparse album, dusted with piano, breathy vocals and harmonies, and touches of acoustic guitar, horns and accordion"[12] this work moves away from the multi-instrumental previous works to concentrate mainly on the piano and vocal arrangements.

Third Album

A third album is currently under production.

Releases

Singles

"Hey Son" (2007)

"I Used to Try" (2007)

"Feet of Courage" (2009)

Extended Plays and Albums

  • The Wheel Turning King[13] EP (2006)
  1. "Place to Shelter"
  2. "Waiting for Cars"
  3. "Sense"
  4. "Wildfire"
  5. "The Moving Sand"
  6. "The Wheel Turning King"
  • Battle and Victory[14] LP (2007)
  1. "I'm Like the Paper"
  2. "I Used to Try"
  3. "Off With Your Axe"
  4. "The Remote Past"
  5. "Coriander"
  6. "8 Brown Legs"
  7. "Electric"
  8. "Hey Son"
  9. "Weakened Bow"
  10. "What is Human"
  11. "Lung"
  12. "How Can I Stop?"
  13. "Battle and Victory"
  • Wrought Iron[15] LP (2009)
  1. "Cairns"
  2. "Bring On The Hurricane"
  3. "Tow The Line"
  4. "Feet Of Courage"
  5. "Divining"
  6. "Cat Bells"
  7. "Canopy"
  8. "Lay Low"
  9. "The Act"
  10. "Ruins"
  11. "Winter, Baby"

References

  1. ^ The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
  2. ^ Timbreland Recordings
  3. ^ Battle and Victory
  4. ^ BBC review of Battle and Victory
  5. ^ Boomkat review of Battle and Victory
  6. ^ Guardian "New Band of the Day" review
  7. ^ NME review of Battle and Victory
  8. ^ Increasing number of live shows
  9. ^ Wrought Iron by Nancy Elizabeth
  10. ^ BBC Music review
  11. ^ Guardian Review of Nancy Elizabeth
  12. ^ Review
  13. ^ The Wheel Turning King on iTunes
  14. ^ Battle and Victory on iTunes
  15. ^ Wrought Iron on iTunes
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