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Rachel Newton
The Shee (2009)
The Shee
Background information
Born (1985-10-28) October 28, 1985 (age 39)
OriginEdinburgh, Scotland
GenresFolk
InstrumentHarp
Years active2005–present

Rachel Newton is a Scottish singer and harpist. As well as playing both acoustic and electric harp she also plays viola, fiddle and harmonium.[1] She performs solo as well as in the bands The Shee, The Furrow Collective and Boreas and was formerly a member of the Emily Portman Trio.[2] She was involved in the Lost Words Spell Songs project[3] and is a co-founder of The Bit Collective, a group campaigning for equality in folk music.[4]

Career

Formation of The Shee (2005 - 2011)

In 2005 Newton formed The Shee with friends Shona Mooney, Laura Beth Salter, Amy Thatcher, Lillias Kinsman Blake and Olivia Ross who she had met while studying for the Folk and Traditional Music degree at Newcastle University.[5][6] The group perform a mixture of their own works and traditional music, in both English and Scots Gaelic.[7] In 2008 The Shee released their first album A Different Season to favourable reviews.[8][9] Also in 2008 the album Dear Someone was released, a collaboration between Newton and Kinsman-Blake, who was also part of The Shee.[10]

Newton won for Best Music and Sound at the 2009 Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland for her work with Rowantree Theatre Company.[11][12]

The next album by The Shee Decadence was released in 2010, containing a mixture of traditional and original music. Reviews said that it was excellent and had no low points.[13][14]

First Solo Releases (2012 - 2015)

In 2012 Newton released her first solo album The Shadow Side. The album contained five instrumentals composed by Newton and new arrangements of six other songs, with the original compositions being mentioned by reviewers as the most notable part.[15] Also released the same year was the third album by The Shee, Murmurations. The album was mostly original work with some traditional tunes, with praise directed to the arrangements and the range of musical influences on show. The case for the CD showed a murmuration of starlings and was designed so no two CDs had exactly the same arrangement of birds.[16][17]

The 2014 album Changeling was commissioned by the Celtic Connections festival as part of their New Voices series. The album was written by Newton and on the recording she performs vocals and plays harp and viola. It also features Corrina Hewat on vocals and harp, Lauren MacColl on fiddle, Adam Holmes on vocals, Mattie Foulds on percussion, Su-a Lee on Cello and musical saw and Alec Frank-Gemmill on horn. The theme was inspired by Scottish folk takes of human children being taken by fairies and replaced by supernatural creatures and the use of this to explain children with behavioural problems and disabilities. In the album Newton wanted to look at the darker side of traditional folk tales and use them to explore feelings about life and death that are hard to express outside of music.[18][19][20] The Guardian gave it 3 stars out of 5 while praising the 'haunting vocal work and elegant harp playing' [21] and the Financial Times gave it 4 stars out of 5.[22]. Other reviews called it compelling and emotionally stirring.[23][24]


In 2016 Newton won Instrumentalist of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards.[25] In 2017 her album Here's My Heart Come Take It was shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year Award[26] and at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards she won Musician of the Year and The Furrow Collective won Best Group.[27]

In 2017 Newton left The Coracle Band and the Emily Portman Trio[28]

Discography

Solo work

  • The Shadow Side (2012)
  • Changeling (2014)
  • Here's My Heart Come Take It (2016)
  • West (2018)
  • To The Awe (2020)

Rachel and Lillias

  • Dear Someone (2008)

The Shee

  • A Different Season (2008)
  • Decadence (2010)
  • Murmurations (2012)
  • Continuum (2016)

Emily Portman Trio

  • One Night For Norma - Live At The Sage Gateshead (2011)

The Furrow Collective

  • At Our Next Meeting (2014)
  • Blow Out The Moon (2015)
  • Wild Hog (2016)
  • Fathoms (2018)

Other Projects

  • The Elizabethan Session (2014)[29]
  • The Lost Words: Spell Songs (2019)

References

  1. ^ "Rachel Newton Debut Album". The Journal of Music. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Rachel Newton". British Music Collection. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Spell Songs | The Lost Words". www.thelostwords.org. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Campaign launched to protect women from sexual abuse and harassment in Scots trad music scene". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  5. ^ "The Tradition: An Interview with The Shee". Folk Radio.
  6. ^ "University celebrates a decade of folk". Newcastle University.
  7. ^ "Folk band - The Shee". www.scottish-folk-music.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  8. ^ "The Shee - A Different Season (4 stars)". The List. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  9. ^ "FolkWorld Issue 38 03/2009 FolkWorld CD Reviews". Folkworld. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Rachel and Lillias - Dear Someone". Music Scotland. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  11. ^ "CATS: winners by music and sound". www.criticsawards.theatrescotland.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Rachel Newton - The Shadow Side". bright young folk. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  13. ^ "FolkWorld #44 03/2011 CD & DVD Reviews". Folkworld. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  14. ^ "The Shee - Decadence". bright young folk. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  15. ^ "RACHEL NEWTON - The Shadow Side". Living Tradition. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  16. ^ "THE SHEE - Murmurations". Living Tradition. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Reviews The Shee". Fatea Records. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Rachel Newton – Changeling Interview". Folk Radio. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  19. ^ "Rachel Newton talks about her new album Changeling, collaborations and the metaphor of song". Folk Witness. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  20. ^ "New Voices: Rachel Newton". The Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Rachel Newton: Changeling review – haunting vocals and elegant harp". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  22. ^ "Rachel Newton: Changeling – review". Financial Times. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  23. ^ "Changeling". Songlines. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  24. ^ "Rachel Newton, Changeling. Album Review". Liverpool Sound and Vision. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  25. ^ "MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards 2016 – Live Review and Winners". www.folkradio.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ "SAY Award 2017: Shortlist revealed - The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  27. ^ folkmaster, Author (6 April 2017). "BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2017 Winners Announced". Folking.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  28. ^ "Introducing the Coracle Band...Rachel Newton". Emily Portman. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  29. ^ "The Elizabethan Session". Folk by the oak. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
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