The musical evolution of The Staves — Emily, Jessica and Camilla — has been a slow, steady process; an adventure that began in the stew of family car journeys, sing-alongs and squabbles over the stereo, and immersed in the music of artists like Feist, Fleet Foxes, Simon & Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield, and Motown. “There was always music in the house and we always sang,” Jessica remembers. “Mum and Dad weren’t professional musicians or anything but they were always into music and would sing, and play both the guitar and piano. Lots of harmonies.”
They talk particularly of the influence of their Mother: Welsh-born, and raised in a community of male voice choirs, she instilled in her daughters the power of communal singing. “It’s in her blood,” Emily recalls. Equally, their father taught his daughters how to play the guitar, and is the proud owner of that incredibly influential record collection.
Legendary producers Glyn and Ethan Johns (whose combined credits include the likes of The Rolling Stones, Joan Armatrading, Ryan Adams, Ray LaMontagne, Kings of Leon, and Laura Marling to name but a few) found the sisters’ talents so compelling that they both independently tracked the band down. The Staves’ debut album, due for release in 2012, will be the first record on which father and son have shared production credits.
The Staves’ music is songwriting as striking as it is exquisite, a melding of still, bright English folk and sublime West Coast pop. But undeniably, it’s the vocal arrangements that mark them out, a mingling of dusky sweetness and high, beaming radiance. For the listener, this Mexico EP comprises three songs that offer a mere taste of these young ladies’ extraordinary talents, and a promise of what is yet to come.
Performed live, their music is capable of plunging an audience into silence, and capturing The Staves’ harmonies in a hushed room is an experience in itself.
The Staves Live (in association with Communion):
16th November – London Enterprise
23rd November – London Enterprise
24th November – Manchester Sacred Trinity Church
25th November – Belfast The Stiff Kitten
26th November – Dublin Academy 2
28th November – Birmingham Glee Club
29th November – Glasgow Stereo
30th November – Edinburgh Sneaky Petes
1st December – Leeds Nation of Shopkeepers
3rd December – Nottingham The Navigation
4th December – Bristol Start The Bus
5th December – Brighton The Hope
The Staves will be heading out to the U.S. for a series of shows with Civil Wars in January and are also now pleased to announce a Michael Kiwanuka UK support tour for February:
Michael Kiwanuka + The Staves Live:
11th February – Dublin, Sugar Club
12th February – Cork, Cyprus Avenue
14th February – Birmingham, Glee Club
15th February – Brighton, Komedia
16th February – London, Islington Assembly Hall
18th February – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
19th February – Liverpool, Masque
20th February – Manchester, Ruby Lounge
23rd February – Newcastle, The Cluny
24th February – Glasgow, King Tuts
25th February – Edinburgh, Electric Circus
