If anyone has ever had the temerity to question the UK in Americana UK then this interview with Patrick Hart, chief cook and bottle washer and owner of Cow Pie Records will put that question to bed once and for all. Cow Pie Records was originally founded in the second half of the ‘70s by UK pedal steel player extraordinaire, B J Cole, who has played with everyone from Elton John and Scott Walker to The Verve and Spiritualised, when he somehow managed to persuade United Artists to provide a budget and a licensing deal. Continue reading “Interview: Cow Pie, a record label for UK country in 2020”
At AUK we are on a quest to find the ‘top 10 americana albums ever’. Over the last few weeks our writers have been going through the mental anguish of trying to narrow the whole history of americana down to just ten albums. When every writer has had their say, a shortlist of the most frequently chosen albums will be drawn up and voted on, in order to generate the definitive AUK writers top ten. With 10 writers now having had their say we are a quarter of the way through and we hope you agree that it’s been a fascinating series. Straight on to number 11 then. This week’s selections come from Bristol’s very own Tim Martin. 
Toronto’s David Celia has seen it all touring extensively across Europe and North America in promotion of his latest album ‘Double Mind‘, so he’s picked up a trick or two along the way. Tonight’s turnout on a cold Tuesday night was below-par by The Bell’s standards but the Canadian singer/songwriter made the best of it early on, acknowledging the fact with a wry joke and pressing gamely ahead. He was joined by Marla, a fellow singer/songwriter from Germany and together they threw up images of a young Gram and Emmylou stepping out for the first time full of hope and fresh original songs of change. The venue lent itself to the atmosphere; The Bell is an intimate and dedicated shrine to the glory years of transatlantic musical heroes.