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Eliza Carthy MBE | |
|---|---|
 Carthy on stage at the 2011Wychwood Festival | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1975-08-23)23 August 1975 (age 49) Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | English folk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, violin,viola,melodeon, piano, guitar,tenor guitar,ukulele |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy,MBE (born 23 August 1975)[1] is an Englishfolk musician known for both singing and playing thefiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musiciansMartin Carthy andNorma Waterson.[2]
Carthy was born inScarborough, North Yorkshire, England. She went to school atFyling Hall School inNorth Yorkshire.
She grew up on a family farm along with her maternal aunt and uncle's families who lived adjacent.[3]
At thirteen, Carthy formed the Waterdaughters with her mother, aunt (Lal Waterson) and cousinMarry Waterson. She has subsequently worked withNancy Kerr, with her parents asWaterson–Carthy, and as part of the "supergroup"Blue Murder, in addition to her own solo work. When she was 13, Carthy joined theGoathland Plough Stots as a fiddle player.[4] She left school at 17 for a career as a professional touring musician.[5]
She has twice been nominated for theMercury Music Prize for UK album of the year: in 1998 forRed Rice, and again in 2003 forAnglicana. Carthy was a guest on the albumMermaid Avenue byBilly Bragg andWilco. Eliza and Billy also recorded together on the song "My Father's Mansions" which appeared on thePete Seeger tribute album calledWhere Have All The Flowers Gone (1998).
In September 2002, Carthy took part in the tribute concert forKirsty MacColl, "The Song's the Thing" along with other artists.
In 2003, Carthy swept the boards at theRadio 2Folk Awards, winning 'Folk Singer of the Year', 'Best Album' (forAnglicana) and 'Best Traditional Track' (for "Worcester City", on the albumAnglicana). She was also the first traditional English musician to be nominated for aBBC Radio 3Award for World Music in the same year (forAnglicana).
In 2004, she was part of Oysterband Big Session, a collaboration with numerous folk artists brought together byOysterband. They produced an albumThe Big Session Volume One, and the group as a whole were awarded Best Group at the Folk Awards in 2005. On 29 May 2005, Carthy took part in a tribute toPeggy Seeger at theQueen Elizabeth Hall, London. A double CDThree Score and Ten (2007) contains highlights of the concert.
In 2006, she contributed three songs (one as lead vocalist, two as backing vocalist) toRogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys, produced byHal Willner. Performing as a duo with Richard Thompson, she contributed "The Coo Coo Bird" to a boxed set calledThe Harry Smith Project (2006) also by Hal Willner. As a duo withBob Neuwirth, she sang "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground" byBascom Lamar Lunsford on the same boxed set.
Dreams of Breathing Underwater, Carthy's second collection of self penned songs was released on 23 June 2008. Combining traditional instrumentation with experimental arrangements, and drawing influences from all aspects of her career so far, the album was conceived as the follow-up to 2000sAngels and Cigarettes and was the making for the best part of seven years.
Carthy's 2008 tour was cancelled in November, as a cyst on her throat made singing inconsistent and painful. Because of her pregnancy, doctors delayed treatment until spring 2009.[6]
She became a mother to her son on 24 December 2008,[7] with her Canadian partner Aidan Curran.[8]
TheSt George's Day Celebrations inTrafalgar Square on 25 April 2009 were opened by Carthy who performed two songs.
In 2010, Carthy released an album of collaborations with her mother entitledGift. A BBC reviewer wrote: "The gift in question here, one gathers, is a handing of talent from generation to generation; Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy are, after all, the sublimely gifted mother and daughter who make up part of British folk’s great dynasty." Commenting on the final song, "Shallow Brown", the reviewer noted: "Backed variously by other family members, including Eliza’s father Martin Carthy on guitar as well as her cousin Oliver Knight on electric guitar, vocals and cello, there is a real sense of congregation and rootedness about this song, and indeed this record as a whole. Long may the dynasty flourish."[9]
Her daughter was born on 26 November 2010.[10][11]
In May 2012, a biography of Eliza Carthy written by Sophie Parkes and titledWayward Daughter was published by Soundcheck Books.[12]
In 2014, she was awarded the honour of anMBE for services to folk music in the Queen's Birthday Honours.[13] The same year she also marked the 50th anniversary ofTowersey Festival and the 75th anniversary ofTopic Records with a celebratory concert at the festival, for which she was Musical Director. Discussing the event withFolk Radio UK she said: "Me and my family have long been associated with Towersey Festival and Topic Records and I have great affection for both. Towersey gave me my first ever solo gig, as Topic gave me my first ever solo record ..."[14]
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Carthy appears a number of times
with Ben Ivitsky
As part of Waterson–Carthy
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |