Video: Kirsten Adamson “My Father’s Songs”

Check out the latest single from singer-songwriter Kirsten Adamson.  Kirsten is the daughter of Big Country’s Stuart Adamson and this is a deeply personal, heartbreaking song about reconnecting with her late father and coming to terms with his loss.  Lyrically, ‘My Father’s Songs’ is immediate and emotional: “I never knew my father until I sang my father’s songs.”  Adamson’s voice is beautifully clear and pure, fine country tones that she has developed over the years of watching Stuart record and play in Nashville and contributing vocals on Big Country’s ‘Driving To Damascus’ in 1999.  The gentle rhythm is aided by warm bass from Mike McCann and Jon Mackenzie supplies an excellent slide guitar solo, actually playing Stuart Adamson’s old Antigua Burst Fender Strat as a nod to the song’s intimate theme.  Although the song is a co-write with AUK favourite Dean Owens, the quality of the vocal and the nature of the lyrics very much make this a Kirsten Adams song.  The melody came to Owens, “…from nowhere,” during a meditation session and Adams wrote the rest in one go, the music spilling from her just like the memories.  The video features a timeless performance interspersed with old family footage, perfectly in keeping with the song’s themes of remembering and reflecting on familial love and loss.

Last year, Adamson’s version of her father’s song ‘Peace in Our Time’ – recorded in aid of Ukrainian children – broke into the UK Top 40 singles charts.  Now, she’s gearing up to release her second solo album, ‘Landing Place’, on 3rd February 2023.  The Dean Owens-produced record promises to be a fine collection of reflective songs, written during the isolation of lockdown when Adamson searched inwards for inspiration, just as her life was pulled in different directions: grief over the loss of her father balanced with new motherhood.  The songwriting is outstanding, the words are intensely personal and reflective and Adamson’s voice is sweet throughout.  Enjoy.