Bellows to the Hearth

Luke Daniels consistently strives to reimagine what folk music can be — from his debut composition The Lost Music of the Gaels to his recent solo songs album Old Friends and Exhausted Enemies.  Always innovating, Revolve and Rotate saw Luke travelling to the Folk Alliance conference in Kentucky with a a unique musical instrument called the ‘Electrophon’.  Inspired by a c1880 polyphon machine, he built the Electrophon to combine traditional source material, with digital and midi time code to create new instrumental music and songs on 20” steel discs.

As a multi-instrumentalist (melodeon, button accordion and guitar), as a singer/songwriter Luke’s signature style and elegant song-writing has graced stage and studio at home and abroad.  In the company of Mark Radcliffe, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Chris Wood, Lau, Cara Dillon, Jon Boden of Bellowhead and toured North America as a member of the internationally renowned Riverdance Band.

Bellows to the Hearth brings together a unique suite of compositions, inspired by Luke’s dedicated path in folk music which took him to Europe, North America and the Middle East. Many of these new works were crafted by the fireside during the lockdown years, they explore the roots of folk traditions in Irish and Scots trad and the origins of the dancehall traditions of Boston and Newfoundland which have shaped and grown the tradition today.