empty cup is the latest musical offering from Katie Rose, blending her lifelong fascination with sacred sound with wayward wanderings along the lanes of traditional songs in a combination she lovingly calls 'folk-mantra'.  

 

Struck by their contemporary resonance, she has relocated many of the songs in her South London urban soundscape.  The opening gun shot of Molly Bawn ricochets through the minimalist beats of current tragedy. (An image sequence can be viewed on YouTube)  Other songs are placed in a more rural setting such as Brigg Fair, featuring Katie's father, John Burden, who introduced her to the music of Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten at an early age.

 

empty cup follows an EP of traditional songs, fol-de-rose (2010) and contributions to compilations Echoes from the Mountain (Rif Mountain 2010) and Weirdlore (Folk Police 2012).  Previous sonic adventures include performing alongside the likes of The False Beards, Basement Jaxx, The Barefoot Doctor, Tim Wheater and leading singing groups and workshops in fields, yurts and venues across the UK and beyond.

 

Featuring songs of love and death at sea and a chant for the Yoruba Goddess Oshun, empty cup was released on 21^st March 2013 in celebration of World Water Day.  Inspired by founder Helen Chadwick, Katie co-ordinated a concert featuring 180 singers raising funds for Sing for Water on World Water Day 2012.  This project has raised over half a million pounds since its inauguration at the Thames Festival in 2002 to support WaterAid projects providing safe drinking water and sanitation for some of the world's poorest communities. More information at my JustGiving Page

 

Design - Katie Rose - Photos by David Olsan Make Up by Nuria Dress Tomasz Kociuba

 

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Filmed by Simon Paul Sutton of Conscious Media