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‘The Darkening’ is the Northumbrian name for twilight, but this band’s music blazes fiercely…
Named after the old Northumbrian word for twilight, The Darkening comprises four North-East England-based members: Kathryn Tickell (Northumbrian smallpipes, fiddle, vocals), Amy Thatcher (accordion, synth, clogs, vocals), Kieran Szifris (octave mandolin), Joe Truswell (drums, percussion, programming, plus Stef Conner from Cambridge (vocals, lyres, sistrum) and Josie Duncan from the Isle of Lewis (vocals, clarsach).
Their inspiration comes from the wild, dramatic, weather-bitten countryside along Hadrian’s Wall, which seems so quintessentially Northumbrian… and yet, almost 2000 years ago that same landscape was inhabited by people from around the world, worshipping different gods and following different customs. Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening explore the connecting threads of music, landscape and people. Songs range from themes of freedom, nature and venturing out into the world after times of darkness, to a Roman inscription with links to Libya and Syria magnetically pulled into the 21st century by Amen-inspired breakbeats, ominous vocals and the wildest of piping.
“A clever, shape-shifter of a record… founded on an exceptional band.”The Observer