Strike The Colours
The Face That Sunk A Thousand Ships
Scottish indie folk with intimate vocals and rich instrumentation.
Strike The Colours - aka Jenny Reeve and a varied line-up of some of Scotland\'s most talented musicians - will release long-awaited mini-album \'The Face That Sunk A Thousand Ships\' on June 18th. The release will be supported by several Scottish dates, including a launch night at Glasgow\'s Nice \'n Sleazy on June 23rd. Reeve is currently on tour in Europe with Malcolm Middleton and features heavily on his latest solo album \'A Brighter Beat\'.
It\'s the latest incarnation of a long-term collaboration that dates back to Middleton\'s Arab Strap years. Reeve - part of his touring band and also supporting as Strike The Colours - has, in cahoots with Arab Strap and a host of other leading Scottish acts, created an impressive reputation as one of Scotland\'s most sought-after musicians.
While the Scottish music scene sees indie acts and singer-songwriters come and go, Reeve, still only 27, has been working \'behind the scene\' for many years. Formerly of indie outfit Eva, Reeve\'s vocal and string talents have, since 2001, been lent to the releases and tours of Idlewild, Arab Strap, Terra Diablo, Union of Knives (frontman Chris Gordon recorded the album\'s first track, \'Choose Me\') and The Reindeer Section.
Strike The Colours, who recently featured on The Ballads of The Book with a bewitching interpretation of Rody Gorman\'s Message in a Bottle, had prosaic beginnings; working closely with core band-member Davy McAulay (Terra Diablo) in 2004, Reeve brought together fellow musicians, including Idlewild bassist Gareth Russell, to embellish her folk-inspired acoustic material.
Though without any clear ambition, Strike The Colours soon became what Reeve describes as a \'very DIY, fluid project\'. With the exception of McAulay, whom Reeve works with at Glasgow\'s Firebox Studios, its musicians literally - and quite happily - come and go. Its music - inspired by everyone from Karen Dalton and Tom Waits to Joan Baez and Bruce Springsteen - swings smoothly between full band and acoustic.
And it\'s now a unique entity that holds Reeve\'s musical passions and talents at its centre, all the while creating a stage for others\' ideas; a collective dynamic that eschews the usual band politics and produces some truly mesmerizing music. Since 2004, supports with Idlewild (on two UK tours), The Posies, Holly Golightly and, currently, Middleton, have for audiences and critics alike sown the seeds of something special.
\'The band can involve many or few - it creates something I can move within and I think the album really reflects that,\' says Reeve. \'Acoustic and full band appeals for different reasons; the stripped-back material is more expressive while the full band versions allow the songs to breathe differently and become more dynamic.\'
Folk: Scottish Contemporary