Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
The Village Pump Festival, Trowbridge. UK. July 2003
The treat of the festival was the delightful singing and playing of Gilly
Darbey. She has recently rediscovered a love of the blues and brings her
considerable vocal talents (stunning clarity and range) to bear in this
musical idiom. Gilly played two shows and kept both crowds on the edge of
thier seats untill the encores. By way of a richly deserved encore Gilly
gave us SRV's "Pride and Joy", complete with audience participation, and the
beautiful and haunting "Ain't No Use Baby".
(Mike Mager, for "Blues In Britain" magazine.)
- Blues In Britain Magazine
"Gilly arrived in Australia and went straight to Buffalo Blues in the
Victorian Alps. Audience and performers were aghast at her voice's amazing
range and Gilly's soulful use of it. Within hours, the cream of Australia's
blues scene were swarming around her, lining her up to jam on stage with
them. Australian punters were busting a gut to get hold of her C.D. and
demanding a return tour - sooner rather than later."
Terry Lockwood - Artistic Director Buffalo Blues / Australian Blues Music
Festival - Goulburn
- Terry Lockwood
"Contained within is a selection of famous tunes, bar one original, which is an equal to it's companions. Norah Jones's 'Come Away With Me' is the opener and Darbey's lovely improvisations immediately strike the heart. She reminds me in places of Joan Baez, Katie Melua, early Joni Mitchel and even Eva Cassidy. These are just references, and while her roots are firmly folk, her style is classic and her own, her voice ageless and agile. Don Macleans 'And I Love You So' is an emotive listening experience, as are most of the tracks. I didn't think I would enjoy yet another version of Leonard Cohens 'Hallelujah' but Darbey made it as definitive and moving as any. Further down the tracklist she experiments more with blues attitudes, but she is the queen of accessible folk.
The excellent featured acoustic guitar playing is most likely her own, though not clearly specified on the CD sleeve. Her performances are captivating on the first listen and only get better after that. A magical little gem that is easy to love."
NZ Musician.
- NZ Musician
"Its always a pleasure to be in the Waipara sun, sampling the finest in
the award-winning local wine and food, but amplify that pleasure by a
hundred when you've got Gilly Darbey serenading you. At this year's
Waipara Wine and Food Celebration, Gilly Darbey was enthusiastically
welcomed back by the privileged few who'd previously been entertained
by her at vineyard event "The Last of the Summer Wine" in 2003, and
warmly received by those new to her name and repertoire.
Gilly indulged the crowds with two sets covering material from her previous
albums - a highlight being "I Envy the Wind", surely a Gilly Darbey
swansong. "
Laura Tomlin
Entertainment Officer, Waipara Wine and Food Festival.
- Laura Tomlin
"The Gilly Darbey concert was an evening of pure enjoyment; a warm still evening, warm friendly company and joyous music. Gilly's voice is great for the blues/folk style, full and rich and earthy with beautiful sweet notes. I love it!"
Penny Ernest, Onewhero Society of Performing Arts
- "The Gilly Darbey concert was an evening of pure enjoyment; a warm still evening, warm friendly comp
Discography
Three Birds.....vinyl album
Beneath The Stars.....vinyl album
The Red Collection.... ep
Ghosts Of Love....CD
One.....solo CD
Blues Movin' In....solo CD
Just Like A Woman....solo CD
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
“I just can’t imagine anyone not falling in love with the feel, sensuality and emotion in Gilly’s voice”
"She's a tonic for the senses, a performer who's more than capable of 'singing your life' with her songs, and touching emotions you guardedly hold dear."
"It is amazing the sound that can come from one woman and a guitar.”
“QUIETLY LOVELY, THEN STRONG ENOUGH TO BE HEARD TWO BLOCKS AWAY”
“HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL”
"The most powerful 3 minutes of performance I've ever heard."
"One of the best concerts we'd seen all year! “
JUST SOME OF THE QUOTES THAT DESCRIBE GILLY’S AMAZING VOICE. GILLY HAS BEEN MOVING PEOPLE WITH HER SINGING FOR MANY YEARS AND IN MANY GUISES.
AS PART OF THE POPULAR UK DUO “NOTHING BY CHANCE”, GILLY HAS SUPPORTED ARTISTS SUCH AS VAN MORRISON, JASPER CARROTT, PHIL COOL AND TORI AMOS AND AS SUCH HAS PLAYED AT NEARLY EVERY MAJOR VENUE IN THE U.K.
“NBC” ACHIEVED CRITICAL ACCLAIM IN THEIR OWN RIGHT WITH THE RELEASE OF THEIR ALBUM “GHOSTS OF LOVE” ON THE CHRYSALIS LABEL. THE ALBUM RECEIVED BBC RADIO ONE AIRPLAY AND WAS ON THE RADIO TWO PLAYLIST.THIS RESULTED IN NUMEROUS RADIO AND TV APPEARANCES, WITH THEIR OWN HALF HOUR SPECIAL FOR THE BBC. GILLY’S VOICE HAS BEEN USED BY AWARD WINNING COMPOSER RICHARD G. MITCHELL FOR THE BBC DRAMA “THE TENNANT OF WILDFELL HALL”, SHOWN WORLDWIDE, AND “THE COUPE DE GLOIRE”, AN INDEPENDANT FILM ABOUT THE WORLD CUP.
GILLY DECIDED TO GO SOLO AND RETURN TO HER ROOTS IN THE FOLK/BLUES SCENE. SHE HAS SINCE APPEARED AT MANY OF THE MAJOR FESTIVALS THROUGHOUT THE U.K. AND HAS BEEN WOWING AUDIENCES “DOWN UNDER”, APPEARING, TO RAVE REVIEWS, AT THE PRESTIGEOUS AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL BLUES FESTIVAL, THE NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL, AND THE SYDNEY GALAH, TO NAME BUT A FEW. WITH A LIVE WEB CAST FROM THE “BASEMENT STUDIO”, SYDNEY.
NO ONE HEARING GILLY CAN FAIL TO BE MOVED BY THE SOARING RANGE OF HER VOICE AND HER HEARTFELT INTERPRETATIONS OF HER ECLECTIC CHOICE OF MATERIAL.
LATE 2004 SAW GILLY APPEARING AT THE HONG KONG FESTIVAL AND ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST FESTIVALS, WOODFORD.
IN MARCH 2005 GILLY APPEARED AS A SPECIAL GUEST OF GORDON GILTRAP AT THE SYMPHONY HALL, BIRMINGHAM, UK AND IS RECORDING SOME SONGS THAT GORDON HAS WRITTEN FOR A NEW MUSICAL.
NOW BASED IN NZ WHERE SHE HAS APPEARED AT CANTERBURY FESTIVAL, AUCKLAND FESTIVAL, CARDRONA FOLK FESTIVAL, ALEXANDRA BLOSSOM FESTIVAL AND QUEENSTOWN INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL, WITH A LIVE APPEARANCE ON TVNZ HER REPUTATION IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE CONTINUES TO GROW AND 2007 LOOKS SET TO BE BUSIER THAN EVER.
HOT OFF THE PRESS, HER BRAND NEW CD 'JUST LIKE A WOMAN' RECEIVED THIS REVIEW FROM NZ MUSICIAN MAGAZINE.....
"Contained within is a selection of famous tunes, bar one original, which is an equal to it's companions. Norah Jones's 'Come Away With Me' is the opener and Darbey's lovely improvisations immediately strike the heart. She reminds me in places of Joan Baez, Katie Melua, early Joni Mitchel and even Eva Cassidy. These are just references, and while her roots are firmly folk, her style is classic and her own, her voice ageless and agile. Don Macleans 'And I Love You So' is an emotive listening experience, as are most of the tracks. I didn't think I would enjoy yet another version of Leonard Cohens 'Hallelujah' but Darbey made it as definitive and moving as any. Further down the tracklist she experiments more with blues attitudes, but she is the queen of accessible folk.
Her performances are captivating on the first listen and only get better after that. A magical little gem that is easy to love."
GILLY HAS ALSO STARTED WRITING HER OWN MATERIAL AND THIS IS TAKING HER INTO A NEW DIMENSION WITH MUCH POSITIVE FEEDBACK.
Links
