The Unthanks

‘Can you see if you’ve got a pound in your bag??’

I uttered these words rather frantically as we drove into the depths of the Tyne Tunnel. There was a sign as we entered saying that the exact amount was needed. I was coming in at £2.70 found in the collection of car change I keep in the water holder (alongside the odd Werthers Original sweet wrapper). We were down a quid. I remember from the last time me and Suze drove through that there’s no card payment option, and nobody sitting cheerily in a kiosk waiting for their palms to be crossed with silver. So it was down to my travelling companion Matt to rifle through the multitude of pockets in his bag. I swear there was a glint from the coin as Matt held it aloft!

With the drama of the tunnel behind us, we pulled into Cullercoats, a small North Eastern coastal town, and we breathed a deep sigh as we took first sight of the bay and the ebbing tide. Matt may have been disappointed that he hadn’t seen The Angel Of The North (I did promise but we turned off just before she majestically looms above the A1), but thankfully he didn’t hold it against me!

After scouting a couple of locations, we grabbed a cup of tea in the sun outside a seafront cafe, and shortly after, we were joined by the smiling faces of Rachel and Becky. We were here to take photos for The Unthanks and their upcoming tour and album. Me behind the camera, and Matt bringing his lighting wizardry. He also took all of the behind the scenes shots that this blog is peppered with.

The North East light and landscape provided the perfect backdrop.

We based ourselves close to the shore for most of the day, and found some local landmarks to shoot in and around too. As we tested the lights, I think Matt was planning his Unthanks audition tape!

A few moments later…

There was singing, and there were seals. We watched the ships as they queued for the tide to rise before making their journey down The Tyne. Away from these metal giants, we spotted a pod of dolphins heading north.

As we walked around taking images, I noticed this colourful underpass, and thought it would make a great backdrop.

I loved creating this underpass collection, and this image above was used to promote the Sorrows Away tour.

As the sun was leaving the sky, painting it with saffron streaks, we took a few down in the bay where Adrian (pianist and producer) came to join us too.

The Unthanks music reaches into your heart and pulls on the stories hidden there, into the dust the light and the shadows. If you haven’t heard their beauty yet, you are in for a treat.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with them a couple of times. You can see and read about creating images for their Mount The Air album here.

A couple of weeks ago, the new album arrived in the post. Straight on the turntable it went, and I’d highly recommend Sorrows Away, what a feast for the senses. Inside the album on the lyrics sheet, one of my photos. And within that image, the memories of a lovely creative day.

And I’ve nearly got to the end without mentioning Matt’s infamous recovery dance down the slippery rocks. A move I called the seaweed shuffle! Let’s just say, he has skills. Thanks for everything Matt, you’re a star.

The Unthanks - Diversions Volume 4.

Back in December last year, I travelled up to the beautiful village in Northumberland where The Unthanks have their recording studio. They'd asked me to take some publicity shots to announce their new Diversions Album to be released early 2017. The album was going to be a reworking of some of Molly Drake's beautiful songs and poems. Being a fan of her son Nick Drake's work, I had heard some work by Molly, and it seemed to be the perfect fit for The Unthanks to weave their unique sound amongst those tunes and words.

The concept behind the shots was that Rachel and Becky were to join an existing photograph of Molly in a composite, and to make the sisters look ghostly. So I took a series of shots of both Rachel and Becky individually against a plain background. I freelensed a few to give the images that dreamy, ethereal feel.

It was a beautiful winter's day outside, so we went down the lane and took a couple more, making good use of that low light!

I worked on a few edits back in the office and brought Becky & Rachel together just to see what the final choices would look like.

The final composite was put together by Steven Wainwright. It was great to see it for the first time!

It's a stunning album. I tried to explain Molly's music in words and then I found this description from Adrian (the pianist, musical director, and producer) and it's just perfect -  'Stylistically, the first thing you hear is the mannerisms of the time. The Noel Coward, Ivor Novello-esque hallmarks of the era are there in her piano playing, and a stiff, properness in the voice. But then, in stunning contrast and contradiction, her softness, her emotional intelligence, her sensual and radiant artistry, start to reach out to you. Hearing a woman, a mother, from that time, expressing her personal, melancholic, philosophical thoughts, so beautifully, with such guile and confidence, and yet kind of from behind closed doors, is as compelling a listen as I’ve ever experienced'. 

The publicity shot I worked on is on the inside sleeve of the album, and the cover of the Extras.

If you'd like to here one of the songs, take a listen to this beautiful track. It pulls me in each time I listen to it. The spoken words are by Molly's daughter Nick's sister, Gabrielle.

The Unthanks

It was a crisp bright October day as I headed up to Northumberland.  I had been asked by The Unthanks to take images of them in their studio for their new album Mount The Air.  As the sat nav directed me closer, the sun was peeping from behind the clouds and illuminated the misty valley below.  I arrived at their studio and said my hellos over a cup of tea.  The light was just perfect as it streamed through the windows.  I documented their morning as they rehearsed and played along to the tracks, it was great to get a sneak preview of the new album!

There was a butterfly flitting around from one sun spot to the other, and it landed on Niopha's violin as she played..

Then we went outside and walked down some of the country lanes to take a few more images.

The album came out a few weeks ago (and went straight into the charts at 17!), and it's a truly wonderful collection of songs.  I love how they weave their interpretations around traditional tales, the way they tell stories and create a landscape in their music.  Mount The Air also has jazz influences and Flutter has a trip hop air to it -  you can listen to it here.  And here's Alex Petridis talking about the album.  There are many goose bump inducing moments. 

At the beginning of last year I had said to myself that I'd like to do a bit more music photography.  I felt quite overwhelmed when my vinyl copy came through the post last week and I saw it there in front of me. 

We're really looking forward to seeing them play in Manchester tonight, and from the reviews I've read, it's going to be one of those you talk about for quite a while after.