Emily Barker hails from a tiny rural backwater in the remote south west of Western Australia. At 19, Emily donned a backpack and head out to travel the world. In 2002 Emily found herself in Cambridge where she met local guitar extraordinaire Rob Jackson (Boo Hewerdine/Broken Family Band/Eddie Reader.) They teamed up for a few songs at The Cambridge Folk Festival, went down a storm and henceforth formed a band called ‘the-low-country’ who went on to release 2 albums (‘Welcome to the-low-country…’ and ‘The Dark Road’), and enjoyed several plays on John Peel’s show. In October 2005, Emily won both Country song of the year and Regional song of the year at the prestigious Annual West Australian Music Song writing Awards. Also this year Emily commenced work on her debut solo album: ‘Photos.Fires.Fables.’ The album is an eclectic tapestry of old- timey narratives weaving gothic stories of fire, tragedy, love and hard lessons. It received much critical acclaim when it was released in 2007…
‘sharply observed, original songs …adventurously embellished by gypsy flourishes and haunting desert echoes that’d be at home on a Calexico album’ – Uncut
“This is a gorgeous, sincere voice that grabs you and won’t let go” – The Sun
The release of this album saw the birth of ‘The Red Clay Halo, an all-female trio consisting of Anna Jenkins, Jo Silverston and Gill Sandell who play violin, cello, accordion and flute respectively. They also all do backing vocals creating mesmerising 4-part harmonies. The girls have enjoyed many successes such as playing Glastonbury (Avalon Stage), Cambridge Folk Festival, Australia’s Perth International Arts Fesitval, End of the Road and the Big Session, and supporting the likes of Jose Gonzalez on his Australian tour, whilst in the UK, opening for The Waifs, Mary Gauthier, Billy Joe Shaver, Tony Joe White, Frank Turner and Elvis Perkins. The most recent album, Despite The Snow, was recorded over a snowy Easter weekend of 2008 in a 16th century barn in Norfolk. It was recorded completely live in just 4 days. The sound is therefore incredibly intimate and serves to beautifully capture the virtuosity and charisma of The Red Clay Halo quartet. Released in November 2008, the album gained much praise…
“Stripped free of studio frippery and all the better for its carefree simplicity” **** – Q Magazine
“The hills have yet to be emptied of gold if you know where to look.” – The Times Shortly after it’s release the album’s opening track ‘Nostaglia’ was discovered by composer Martin Phipps and then re-recorded for use as title and end credits for ‘Wallander,’ a major new drama adaptation for BBC One starring the revered British actor Kenneth Branagh. The series, which attracted over 6 million viewers per episode, has now won a Bafta award for Music as well as a Royal Television Award for its Title Music.
