The 2017 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winner Josie Duncan ventures confidently into new ground, with her self-penned debut solo album As the Moonlight Melts. Released on Friday 26 August, it draws comparisons to Sigrid, Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rodgers with catchy riffs and lyrics from the heart.
Josie’s original songs were receiving airtime before she left university, and by the time she had graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, audiences from festival stages in Australia to Glasgow had come to recognise her as a vital figure within the Scottish music scene. The intervening years have led her to become an expert in crafting heart-warming songs.
The Glasgow singer-songwriter, who is from the Isle of Lewis, has an effortless, modern style of songwriting that has captivated audiences around the world, gaining her a loyal following. As the Moonlight Melts showcases 12 self-penned songs, which offer a personal yet relatable account of her life as a neurodivergent person navigating life and relationships in her twenties.
Josie Duncan said: “The album is a melting pot of all of my influences from the pop music of the early 2000s to my traditional folk background. There’s a mixture of ‘sad girl pop’ tunes that you can dance or cry to.
“I got to pour my heart out and work with my dream band on this album. It means the world to me and I am so grateful!”
The record features a stellar line-up of musicians – Josie Duncan on vocals, backing vocals and tenor guitar, Charlotte Printer (Skipinnish) on bass, Scottish-Icelandic musician Signy Jakobsdottir on percussion, Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow) on drum kit and Glasgow-based musician Andrew Cowan on guitars.
Award-winning violinist Seonaid Aitken and Glasgow-based Emma Pantel also feature on violin, Fyrish String Quartet member Sarah Leonard plays the viola on the record, former Scottish Ensemble young artist Alice Allen plays the cello, and talented multi-instrumentalist Craig McMahon features on production, keyboards, synths and electric drum kit.
Recorded at GloWorm Studios in Glasgow, mixed and mastered by Andrea Gobbi and produced by Craig McMahon, As the Moonlight Melts was released on Friday 26 August and is available to stream and download on all major digital platforms. Vinyl and CDs are available from www.JosieDuncanMusic.com