The EP and me.

Around about six years ago I had a problem concerning music.
I had started blogging about six months previously, and discovered that liked doing so, but now I had a shortage of new material.
This was soon to presage my conversion to festivals, but I didn't yet countenance it at this time; that would take another three months or so. It did however turn my mind towards looking for new music beyond that which could be heard on the mainstream radio or learned about in the traditional music press.
What this means is that, for me at least, music changed forever. Way back then I thought that the EP - in any format - was a thing of the past although I had a few from back in the day.  That was only one thing that I was totally wrong about!
If I were to put all the (physical) EPs that I have accumulated since then in a pile it would be quite impressive. I shall continue by mentioning a few more that have very recently come to my attention...
The first is very recent and, as far as I am aware, currently only available as a download. It is from an act that, while dividing its time between widely spaced parts of our island, pulled this out of the bag.

It is their début release and I owe it to For Folk's Sake for bringing it to my attention and needless to say there is plenty more great stuff on show there.

The next one is very real, in a CD sense, and it arrived this week. I have mentioned this EP and the artist Pip Mountjoy before. This is the follow-up to the 2012 Lousiana EP. I have, more than anything, Deer Shed Festival to thank for letting me find out about this artist.

Still unsigned, I believe, but for how much longer? Certainly BBC Introducing have her locked on the radar and she's playing at venues and supporting better known artists as each month passes.
This next artist I have to thank Folkroom Records for bringing to my attention, courtesy of their first compilation.
Salwa Azar works a line surprising, and works it very well indeed. This EP is also download only and, oh my goodness, is it worth it.

It also provides a pivot on which to turn to a new album, but not her own although she has mentioned a forthcoming Kickstarter project, that has caught my attention very recently. In fact an artist that became known to me via another valuable resource for discovery - Amazing Radio.

Here is a taste of that; 'Between Destinations' is the first single from album 'The Story Of Me'. This is the début album by Laurence Made Me Cry aka Jo Whitby. It is available now as digipack cd here or widely on mp3 from the usual sources.