The Cedars
London, England, United Kingdom
Music
Press
Chantal has a phenomenal voice that completely silenced the
250-strong crowd and literally, yes, literally, sent shivers down my
spine. Is that still a clichŽ when it actually happened? Bluesy
stomping Americana stuff, great to dance to, and in fact generally
great. - moonfruit.com
"Just returned from Glastonbury London-based alt. country band, The Cedars, is making similar, if slightly more modern, noises. The band hits that darker, melancholic musical ground with musical craftsmanship and buckets of slide guitar..."
www.beardedmagazine.co.uk - Bearded Magazine
The Cedars like their Blues flavoured with a big dose of bluegrass, steel guitars and banjos, toiling away under Chantal HillÕs vocals. This London band certainly know how to play and they do a cracking job of evoking the spirit of the south (so good these songs would sit happily with period recordings). - Blues Matters
Shuffling, rootsy Americana 'n Country offset nicely by singer Chantal's beautifully silky, lilting voice - singing songs about "dirt and shame in that stony groundÓ. Live the band take on a more raucous feel, like the soundtrack to a wild, liquor-fuelled hoe-down.
...They're very clearly a class act; there are a whole raft of signed bands unfit to lick the shiny boots of The Cedars - Music Mart
"The Cedars describe themselves as a 'bluesy Americana throwback' and jolly good they are at it too. Fronted by the charismatic Chantal Hill on vocals and with the stylish slide of Jason Moffat on guitar, their tales of murder and jilted love are finely wrought and their 'unplugged' approach makes a welcome change"
Read the rest at: http://www.bluesinlondon.com/live/a3.html - Blues in London
" The gig itself is a revelation. The three preceding groups playing this evening had regaled the assembled crowd but the Cedars did more than entertain. They grabbed the audienceÕs attention and enthralled them."
"...at the end of the song, the crowd give hearty applause but it is tempered by the knowledge that they are soon to lose the band, and they throw themselves into howling for an encore. The band submit and finish off with The Colour. The whole venue is now transformed from a placid North London pub into a Texas hoedown, as people begin to clap along and put together worthy attempts to square dance. At the end of the song, everyone comes to their senses and wonders how they came to be locked arm in arm with a perfect stranger. Talking afterwards, the group seem unaware of the frenzy they brewed up." - Smallfish-online
Discography
Our debut Album 'Little Copper Still', recorded in California, USA, is mixed, mastered and ready for a home - currently looking for Publisher and Label. It was produced by Ian Brennan who has produced some fine albums, most notably Ramblin' Jack Elliott's album 'I Stand Alone' on Anti Records.
Live Studio Sessions (2006/7), has received Radio play here in the UK and various countries in the rest for Europe, USA and Australia.
Live Radio Session (BFBS2)
Photos
Bio
BACKGROUND:
The Cedars formed in April 2004 in London, UK by Jason Moffat and Chantal Hill and performed as a duo until the beginning of January 2006 when Pedro Vidal and Stephen Coates joined The Cedars to make it a 4-piece.
CAREER TO DATE:
We've played over 80 shows in the last 18 months and have been fortunate to play some fine venues including the Jazz Cafe, The Luminaire, Bush Hall, Cargo, The Borderline, The Pigalle Club, and several fine festivals including:
Reading Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Secret Garden Party
Stokefest
Trowbridge
and AFF...
We're proudly part of the Strummerville Foundation who supports charities through music, set up by the family of Joe Strummer.
GENRE, INFLUENCES AND APPROACH:
We play what can be loosely termed as Americana, although there has never been any conscious decision of following a specific genre, we're not particularity traditional although there are English and Scottish roots along with the melting pot of styles each individual member brings. We particularly admire the early years of American blues and folk musicians like Leadbelly, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and others of their time, we like the immediacy of these early recordings which captured the soul of the performance. A key part of our approach is in how we record and write our music, we don’t spend hours on end crafting our songs, it's a fairly immediate thing, additionally we record the core of a song live, including the vocal. We feel this retains the intimacy of a performance and acts as a real record of musicians playing together. This translates well to our live shows, where we've been well received by a wide cross section of audiences, from rock/indie dominated festivals to folk, country and blues shows.
Our first first review, shortly after we became a 4 piece, seems to sum us up nicely:
"Songs of jilted love and distant lovers are spiked with south-of-the-border traveling imagery and conjure up scenes of dusty crossroads and cracked river beds so vivid that your throat gets dry just listening to it. Even in a dark and smoke-filled basement, it's impossible not to get carried on these big tunes of the Big Sky Country that are somehow both melancholy and uplifting."
REVIEW EXTRACT:
Music Mart December 2006
Shuffling, rootsy Americana 'n Country offset nicely by singer Chantal's beautifully silky, lilting voice - singing songs about "dirt and shame in that stony ground". Live the band take on a more raucous feel, like the soundtrack to a wild, liquor-fuelled hoe-down.
...They're very clearly a class act; there are a whole raft of signed bands unfit to lick the shiny boots of The Cedars"
Links
