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FEATURE MUSIC
Songbird Flying High
“An old sound but not old-fashioned” is how singer Ebony Lamb describes the new album
Sun/Son from Eb & Sparrow. She talks to John Ferguson on being a relative latecomer to
music and the New Zealand folk and country music scene’s current renaissance.
Although the homegrown roots scene
has made huge strides in popularity in
recent years, there are still many who
would look at you in horror if you suggested
they attend a country or folk gig. And Ebony
Lamb admits that she thought pretty much the
same up to five years ago.
“It took quite a lot of guts for me to go to
my first country gig,” the singer from Eb &
Sparrow laughs. “I went to seeThe Eastern
and not only was it country but it was original
country and I thought ‘oh God, it’s going to
be the pits’. I had never heard of them and
had never seen them, but it was an
experience that really changed me.”
She may be a relatively new convert to
folk and country – in fact to being a singer-
songwriter full-stop – but she is a fast learner.
Eb & Sparrow – Lamb, ChrisWinter, Jason
Johnson, Bryn Heveldt and Nick Brown
– have just released their second full-length
album in the space of a year and with support
slots to acts such as Pokey La Farge, Beth Orton
and Rodriguez under their belts, they are one
of the rising stars of New Zealand’s buoyant
country/folk scene.
Their new record, Sun/Son, is another
timeless Kiwi slice of Americana, steeped
in the sounds of both traditional country
and revivalists such as GillianWelch –
“an old sound, but not old-fashioned”
as Lamb likes to put it.
Eb & Sparrow’s self-titled debut, like many
other recent homegrown roots recordings, was
recorded at Lyttelton’s Sitting Room Studios,
but for the new album they stayed closer
to home, with Brett Stanton producing and
mixing the record from hisWellington base.
Lamb credits him with creating the rich,
warm textures ofSun/Son . “He is an incredibly
well-regarded sound engineer and he has
a great ear for things,” she enthuses. “We
approached him and he said yes straight away
because he had done a few of our live shows.
His gear was really amazing and everything
was recorded on old microphones from
Berlin in the ‘50s.The old equipment has
that warm feeling and that was consistent
throughout the whole recording.”
Lamb believes the album has also benefited
from just how tight the band has become in
recent years through their constant touring.
While she writes the songs herself, the band’s
musical expertise is an important part of the
process. “We’ll play a song in a practice session
several times and they do things with it that are
beyond me.They also swap instruments quite
often: Chris, who plays trumpet and brass,
also plays bass and guitar; Jason who plays
bass usually but now plays a lot more guitar;
and everybody sings. So there is a change of
dynamics that can happen that is really nice.”
So what’s her favourite song on the new
album? “I love them all for different reasons,”
Lamb replies. “But probably Little Hands – in
the band, everyone has loved ones back at
home and I always dedicate it to our children.
But we also dedicate it to the people who have
left us too early – a few significant people
within our band’s circle have passed on. It’s
such a small little song but so meaningful.”
A number of songs on Sun/Son, particularly
the haunting MightyWind, also recall the
ghostly ballads of Cowboy Junkies and Lamb
says she was a big fan of the iconic Canadian
outfit. However, growing up she was a big indie
fan – “the Pixies changed my life” – and loved
everything from Britpop to grunge. “I wanted
to be a dancer so I had huge appreciation for
classical music,” she adds.
She is definitely a late starter when it
comes to music, having only been writing and
performing since around 2010. “I see folk as
soul music,” she says, explaining what drew
her to folk and country. “I am self-taught as a
musician and I don’t have up my sleeve years
of training; I had chords I could sing my own
melodies to and it’s a good place to start
from – and expand from. I am starting to
get itchy feet – I am thinking ‘I would quite
like to put down the guitar’.”
Lamb agrees that the New Zealand roots
scene is in the midst of a renaissance at the
moment and is proud to be part of such a
vibrant scene. “I think we’re in a golden era
because there are a bunch of people that are
like-minded who came together and are so
talented – and thank goodness. I am influenced
by my peers in music here and I am humbled
by them, too. I have got friends
who are at the top of their
game within New Zealand.
But for me, it important to
make sure we stay with our
own sound.”
She may be a relatively new
convert to folk and country
– in fact to being a singer-
songwriter full-stop – but she
is a fast learner
Sun/Son by
Eb & Sparrow
is out now
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30 SEPTEMBER 2015