Ancestors, by Allister Thompson

Ancestors

by Allister Thompson

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Inaccessible Island, Ancestors, The Ash Grove (EP), Unborn, Undying, Autumnal, True Winter, Scenes from the Life of the Hermit of the North, Morning Fox, and 53 more. , and , .

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1.	The Dark-Eyed Sailor 04:58	buy track
2.	Polly on the Shore 04:07	buy track
3.	The Ash Grove 04:09	buy track
4.	The Lark in the Morning 03:46	buy track
5.	Cliffs of Dooneen 04:38	buy track
6.	The New York Trader 05:56	buy track
7.	The Unfortunate Mother 06:24	buy track
8.	The Factory Girl 04:18	buy track
9.	The Whitsun Dance 04:04	buy track
10.	Matty Groves 05:31	buy track

about

This is my second album of traditional British and Irish songs (the other is "Larkrise Revisited").

My first love as a musician was the music of the British folk revival, and also the music of the late 60s and early 70s singer-songwriters (Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, John Martyn, Christy Moore, etc.), as well as folk-rock bands like Fairport Convention, The Albion Band, and Steeleye Span.

While I have gone on to make music in various very disparate genres, I have frequently returned to this first love for inspiration. This album is very much a stylistic tribute to the influence of those old LPs on me and my songwriting, as well as the timeless appeal of traditional folk songs and the pull of my own roots as the child of a British emigrant family.

I am joined on this recording by several talented musicians (see credits below).

credits

released March 5, 2024

Zoe Thiessen: fiddle on tracks 1, 2, 5, and 6
Samantha Thompson: harp on tracks 3, 5, 7, singing on tracks 7 and 9, recorder on track 9
Teri-Lynn Janveau: singing on tracks 1, 7, 8

Lyrics of "Whitsun Dance" were written by Austin John Marshall
Lyrics of "The Ash Grove" were written by John Oxenford
"Cliffs of Dooneen" is attributed to Jack McAuliffe

"The Unfortunate Mother" is traditionally titled "The Cruel Mother." I composed the music and melody for this rendition myself.

Thanks to the site Mainly Norfolk for providing musicians with many versions of the lyrics of these songs to choose from.

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Allister Thompson - The Gateless Gate North Bay, Ontario

This is the place to meet the psychedelic, progressive, ambient, and folk/rock music of Allister Thompson released under his own name and as The Gateless Gate, Sons of Birches, Twilight Fields, and Khan Tengri.

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