Welcome to my website and thanks for dropping in.
Updated 20th April 2012
Breaking News!!
Have now confirmed gigs for Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012. I'll be playing St Cecilia's Hall in Edinburgh from 3rd - 7th August inclusive. This will be a joint venture with Simon Kempston and Mark Barnett and will be billed as "Edinburgh Singer/Songwriters in the Round". More details to follow.
My first bona fide review comes from John Davy of Flying Shoes Review:
"Tom Fairnie: Banishment/As Eden Lay In Darkness
Posted by John (Biscuits and Gravy) Davy on April 1, 2012 at 12:30
Tom Fairnie is an Edinburgh-based poet/singer/songwriter with a rich background of performance and recorded collaborations with other poets and musicians. There are a couple of previous “solo” recordings but these two new discs demonstrate that the man is an inate collaborator – there must be about thirty other musicians and singers credited with an appearance at some point in the proceedings, though the core sound throughout remains Tom himself and his acoustic guitar. He says that he aims for uncluttered arrangements and that is indeed the case – in fact his music is at its most effective when his bruised, Scots Kenny Rogers voice is set against his own beautifully elegant folk guitar style.
The songs collected on these two discs go back over the last ten years or so and combine several strands of his work. First and foremost, he’s a poet, in love with words and imagery. He’s a romantic at root and his style seems to reach back to the great nineteenth century poets and to Burns, combining the pithiness of the latter with the yearning romanticism of the former though all the while his eye is on the world around him in the here and now. Secondly, he’s in love with country music and with American self-mythology. Songs about Hank Williams and Bonnie and Clyde are not the only occasions when his imagination drifts across the Atlantic to put himself in a desert landscape or in a border bar, drowning his romantic sorrows in tequila. Thirdly, he enjoys wandering (at least in his imagination) around European scenes of culture and sophistication and, fourthly, he enjoys referencing the music and the writers that have informed his life in performance, from traditional British folk song to You Are My Sunshine. In other words, there is a richness of material here that makes for some enjoyable listening as you let your imagination follow the paths he leads you down. It’s strange, however, that two albums of frequently beautiful, gentle music lack the killer melody that would hook you in – both sets can drift by without a single song demanding to be heard again immediately. A song like I Ain’t Goin’ Dancin’ No More on As Eden Lay in Darkness is as close as he gets to a catchy little number, but it’s left deliberately underpowered, the emphasis remaining on the sadness in the lyric rather than the bounce in the tune.
The beautifully produced covers for these discs incorporate booklets that feature poems from Tom’s good friend and colleague, Bob Shields – poems that sit as companion pieces alongside the lyrics to each song. It’s a clear indication of where the heart of this work lies."
John Davy
I really appreciate this review but may challenge the bit about lacking a killer melody!
One of Scotland's finest radio stations, CELTIC MUSIC RADIO, had my 2 new albums, As Eden Lay In Darkness and Banishment as their combined Album of the Week for week commencing 28th January.
The tracks are getting more airplay, with Shoeshine Boy and Last Sailorman being played on The Iain Anderson Show on Radio Scotland, one of the most highly respected programmes around. It doesn't get much better.
The two new CDs As Eden Lay In Darkness and Banishment are now available and can be ordered as proper CDs or as downloads. I am promoting them as much as possible and the response has been way beyond my highest expectations.
These two CDs have been almost four years in the making and there are lots of people to whom I owe a big debt of thanks for having helped, encouraged or inspired their creation and a significant amount of people participated in their production as well. I really am very proud of them and I would hope that you would all enjoy listening to them.
I have priced them at £10 per CD but, as they are related in theme and because there are some consistent features across both CDs, I have also decided to sell them at £15 for the pair. I think it makes sense to consider them as two related CDs rather than either a double CD or as two single CDs because of the connections between them. They're a bit like non-identical twins. There will be p&p on top of that but I honestly believe they're worth it. Please just visit the Music page on this website or email me if you want to order some copies.
I should mention that there is a plan to have an official launch but I haven’t fixed that up yet. I think my plan would be to have at least a couple of launches with one in Edinburgh and the other in Glasgow.
"This Scottish songwriter has a sound so heroic and wide ranging it’s a wonder how his stunning and far reaching yet subtle country sound isn’t flowing from the fingertips of an American songsmith with an endless Nebraskan landscape for influence. A slight Celtic whip and massive understanding for atmosphere gives Tom Fairnie an outstanding position from which to make music; some of his songs falling to within half a beat of Deacon Blue....with a refreshingly modern tackling of a very traditional sound....a cinematic and beautiful sound." Taken from a review on Rawrip by Greg Harper
For information; here’s the track lists…
As Eden Lay In Darkness Tom Fairnie
01. Shoeshine Boy
02. Falling Down
03. Don’t Wish Your Dreams Away
04. Sonoma & Sistine
05. Will You Fly Away?
06. I Ain’t Goin’ Dancin’ No More
07. Welcome The Morn
08. Everybody Lies
09. Prada Heels
10. The Blue Part Of My Heart
11. Hawthorn
12. Indiana
Banishment Tom Fairnie
01. The Last Sailor Man
02. Approaching Horizontal
03. Without Tears
04. Runaway Blues
05. Boston
06. The Rose Of Morelos
07. Little Lucifer
08. If I Could Hold Her In My Arms
09. The Love Of Columbine
10. The Woman
11. I Want To Be Kissed
12. The Bells Of San Giulio
13. The Glen Of Amelanchier
14. We All Want To Go Home Now
Here are my contact details including my email address...
Personal Email: tomfairnie@talktalk.net
website: www.tomfairnie.com
Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/tomfairnie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Fairnie/189220038242#!/tom.fairnie
Folk Alley: http://www.folkalley.com/openmic/artist.php?id=141
Macjams: http://www.macjams.com/artist/TomFairnie
MySpace: www.myspace.com/tomfairnie
I would describe myself as a contemporary singer songwriter and poet from Edinburgh. I’ve been writing songs for longer than I care to remember although I’ve only really been performing for about the last eight years. I originally decided to record my first CD, birthmarked, as a way of documenting my songs and I then produced another solo CD, The Journeyman. My music also features on three collaborative works; Companions, War On War and The Harbour At Symi as well as Speaking In Tongues with The Travelling Waverlies, a group of singer-songwriters and poets. I hav enow released another two CDs with the titles "As Eden Lay In Darkness" and "Banishment".
If you'd like to leave me a comment or message then there's a guestbook just below the "News" section on this page. I look forward to hearing from you!
|
My Edinburgh Festival Fringe gig at The Acoustic Music Centre in St Bride's was a big success. I really enjoyed the show and I think the songs went over well.
I've been a guest on Leith fm twice recently; once to promote the show at St Bride's and also on Laura Kerr's Light and Dark Show where I read some poetry. I was also a guest and played a couple of songs live on Celtic Music Radio and had a song played by Jackie Storrar on her wonderful country music show on CMR Nashville, which is Europe's number one country music radio station. Jackie is a great singer songwriter and I've really enjoyed listening to her music and her shows. You should all tune in on Saturday mornings. Just Google CMR Nashville.
I appeared on The Maid of the Loch, which is moored at Balloch Pier, on Friday the 9th of September as part of Folk on the Boat. It was a great line-up and I'm proud to have been a part of it. Check out the Celtic Music Radio website; CMR organised the event.
July's Foakies was absolutely one of the best ever. Kathy Stewart and The Fequesnt Flyers provided a wonderful show. I love Kathy's songs and she is a great performer who engages with the audience better than anyone I know. We also had two great poets in Jo MacFarlane and Rachel McCluskey who both did tremendous sets. Bruce Hogg also played two superb instrumental pieces that demonstated his technical ability as well as the way he can create a mood and convey an emotion. I realise that I'm sounding effusive but the atmosphere that was generated by the performers and the audience that night was just magical. I won't ever forget that evening.
Listening to the masters of Banishment and As Eden Lay In Darkness reminded me of how much time and effort it has taken to get to this point. It's amazing how many decisions have finally developed into finished productions. I could go on endlessly about songwriting, recording and mixing but what it all comes down to is something of a mantra for me, "emotion in, emotion out". If I had reached the end of all of this process and lost the original emotion that inspired the songs then I think I would have felt that it had failed but I honestly think it's still there although, of course, it isn't for me to judge. It's ironic that what I think is the most essential ingredient in the whole thing depends on every other listener.
|
-
-
-
-
-
Linda Harnett
- Cumbernauld
-
Aug 19, 2011 @
4:38 PM
Hi Tom, I called by, stayed a while, listened to the music, read your poetry, (which was impressive) and loved my time spent here! I feel suitably calmed and peaceful after an arduous week... and will visit often... Brilliant site...See you both soon....Love & Light 
-
-
-
Ken Sclater
- York
-
Jul 26, 2011 @
10:43 AM
Tom, I have never heard you play at the folkies, just introduce other guest musicians. These song are fantastic, I will give a better listen tonight when I get home!
-
-
-
-
-
Maureen Brack
- Edinburgh
-
Jan 31, 2010 @
6:46 PM
 Hi Tom and Jane, We met a good while ago at the Folkies night that Martin Stevenson played. I loved your music and hope to be able to hear you playing live again. Your new songs are fantastic. (Bumped into Jane in Debenhams and she said that 'I' was the woman with the lovely voice - praise indeed.) Still enjoy my Monday nights at the Oak. Best wishes, Mo x
-
-
-
-
alison
- canbera
-
Aug 16, 2009 @
7:03 PM
I found your site when googling to confirm my St Andrews childhood memories about the Dog star guiding the Fife fishermen to harbour. Your beautiful song, Rolling Home, was the only reference. I was doing a painting in which the Dog Star suddenly 'appeared'. The painting is now finished, on my blog - (google 'scribbles adagio') with a link to your site. Thank you for sharing your wonderful singing. Viva the Internet!
-
Add your message:
To have your photo appear beside your message: log-in or register.
|
You are visitor number: 113459
|
