Mermaid Kiss

Three guys and one girl from different bands joined forces around 2000 for some live gigs.

Evelyn Downing - vocals & flute,

Jamie Fields - bass & guitars,

Nigel Hooton - guitars &

Andy Garman - keyboard, bass, percussion.

Evelyn released two albums, "Shine" in 2001 and an EP in '02 called "Electric".
Jamie, Evelyn and Andrew recorded musical scores for a film called "Te Vawn".

An introduction with Jamie Field:

NG How did you met and when did you started to form a band?
JF "Mermaid Kiss started with just Evelyn and me In the beginning we concentrated on writing rather than performing or recording. They met Andy when they went into his studio to record a soundtrack they'd written for a short horror film together with the score for a stage production of Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'. We enjoyed the experience so much that when those projects were completed it was decided that we would continue to record together as a three piece.

NG Was the first album succesful for you?
JF 'The Mermaid Kiss Album' relased in June 2003 has sold slowly but consistently on the back of excellent reviews - but its main purpose was to introduce the band and their music. One of the difficulties in promoting the album was that it doesn't fit neatly into any single genre - any kind of originality is a definite problem in the music industry which loves to pigeonhole bands. It was reviewed in many types of magazine from a tradition folk magazine in Wales to a Heavy Metal magazine in Poland!

NG When did Nigel joined?
JF It was Andy who introduced Nigel into Mermaid Kiss as the two of them had played in a number of bands together over the years and Nigel had recently moved to the area. Then, with Evelyn going to University 150 miles away, it became increasingly difficult for her to give the commitment she wanted to the vocal aspect of the music and it was agreed to bring in a new vocalist, and Kate Belcher, another Kington resident, joined the band, while Evelyn would continue to add flute, keyboards, harmonies etc as and when she was available.

NG Now we miss the third singer in the band, Kate Emerson.
JF The band decided to follow the MKA with an EP 'Salt On Skin' . They had a couple of songs recorded with Evelyn and some new songs recorded with Kate Belcher which weren't going to fit onto the forthcoming album (when the album is released you'll understand why :) As Kate's 'A' levels approached she decided to take some time out to concentrate on those and as Andy and Jame had a couple of further songs they wanted to record for the EP, they got Kate Emerson in to guest on these.

NG Your music is definetely adventureous enough and having different angels to say that you sound the same as Karnataka, Kara & even Mostly Autumn, but that are the bands that came in my mind when I heard you the 1st time. Are you influenced by them?
JF It's interesting what you say about Karnataka, Kara and Mostly Autumn because we only heard Karnataka for the first time in 2003, Mostly Autumn in 2004 and we still haven't heard Kara at all, so in no way have they influenced us - we didn't grow up as a band in the prog scene at all - people who come to us from other areas of music liken us to say 10000 Maniacs, Mazzy Star, Kate Bush, Sparklehorse, Catherine Wheel, Heather Nova - this is why I think all this 'sounds like' stuff is not too helpful - it all depends on where the listener is coming from - I even wrote an article about it not long ago - it's short but you might find it interesting: A Column by Jamie.
Nice article Jamie! And yes it's true, it's hard to put music in boxes and tag them.

NG What are your personal highlights in music, bands, live gigs?
JF As too my favourite music bands etc - there's just too many to mention - and it often depends on my mood - the first band I ever got into seriously was CSN&Y and I guess my love of harmony comes from them, but the list of bands on myspace gives a flavour of what I listen to. In recent years my favourite band without doubt was The Catherine Wheel - and before them maybe The Psychedelic Furs - I loved Caravan and Yes in the early 70's - and Zeppelin too - was fortunate enough to see them all in their best years.

NG What are you doing now?
JF Andy, Nigel and me are currently in the studio laying down the music for the next album which has the working title of 'Etarlis' and Kate Belcher will join them next month (June) when her exams are completed. Evelyn will also be in the studio over the summer."

Best wishes as always,
Jamie.

Thank you Jamie, it's wonderfull to meet such people like you.
Good luck!

They release a cd called The Mermaid Kiss album (2003), features original vocalist Evelyn Downing.

The last mini album is called Salt on Skin. A deligthfull album with ambient soft rock & great instrumentations. The songs are building up carefully with drum loops, keyboards & jazzy elements, really adventureous. Laidback soft symfo on his best. But I haven't mentioned what the albums makes really specially; the vocal harmonies, and not one gorgeous voice, no three lovely voices!

Evelyn Downing - and flute,

Kate Belcher- and acoustic guitar,

Kate Emerson.

With a guest contribution of:

Paul Davies - lead guitar ex-, Karnataka.

Photography & graphics by Chris Walkden.

They've also written and recorded the soundtrack for a short horror film and the score for a stage production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and have appeared on a number of compilations of cover songs including discs dedicated to the music of The Doors and The Catherine Wheel.

If you like:
Mostly Autumn, Karnataka, Iona, Kate Bush, the Catherine Wheel, All about Eve, 10.000 Maniacs, Heather Nova and or lovely voices and excellent craftmanship try this band out. A Column by Jamie with a statement why this previous line doesn't make sence... ;-)

 

Evelyn Downing	Kate Emerson	Kate Belcher
Jamie	Nigel	Andy

 

From reviews of "Salt On Skin":
"It's pretty damn perfect." Dave Randall, The Music Index/Get Ready To Rock (Album Of The Month - March 2006)

"Stunning!" Russ Elliot, Musical Discoveries

"'The Blushing Bride' is one of the best pieces of music I've heard all year!" Michael Popke, Sea Of Tranquility

From reviews of "The Mermaid Kiss Album" Mermaid Kiss Album Cover "To say this is an emotionally charged album replete with gorgeous melodies, stunning vocal work and beautifully conceived ideas, would be an understatement." Greg Cummins, Sea Of Tranquility

"Haunting, sexy and compelling... this is the closest to music nirvana that one can get. One of THE releases of this or any other year." Michael Sullivan, The Here & There

"Outstanding.... an album of incredible depth and strength." Russ Elliot, Musical Discoveries

"An album of rare emotional quality.... makes what most other artists are doing seem insignificant. Nigel Messenger, Phase9 Entertainment

 

The recording of the new album is now complete and Andy is currently mixing it. Meanwhile the artwork is coming together following a recent photoshoot in Snowdonia. For a brief introduction to the album, check out the latest journal entry. On this album we’re joined by Wendy Marks, an old friend of Jamie’s (they played together in a band called Close To Zero), who plays cor anglais, oboe and recorders. The tracklist and timings for the album are below (– the timings may not be spot on at this stage.)

Our new album Etarlis will be released next month and features guest appearances from Troy Donockley (Iona) and Jonathan Edwards (Panic Room; ex-Karnataka). There are two preview tracks, Dark Cover and Siren Song at Mermaid Kiss My Space There’s also the opportunity to pre-order the album now at the reduced price of £8.95 + 90p p&p (price on release £9.95 + p&p) – you can do this at either the Mermaid Kiss or My Space sites.

Etarlis:

1. Prelude (2.01)
2. A Different Sky (5.27)
3. Walking With Ghosts (3.59)
4. Dark Cover (4.36)
5. Nowhere To Hide (7.08)
6. Siren Song (3.12)
7. A Sea Change (7.07)
(a) The Lighthouse
(b) The Running Tide
(c) In Deep
(d) Slide and Sway
(e) In Deep
8. Shadow Girl (4.03)
9. Beat The Drum (6.35)
10. Crayola Skies (5.34)
11. The City Of Clouds (Qway-Lin) (10.30)

 

Musicians on the new album are:

Evelyn Downing: lead and harmony vocals, flute

Jamie Field: acoustic guitars and occasional electric guitar and backing vocals

Andrew Garman: keyboards, bass, drums, percussion

Nigel Hooton: lead and rhythm electric and acoustic guitars.

with:
Kate Belcher: lead & harmony vocals on ‘Nowhere To Hide’, ‘Siren Song’ and ‘Shadow Girl’.

Wendy Marks: cor anglais, oboe, recorders.

Guests:
Jonathan Edwards: keyboard solo on ‘The Running Tide’ ex-Karnataka, Panic Room).

Troy Donockley: uilleann pipes on ‘Slide And Sway’.

A Review of
Etarlis '07

A own website explains the concept of the album, gives you an impression of the artwork and a change to listen to a few samples: www.etarlis.com/.

New interview May 2009.

American Images.
Recording is now well underway for American Images and there will hopefully be more news on that front soon.

Star Spangled Party!

Circles of Fire
Single released 26 March 2012.

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26th of May 2006:
Jamie is involved with a review of On an Island, see this page.
With members from Mostly Autumn, Magenta, Pendragon, The Reasoning and others....

 

Please visit them at:
www.mermaidkiss.co.uk

 

Home again.

 

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www.sonicbond.com/
Fair prices and a great collection.

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Updated 5th of April 2012 by Nick.
Shine On!

www.mostlypink.net