Kenmare-based band blackmailed and bereft have released their new single, Raven's Kingdom. We asked lead singer and songwriter Chris Liddle the BIG questions . . .
The trio of Chris, Gill Newlyn (fiddle) and Anita Heffernan (harmonies) have been playing music together around the restaurants and bars of Kenmare, Kerry for many years playing trad music and singing cover versions until original music and songs started to bubble to the surface.
They released their self-titled debut album in 2019.
The name of the band comes from two words introduced to the English language by the Border Reivers, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border, in the 15th Century - blackmail and bereave.
The first, black mail, was the original ransom letter and bereaved means that if the ransom wasn't paid, the hostage killed by The Reivers.
Raven’s Kingdom, which features the dobro talents of Frankie Lane of The Fleadh Cowboys, was inspired by a dynasty of ravens in the Cork and Kerry mountains.
"As I was walking up the hill one of the ravens flew overhead and though it was 'way up high' I could clearly hear the stridulation of its flight feathers making a loud creaking noise as they rubbed together," Chris says.
"Being the age I am the raven brought to mind my own mortality and a game of 'what if' started in my head. This song is the result."
Tell us three things about yourself
I'm a sixties child with an insatiable curiosity about the universe and how it works (I hate the idea of dying before we find out what happened before the big bang) and I have a passion for playing live. Listeners elevate the music.
How would you describe your music?
Melody is king! Folk/pop, hooky, whistleable ear worms, blissed out harmonies played on wooden instruments. We combine traditional and original songs and tunes so you can listen or dance.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Joni Mitchell, John Martyn, James Taylor, The Blue Nile, Indigo Girls. The Moody Blues, Barclay James Harvest, Genesis, Jane Siberry, Aimee Mann, Mike Oldfield.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Barclay James Harvest, Manchester Apollo, 1979. My first year in college. I'd been messing about with a guitar for a couple of years but this gig inspired me to get serious. BJH are from Oldham, just two miles up the road from where I lived. I think it was a case of 'if you can see it you can be it', though we didn't have that phrase then.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Days of Future Past, The Moody Blues. I had it on cassette and played it endlessly. Dawn is a Feeling, The Afternoon and Nights in White Satin. Great song writing and Justin Hayward's voice. Still on my playlist.
What’s your favourite song right now?
The Other End of the Telescope - tune by Aimee Mann, lyrics by Elvis Costello. It's perfect, infectious melody, smart interesting lyrics and chords that even I can play.
Favourite lyric of all time?
"Petrified wood process tall timber down to rock" Peerless Joni Mitchell. Her writing from Blue through to Hejira was extraordinary. She could condense a three-hour movie into a three-minute song. The lyric above compresses a geological epoch into eight words. Genius.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Coyote, Joni Mitchell. I want to be a prisoner of the white lines on the free freeway.
Where can people find your music/more information?
Bandcamp. Facebook.
Alan Corr
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