Highly influenced by Folk and Americana, Liz directs her music with a spirit rooted in tradition as well as the contemporary. With a soulful voice, she renders folk songs with a modern twist and approaches song writing with a sense of progression. .SEE BLOG FOR FULL BIO.
REVIEWS.
Monday 29 October 2007.
Although it was essentially a Steve Tilston gig at Bob Chiswick's Monday Music Club tonight, I couldn't help feeling like I had attended a double bill. Even with just a five song contribution as tonight's support, Liz Ryder captivated the audience, the organisers, this reviewer, and I dare say Steve himself with her gentle and delicate songs.
Opening with "Skyline", a song familiar to those who have either visited her MySpace page or picked up the EP of the same name, Liz went on to play a short set of songs designed to allow us that brief glimpse into her life. Songs like "44th Street" from Liz's second album 'On the Neon Highway' show a maturity of style for someone so young. You almost struggle to connect what you hear with what you see.
Born in Los Angeles in 1981, Liz grew up here in the UK and began writing and performing from an early age. Although she is a multi-instrumentalist, she accompanied herself tonight on just guitar and showed an accomplished flair with both open and standard tunings. Note to self: why do female guitar players who use open tunings never sound flash? Perhaps they don't show off like their male contemporaries!
I was interested to find out what Liz might have heard around the house whilst in either LA or Kidderminster; what her folks had on the Dansette, hoping to reveal an insatiable appetite for Joan Baez, whose voice Liz immediately brings to mind. I was pleasantly surprised when she told me it was more like Cat Stevens and The Beach Boys. Sounds like our house.
Allan Wilkinson
Bob Chiswick's Monday Music Club at the Regent, Doncaster
'Her voice certainly has a haunting quality tipified by the likes of Joni Mitchell.' (Alex Lawson, Sandman Magazine Oct. 2007)
'.hauntingly familiar but at the same time excitingly original.' (Sidmouth Folk Week)
'In my opinion Liz is a highly skilled performer who, in a similar manner to a champion ice-skater, makes her note-perfect playing and singing appear effortless.' (Mike Parrot, for the FAB folk club in Essex 2006)
'.it's clear that Liz Ryder fully merits a prominent place in the new wave of British folk performers.' (Celf Cambria Arts, Tregaron)
'Her multi-instrumental skills add atmosphere and texture to her solo work, and her distinctive, bell-like vocals easily encompass the demands of her varied material. Her latest album "On the Neon Highway" fulfills the promise of her earlier recordings amd marks this young singer/songwriter as a name to watch out for.' (Acoustic Routes, Cambridge)
'.her distinctive stroking right-hand touch on guitar reveals much that's borrowed from her harp technique, and she uses a brave range of open tunings. Her chosen traditional folk material aside, there's a new maturity about her songs, especially apparent in 'House of Changes' and '44th Street', but it's her voice that registers above all, with a phenomenal range that she's quite unafraid to exploit to the full.' (Celf Cambria Arts, Tregaron)
'Comparisons are always a little unfair, but if pressed I would say that her pure tone and vocal range remind me at times of Joni Mitchell, while the imagery and language in some of her songs has echoes of the late Sandy Denny.' (Roland Walls, The Black Swan Folk Club, York)
MORE REVIEWS CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.LIZRYDER.COM
LIZ RYDER, 'ON THE NEON HIGHWAY' (2003) and Chrysalis EP (2008) OUT NOW. the EP is available on Snowcap and the album, at CDbaby.com
Liz's new full length album, BUTTERFLIES AND THIEVES (2010) will be out in under 2 months so keep checking back for updates!
And click here to buy from CDbaby.com (USA)
To buy on itunes, please just put Liz Ryder into the search box!
Also available with many other digital distributors so just do a search for me on your registered music network!
Myspace Layouts - Myspace Editor - Hot Comments - Image Hosting
