Swallow and the Wolf are an indie-folk duo, consisting of

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born, Russell Swallow, who provides main vocals, lyrics and plays the acoustic guitar, and Australian Jess Kennedy on piano, keyboards and harmonising vocals. Russell was once a backing singer for Tallulah Rendall in 2011. Originally they were 'Russell Swallow and the Wolf' which was a 9-piece group with brass, strings, piano, drums, bass, guitar and extra singers. Russell had met Jess (from

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), when she had put an advert online as a musician/writer looking for work. She originally joined as a pianist, but later became a co-writer / singer as well. The set-up included singers such as Neo Joshua and Yvette Riby-Williams, both from 'The Boxettes' (previously

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's backing singers), and Alison Jones (who was a solo violinist with the touring

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production). These, and jazz and classically trained musicians from the

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, were enticed with large

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meals to play these indie-folk pop tunes. Their debut was at the

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, in August was awarded with a five star review and an invitation to play in the

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's own EdFringe tent. The ''Sunrise Mountain'' EP was released in 2012. It was produced by Gavin Hammond, Russell and Jess invited friend musicians to join them and contribute drums, bass, violin and additional vocals. The album includes; "Christmas Eve" (03:40), "Home" (02:56), "Paper Aeroplanes" ( 03:58), "Newfound Shore" (03:35), "Sunrise Mountain" (03:49) and "What Am I Supposed To Do?" (01:52). Russell found touring with the band to be prohibitively expensive and time consuming, so downsized to (a duo of Russell and Jess), as they shared music tastes, the desire to pursue writing and harmonise exceptionally well together. They still invite additional musicians to record and play live on various tracks. The band name has since changed to Swallow and the Wolf. The duo then released a 3-track single ''Every Time She Comes'' (digital album) on 7 May 2013. It contains "Every Time She Comes" (01:52), produced by Gavin Hammond, and "Charge of The Light Brigade" (03:40) and "Africa" (03:53) each recorded at Urchin Studios with Dan Cox, and produced by Russell. They subsequently recorded their second EP 'Fire EP' at

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's Sleeper Studios with producer Oliver Som (formerly an engineer on the Hillsborough charity single version of

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. On 22 October 2013, they released the track "Fire" as a single, with a launch party at 'Apartment 58' in the

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tower. A recording of The Devil Is A Wicked Puppeteer, was recorded live at The Union Chapel at this time, again with producer Oliver Som and engineer Cy Reynolds. They are an unsigned act, with, as yet no manager, booking agent, label (music is released via 'Swallow Records'), but they have a growing fan base. The duo self-released their Fire EP on 19 May, featuring 3-tracks Fire, Fight Tonight and SOS, and conducted a DIY tour of the UK, and small festivals. They head back into the studio with Oliver Som in June to record their next EP, due for release in the Autumn, along with a UK and German tour.

Reviews

"An acoustic evangelist… clearly a man with poetry in his soul" –

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

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. "I'm really loving Sirens" (track from forthcoming album) –

Chris Hawkins Christopher Charles Hawkins (born 23 September 1975) is a British radio presenter, DJ, and music pundit. Hawkins is a regular early morning presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music. He can also be heard presenting documentary programmes on BBC Radio ...

, BBC Radio 6 Music.

References

External links

their site

Facebook page on the duo

itunes page
{{Authority control British musical duos Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 2011 2011 establishments in England