The Wish List - Listen and buy our music

 

Our self-titled recording will be launched at this year's National Folk Festival at Easter in Canberra.

 

Here is a sample:



Non-flash audio for iPhone, iPad etc

Right-click to download

 

And the tracklist:

1. Katy Cruel

2. Chi Mi Na Morbheanna - Smile in Your Sleep

3. The Ship Song

4. Lillibulero

5. Red Red Rose

6. That's No Way To Say Goodbye

7. The Cradle Song

The Wish List
Nicole Murray and Emma Nixon
Review by Mal Lloyd

The Wish List's debut CD was completed just in time to be released at the National Folk Festival, to the great delight of their many fans.

The Wish List consists of Nicole Murray of Cloudstreet fame and Emma Nixon, best known as an award winning Scottish fiddle player and teacher. This isn't Emma's first venture in singing though as she was part of the a cappella quartet The Sheiling. The Wish List's name comes from the idea that anybody whom Emma and Nicole wish they could create music with may be invited to join them. In the case of this CD the invited friends are Rebecca Wright, Donald McKay and Lisa Stevenson.

The songs range from traditional with a Celtic influence, to contemporary Leonard Cohen, and a Nick Cave composition, The Ship Song, which is a perhaps surprising inclusion. Apparently this is thanks to a previously unsuspected side of Emma's musical past. It is a worthy inclusion however and features Emma's rich, low voice of which I for one would like to hear more in the future. There is mystery – what did Katy Cruel do that changed people's opinion of her? There is sentiment in Red Red Rose; there is humour in this version of Lillibulero. The album is arranged so that each track offers a fresh sound to awake the senses but without trying to be all things to all people.

With Nicole's pure and distinctive voice carrying the melody, the songs are characterised by the tingling close harmonies which are familiar to Cloudstreet fans, and accompanied by a very tasteful blend of fiddles and viola which at times hint of a classical influence. On some tracks these are enhanced by Rebecca's cello and voice, Donald's requinto guitar and Lisa's harp. With musicians of this calibre it goes without saying that the expression, phrasing and diction is superb throughout.

This CD will be at the top of my play list for a long time to come – possibly until The Wish List's next CD is released. When will that be ladies?



Wishlist Review
By Helena Bond

Fiddle singing is a rare art in Australia – perhaps because it demands fiendish levels of focus and musicianship – but the Wish List embrace it and make it their own. Their trademark sound is vocal harmonies with percussive and melodic strings, drawing on Nicole Murray's singing and playing of English, Irish, Australian and original songs with Cloudstreet, and Emma Nixon's Golden Fiddle expertise in Scottish music. Their repertoire consists of fresh interpretations of songs from Nick Cave to traditional Scots Gaelic, including Leonard Cohen's That's No Way to Say Goodbye, which features lush vocal harmonies over rich, bowed lines.

With two singers and a choice of fiddles or violas, you might think they had nothing left to wish for, but the Wish List's name indicates a desire to work with hand-picked collaborators.

I saw them (not for the first or last time) at the National Folk Festival, on the Budawang stage; the sepia seascape behind them making an excellent backdrop for these vibrant women and their sparkling music. I slipped in just in time for one of my favourite songs: an exciting version of Katy Cruel, with unexpected vocal harmonies and contrasting percussive lines on the fiddle. Cello singer and songwriter Rebecca Wright added depth to their strings and a third voice to the ethereal Scottish Chi Mi Na Morbheanna/Smile in Your Sleep (an excellent combination for a non-Gaelic-speaking audience).

There's everything you could wish for in a performance by this duo … and on their self-titled EP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact us by phone - +61 410 715 787 or by email - mail [@]thewishlist.net.au