Music
Press
‘[...] A dynamic sense of rhythm and an engaging lyrical slant allied to his razor sharp singing make ‘Prussian Blue’ a delight. Mixing traditional and contemporary idioms with a fresh enthusiastic approach makes ‘Between Worlds’ and ‘Mecklenburg’ two of the most essential tracks this year. Throughout ‘Prussian Blue’ lies a uniform excellence and a genuinely exciting aura. Probably the most welcome musical treat in ages ‘Prussian Blue’ is contemporary Scottish music at its ebullient best. Hear it – you’ll be glad you did.
John O’Regan
- Rock 'n Reel
The pictures he paints with his words are powerful and universal […] Dave Robb’s unpretentious and soul-baring songs, with tunes that hang in the brain for days afterwards, still seem like a welcome glass of water after the curry of sampled leftovers which so much of the charts have now become.
Ellie Buchanan
- The Scotsman
Bouzouki-playing singer-songwriter is definitely on the right track. Slowly and painstakingly he has built a following for himself around the smaller venues of Edinburgh and Glasgow helped considerably by support slots last year with the Proclaimers and Christy Moore [...] 'Como' was recorded with a band, and Wednesday at a mobbed Negociants in Edinburgh saw his first public appearance fronting his own group [...] Live, though the fiddle was a successful counterpoint to Robb's heavily cross-rythmic sound, there were enough other elements to carry the show extremely successfully.
Ellie Buchanan - The Scotsman
Discography
'Willow Tree' (EP), CrexCrex Records 2009
'Lady Dixon's' (EP), CrexCrex Records 2010
Ingo and the Bouncy Castle (CD), CrexCrex Records (to appear Spring 2011)
From 'Willow Tree', the songs 'Willow Tree', 'Skulk in Shadows', 'Black and White Fades to Grey' and 'Fighting J' all received airplay on BBC Radio Ulster, Drive 105 and Downtown Radio.
From 'Lady Dixon's', the songs 'Lady Dixon's' and 'Mexico' have also been played several times by the above radio stations.
Photos
Bio
The Corncrakes are based around the songwriting of Dave Robb from Edinburgh, Scotland and the singing of Helen Mahaffy from Lurgan, Northern Ireland. Dave has toured with acts such as the Proclaimers (Sunshine on Leith tour 1988) and performed at the Reading Festival (1990). After years in Berlin he came to Belfast and put together the Corncrakes with Helen in 2007. Since then the band has made great inroads in the local Northern Irish acoustic music scene, receiving lots of local airplay on BBC Radio Ulster. The music is highly distinctive drawing on different influences such as the folk rock of Planxty, the catchy 1960s harmonies of The Seekers, or the ironic lyrics of Belle and Sebastian. The group's first single "Willow Tree" reached no. 2 in the Northern Ireland Free Download chart in September 2009. The band has also appeared at the North Coast and Belfast Nashville Festivals amongst others. The second single "Lady Dixon's" in June 2010 consolidated the group's reputation. A professional music video of the song "Mexico" can be seen on the band's myspace site. The Corncrakes are currently in the studio completing work on their first full-length album with producer Mudd Wallace. The band often appears as a trio with guitarist Paul Webster and as a 5-piece with bass (John McGurgan) and drums/percussion (Stephen Quinn) at larger events.
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