Platys Yialos by Ali George

'The foundation of thIs album was the core two-piece set up of myself and double-bassist Tom Allen (The Zen Hussies, Bartoune). We had been rehearsing and gigging together for around four years, but we never got around to doing a recording session until November of 2019. I have always loved the combo of acoustic guitar and double bass since I first heard recordings of John Martyn and Danny Thompson.

There are two sides to the album in terms of style: a quieter, acoustic side, in which we drew inspiration from folk, blues and jazz; and a rockier, more aggressive side. With the quieter songs like “Another Girl” we drafted in Bath based pianist Jools Scott, who added his own subtle touches. For the rockier songs like “Melanie Brown”, drummer Josh West joined us, painting in his own crafted intricacies. It was the first time I have recorded with a drummer as a solo artist, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Ruby Brown - who has featured on three of my previous albums – joined us on three songs to do some stunning backing vocals. For the title track I asked the extraordinary Beth Porter to accompany me on cello. The beautiful cover painting was made by my father Andrew Scott George.

"Platys Yialos" translates roughly as "wide beach" in Greek. Some of this album is about the Greek island of Serifos, where the beach of "Platys Yialos" itself lies.'

Ali George, August 2020.
.

Ali George is a British singer-songwriter with a distinct fingerstyle guitar technique, mellow vocals, and an earthy songwriting style. Inspired most deeply by Bon Iver, Nick Drake, and John Martyn, he has been active in the southwest English folk scene for 20 years. His new album “Watchful Days” will be released in July 2023.

open.spotify.com
YouTube
aligeorge-music.com
itunes.apple.com
Instagram