Journeying from a regenerated Clay Factory in the heart of Devon via a prehistoric settlement on Dartmoor and a Victorian mining village, by means of timeless melodies and tunes, February 2025 sees Cole release his debut solo album, ‘Postcards From Lost Places’. The album tour will visit York next month.
Recently seen in Scarborough on the Spa Grand Hall stage, as part of Midge Ure’s stunning Catalogue tour, Cole Stacey’s talent made a strong statement. A songwriter, singer and musician, he has spent the last ten years roaming the diverse echelons of traditional folk to 80s pop, spoken word to new romantic electronics, performing concerts and collecting sounds around the world as half of alt-folk sensation India Electric Co., as well as playing bass, synths and mandolin on tour with legendary musician Midge Ure.
As one half of alt-folk duo India Electric Company alongside Joseph O’Keefe, Cole has recently been found on prime-time live sessions for BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music with KLOF declaring them “one of the truly pioneering acts in folk music” and BBC Radio 1
describing them as “A full musical odyssey”. From being on stage at The Royal Albert Hall to Westfalenhalle Arena in Germany, from 700-year-old castles in Gdansk to Glastonbury Festival, this album finally brings Cole Stacey home.
“Soft, pop-aware voice describing a life alive with motion”
– The Independent
“When the last sea is sailed, when the last shallows charted, when the last fire is out and the last guest departed, when the last field is reaped and the last harvest stored, will you hear one last prayer, So the lost, will find home, once more”
‘Postcards From Lost Places’ is described as a visceral and honest debut, offering regeneration as its theme while being rooted in tradition. At its heart is a symbiosis of ‘lost’ places and forgotten words, stretching as far back as the 13th century, paired with Cole’s distinctive lyrical songwriting and soft pop vocals mixed with singular field recordings. The sound is upbeat and hopeful, leaning in to contemporary folk and gentle americana.
Collaborations include traditional Lithuanian Kanklės virtuoso Emilija Karaliute, BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Nominee Jack Cookson and electronic producer and composer Guy Andrews. Each track, or postcard, is imaginatively and lovingly recorded on location in spaces that to the outside world are easily overlooked, yet continue to endure.
The sounds created offer a snapshot of a creative soul and a glimpse into a wealth of audio stories waiting to be told. This album offers the chance to read a diary entry, reflecting a goal of not attempting to attain perfection, but simply to share stories of places and people with an alternative view of the world, of who they are and how they see it.
Cole will be performing this debut album live in full for the first time at a selection of handpicked unique live shows in the UK in February/March 2025, each venue selected for its resonance with lost and regenerated places and personal connection to him. The tour comes to Yorkshire on Sunday 9th February with a stop off at York’s Rise @ Bluebird Bakery, Acomb’s vibrant, independently-run creative hub.
Links for tickets at other dates can be found at: www.colestacey.net
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