Welcome

Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Iona Leigh’s November Newsletter. In this issue we will cover all of the exciting things that Iona has been up to in the past month including -

• FEATURE: New ‘Selkie’ Music Video
  
• Sponsorship from Selkie Clarsachs
  
• Iona plays Moray Firth Radio
  
• News from Iona’s October Gigs
  
• Iona’s Upcoming Gigs
  
• Upcoming Album News
  
• Winter Album Sale
  
• Thank You from Iona

As most of you are aware, Iona filmed the stunning ‘Ocean’ music video during the recording of her debut album ‘Spirit’ at London’s famous Resident Studios. In response to the many ‘Ocean’ video comments and pleading requests for a new video that we received, we have created a fabulous new video to celebrate Iona’s upcoming ’09 album!

This new video ‘The Selkie’ was filmed and recorded at the picturesque Watercolour Music Studios in Ardgour, on the west coast of Scotland. It features some of Scotland’s most talented musicians including; Findlay Napier on guitar, Colin Cunnningham on Bass, and Paul Jennings on drums.

Iona would like to thank all the marvellous musicians for their amazing performances – especially as the video was filmed after three longs days of recording the (mostly live) album, and was shot on a hot, August, summers day in Scotland – Yes - Scotland does actually get hot sometimes!

This video however, could not have been made without the producer; Nick Turner (at Watercolour), the videographer; Rob Malcolm, and studio/video assistant; Dan England. Last, but certainly not least, this video has been cleverly, concisely and creatively edited by the very talented Lauri Monroy – who also filmed and edited the successful ‘Ocean’ video. So THANK YOU guys!

Two years down the line, ‘Ocean’ has now received almost 11,000 views – and we hope this one will exceed that number! So please play your part by spreading the word and passing this magical music video onto all your friends and family. We’d love to hear what you think of the new video, so please add your comment and watch the video at:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kwJbq7xeRkc

We are pleased to announce Iona’s new sponsorship deal with Selkie Clarsachs in Orkney! Iona’s mother commissioned Selkie Clarsachs to make her an electric lap harp for her 21st birthday - and she been in love with its sound, size and sweet selkie nature ever since! She is very pleased to become an ambassador for Selkie Clarsachs and would like to tell you a little more about them …

The founder of Selkie Harps, Mark Shiner, began learning the craft of Clarsach making in the early 1990's, and has been playing and selling harps ever since! He runs a small harp makers and instrument repairs workshop in Stromness, a pictueresque and ancient port in the Orkney Islands.

Mark states: "In this beautiful and historical setting, we are trying to get past the idea that harps are unattainable treasures ... We believe passionately that harps should be affordable but of high quality and easy to own". For more information about these beautiful, unique and custom made harps, you can visit the Selkie Clarsachs website at selkieharps.co.uk.

Iona Leigh was very excited when her local radio station Moray Firth Radio FM, Inverness, recently notified her of their decision to play ‘Brown Haired Maiden’ on their ‘ALL SCOTTISH’ music programme. Iona was even more excited when she heard her music being featured on the 16/10/08 programme (the night before her 25th birthday).

The DJ; John Matheson, enthusiastically commented on the beauty of Iona’s track, while adding; ‘Iona’s new album will certainly be something to look forward to”, he went on to state; “Iona is certainly a name to look out for!.” We hope this was the first of many Iona songs to be featured on her local station – so a big Thank you to everyone at Moray Firth Radio FM.

Iona has been a busy little beaver this past month, performing throughout London at some great venues, but of the highlights had to be performing at Ginglik’s ‘Unsigned and Unique Female Voices’ Concert on the 19th of October. This event was organised by Sarah Villaraus of the band Libelula in aid of Oxfam’s ‘OXJAM MUSIC FESTIVAL’ concert series. This concert had great music, a great audience and raised money for a great cause in the process! Thank you to Sarah for organising this brilliant event!

Iona was recently contacted by journalist and folk researcher; Tim Caroll, who was one of the audience members at Iona’s Gloss Club performance at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London. Tim recently published a review of Ion’s performance on his FolkWords website and stated; “Iona Leigh has a gentle elusive edge to her voice that gorgeously complements the mythical mystery and other-worldly atmosphere of her songs. Though there is nothing slight or frail about her music, it demands your attention and weaves you into Iona’s spells.”

Iona would like to thank Tim for the lovely words and hopes to see him at another gig sometime soon! You can read more about Tim Caroll, his research into the new folk revival and his reviews of up and coming folk acts at folkwords.com.

Iona’s Upcoming Gigs

Iona has some exciting gigs coming up in London and it would be great to see you at one of these shows! Please see the details below, and check the website regularly for updates at IonaLeigh.com.

10th Nov 2008 08:30 PM @ The Half Moon in Putney
93 Lower Richmond Rd, London, SW15 1EU
£2.50 entry at the door

Iona Leigh will be performing at London’s famous Halfmoon Putney, one of London’s longest running, and most respected live music venues! Since the early sixties some of the biggest names in the music world have performed here; The Rolling Stones, The Who, U2, and many, many more.

19 Nov 2008, 08:30 PM @ Ginglik
1 Shepherds Bush Green, London, W12 8PH
£5 entry at the door

Iona Leigh will be performing a half hour set as part of Ginglik's famous 'Big Secret Wednesday's singer-songwriter's showcase night. The show is innovative and energetic yet chilled and accessible and fuses live music with live illustrating.

22 Nov 2008, 12:00 AM @ Union Chapel
The Vestry, Compton Avenue,, London, N1 2XD
Free entry at the door

Iona Leigh will be performing a half hour set as part of the ‘Daylight Concert Series’, which provides London with a new and exciting way to listen to music completely free of charge. The atmospheric gothic environment of the Union Chapel was not only nominated as one of the 100 reasons to remain in London, but also voted as Timeout’s ‘Live Venue of the Year 2002.’

26 Nov 2008, 09.30 PM @ Intimate Vibes
The Maynard, 70 Park Road, London, N8 8SX
Free entry at the door

Iona Leigh will be performing a half hour feature set as part of the 'Intimate Vibes' acoustic night, which features some of London's best original music, poetry, and stand up performers! It has been created as a platform to promote and raise the profile for as many budding (and established) artists, whilst ensuring a relaxed and fun environment for the audience and performers to network and share skills. Each week is hosted by Miss Daniella, and the night is filled with a range of eclectic music because variety is the spice of life!!! So come on down with your friends to enjoy some of the finest that North London has to offer from 8pm - 11pm.

* For all interested venues and concert promoters interested in booking Iona Leigh, please write to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

As some of you may have read in the last newsletter, Iona spent most of the summer writing, rehearsing, arranging and recording her brilliant new album with producer Nick Turner of Scotland’s Watercolour recording studio and media production company based in Ardgour, Fort William, at the heart of the Scottish Highlands. For more information about the recoding process, please see Iona’s 1st video diary where she speaks about the upcoming album:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qRY5p5t8j-w

Nick Turner is currently editing the final stages of the album and creating a promotional CD for the press and radio. There are a few finishing touches still to be added, which will include some beautiful harp arrangements by the fabulous Mary Ann Kennedy, as well as some deep double bass parts from the talented Duncan Lyle. We plan on keeping you updated on the album progress with monthly updates and countdowns!

As mentioned in the October Newsletter, we have a special deal on the ‘Spirit’ album this winter. Many of you have already taken advantage of this mailing list deal promotion where you can get 2 CD’s for the price of 1! This special is only on offer until the 31st of December 2008 – so grab your copy while stocks last!

You can simply order your copy through IonaLeigh.com as normal, or by clicking on the ‘Spirit’ album cover on the right side of this newsletter. So, if you fancy a treat for yourself, or a present for your friends and family – Iona’s album ‘Spirit’ could be the ideal gift! When you purchase your CD we will cross-reference your purchase email with the one on this list to qualify you.

If, for any reason, you are not able to use the same address to pay as the one on this list, then please reply to this email with the correct email and we will take care of your order and update your details. Lastly, we would like to give a special thank you to one of our avid fans that took full advantage of this offer last month and purchased 20 CDs as Christmas presents for all her friends and family!

Dear All,

The Iona Leigh Band has been hard at work spreading magical music to autumn audiences! We have met some wonderful people along the way, made some new friends/fans who we hope to see at some of our future gigs this winter! I've had the pleasure of working with Jannike on backing vocals, Dan on fiddle and Buzz on drums – so thanks for being great performers!

Thanks again to those of you who came out in the wind and rain to see us play live and we hope to see you again soon! I’m particularly looking forward to performing a features set at my favourite London venue – Union Chapel – on the 22nd of November – so it would be great to see some of you there! Wishing you all many autumnal blessings!

x Iona

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