The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - The Devil's on the Mast (2023)

The Ciderhouse Rebellion (duo) is releasing a trio album - The Devil’s On The Mast - with Kirsty Merryn Over a winter’s week in the heart of the Yorkshire Moors, Adam, Kirsty and Murray devised and recorded an album of brand new music. Between stories of wreckers and smugglers, midwives and hedge-witches, snake-catchers and nightmen, the new trio Cider With Kirsty reveal the hidden lives that were the historic heartbeat of the country. Originally meeting through folk legends Show Of Hands, The Ciderhouse Rebellion found that their create seascapes and laments, prayers and evocations danced perfectly with Merryn’s poignant and angelic vocals. Their prolific original songwriting led to an incredible album The Devil’s On The Mast - out June 2nd 2023. Master improvisers, the Ciderhouse Rebellion works differently to most artists — rather than engaging in a process of rehearsing and refining, Adam Summerhayes (fiddle) and Murray Grainger (accordion) create music in the moment, through improvisation and instinct, honed over years of working together, two lifetimes of musical study and a rare, magical connection. Kirsty Merryn has been working for many years as a solo performer and songwriter, and brought her own skills and experience to the project. The creative process: Adam and Kirsty wrote the lyrics for all of the tracks, bar two with older words, and then, in separate rooms, connected by headphones and the freezing silence of the moors, the trio just ... made music. The songs you hear are almost all first takes — not only the first time that they were recorded, but the first time they were played ... something captured in the moment of its creation. This dynamic, challenging and — for Kirsty — entirely new way of working takes a remarkable amount of trust, but the end result is something organic and beautiful that couldn’t be captured in any other way. “How is it that we, in our long history, denigrate and ignore so many of the folk who are the lifeblood of our society?” - sleeve notes from debut album The Devil’s On The Mast The Ciderhouse Rebellion have cooked up a bit of a storm in just three years with five albums, multiple FATEA awards and sensational live sets across the country - including at The Manchester Folk Festival. Known for creating music through improvisation and instinct, honed over years of working at the highest level and a lifetime of musical study, they continue to produce prolifically and keep audiences enthralled and fully engaged. Meanwhile, the huge talent of Kirsty Merryn - celebrated for many years as a solo performer and songwriter (‘her voice a treat for the soul’ - The Guardian ☆☆☆☆), brought her own virtuoso skills and experience to the project. The end result is a dynamic, enrapturing set of uniquely magical songs.


Tracklist:
1.01 - The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - Knock Four Times (4:41)
1.02 - The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - Belladonna (4:45)
1.03 - The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - Brusher Mills (4:24)
1.04 - The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - The Ballad of Agnes Sampson (4:00)
1.05 - The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - The Prayer of Agnes Sampson (4:16)
1.06 - The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - The Thurifers (4:13)
1.07 - The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - Becalmed (4:57)
1.08 - The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - The Men I Call My Own (9:17)
1.09 - The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - The Queen and the Nightman (6:23)
1.10 - The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - No Grass Grows on His Grave (8:18)
1.11 - The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Kirsty Merryn - The Song of the Old Mother (4:22)