How the romantics loved the Autumn. More than anything else it has a melancholy brought about by the inevitable sense of an ending. Wallowing in all of that poses little difficulty to those us who retreat to songs as a natural expression, but I became aware in my more recent years of how difficult a time it could be for people whose fragile hold on the world meant they could never take life for granted. My own father used to express a deep joy at the advent of spring which I have only understood now as I pass well above the age I thought of him as ‘old.’
However, I hold an enduring love of this time of year and Scotland has been beautiful over the last week or so, made better by the absence of winds allowing those slow turning leaves time to linger a little longer.
For me Autumn too is associated with Another Country and paying music on the radio. Instead of going out, we stay in and invite folk to come join us in the studio. Around this point in the year we start to wonder how we’re going to pay enough respect to the records we’ve encountered since the start of the year.
So many good albums have come out and are still popping up almost every day. This week we’ll get round to playing as many tracks as we can as well as introducing you to the joy of Edinburgh duo The Jellyman’s Daughter. We’ve played their music over the last few years but this year TJD took a huge step forward by bringing out a bold, ambitious new album which we’ve featured on previous shows.
Dead Reckoning keeps the folk/bluegrass sensibility of the band but, in adding evocative string arrangements, the album has deeper resonance than we’ve come to expect from Emily Kelly and Graham Coe. On this week’s AC they will be with us in Pacific Quay’s Studio One to play tracks live from that album and answer your host’s questions.
Elsewhere, to celebrate their arrival on theses shores, we’re going to remind you of some great session moments from earlier in the year when First Aid Kit came in to our studio before their opening concerts of this year’s (first) UK tour. It’s been another record breaking year for the Soderberg sisters as their tour goes from US to Europe and back again. They play Australia early next year before some home-coming Scandinavian shows in February. If you have a ticket to see them in Scotland this coming week, count yourself very lucky.
We will also remind you of the news we broke earlier about the line up for next year’s Country To Country at Glasgow’s Hydro. We’re going to try to do all of this in two hours starting at five past nine this Tuesday on BBC Radio Scotland. Join me if you can.
I completely and utterly relate to that melancholic autumnal feeling, reminding us to savour every passing moment. Increasingly I also celebrate spring—surely a facet of growing older, as you say.
Embracing every moment for me also means savouring every song—both new and old—and I can assure you I will always do that.