“one of our finest singer/songwriters” Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2 "brilliant! Lisa has a great voice" Glenn Tilbrook, Squeeze "In a sea of smart female singer-songwriters, Lisa Redford is an admiral.' Maverick Magazine **** Lisa is a versatile singer-songwriter whose music has been described as delicate acoustic roots pop with heartfelt lyrics, gorgeous melodies and stunning vocals. Influenced by singer-songwriters such as Carole King, James Taylor, Neil Young, Chrissie Hynde and Shawn Colvin, Lisa began songwriting after singing with a band at major London venues. She formed acoustic duo Redford and they began performing extensively at acoustic venues around the UK. They also made appearances on TV and radio, at the Cambridge Folk Festival (picture below), headlined many successful acoustic showcases, and supported respected songwriters Glenn Tilbrook and Mike Silver.
A more electronic direction was found when a third member joined and the trio earned a formidable live reputation which included opening for The Sneaker Pimps and Matthew Jay. They also had one of their songs included in a British independent film which was on general release in 2001.
Lisa is now a solo artist and her influences and favourite artists include Neal Casal, Josh Rouse, Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Kathleen Edwards, HEM, Rosie Thomas and Alison Krauss. In September 2002 her first solo CD, the self produced promo, Carolina Rain (cover picture below), was recorded. The acoustic CD, (no longer available), contained 12 songs all written, performed and produced by Lisa. Also in 2002 Lisa revealed her versatility as an artist. She provided vocals and music for the national ITV1 series Dare to Believe and also worked as a vocalist on many different projects. These included recording a song written by 2 LA producers for a dance label and performing latin jazz with the band Raincheck. She also shared the bill with Boo Hewerdine and The Arlenes (pictures below). In 2003 Lisa's track 'Turn Away' appeared on compilation CD Guide#1 which showcased the hottest talent in the UK. She also recorded numerous live radio sessions, performed sold out headlining shows and at the Cambridge Folk Festival, wrote music for the second series of Dare to Believe, and opened for Jesse Sykes and Laura Veirs.
In November 2003 Lisa's debut album, the self-released and financed 'Slipstream', was released. The album contains 12 songs all written, performed and produced by Lisa. It captured a very natural acoustic sound because Lisa wanted the recordings to be as near to her compelling live performances as possible. The tracklisting is: Slipstream Hand to hold Be Around Turn Away I Wonder Red Eyes Don't Tell Me Lot of Love Silver River Carolina Rain Blue Hope Never Dies Slipstream gained widespread glowing reviews, and tracks from the album received airplay on Bob Harris' Saturday show on Radio 2 and various other radio stations around the world. In 2004 she also opened for many respected artists including Kathryn Williams, The Handsome Family, The Hot Club of Cowtown, The Deadstring Brothers and Kate Campbell and made many festival appearances. 2005 saw Lisa tour Europe, play in Vancouver and play shows with Johnathan Rice and Griffin House. She also performed at the prestigious singer-songwriter festival at London's Borderline supporting Peter Mulvey. June saw the release of her long-awaited second album, Lost Again produced by Gabriel Minnikin, a former member of acclaimed Canadian alt-country band, The Guthries. Recorded at Airtight in Manchester with some wonderful musicians, Lost Again took her blend of exquisitely melodic country pop to another level with beautiful lush arrangements and an increase in instrumentation. Ranging from the breezy radio-friendly title track, the aching ballad When You Go, the Drake tinged Dragonfly, to the epic Universe, the album further showcased her depth of songwriting talent and made this album a truly compelling listen. Tracklisting: Lost Again Dragonfly Wildfire Universe Love You Anyway You Will Know When You Go The Way it Goes Just Getting By Why Mountain Hideaway Fell on Hard times Lost Again received even more airplay on Bob Harris's Friday and Saturday shows and on radio stations throughout Europe and the US. It also received great print reviews and made the Top 50 Americana albums of 2005 at Americana UK. Her track Dragonfly was played on Bob Harris's special 'Best of British' show which featured the best British songwriters. Lisa was the only unsigned artist on the show and was played alongside The Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks, Radiohead, Coldplay, Nick Drake, Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny and many others. The title track was also playlisted on BBC Radio Norfolk. Due to a distribution deal with Proper, the UK's biggest independent distributors, Lost Again, and Slipstream, are also now available in all good record shops. Lost Again is also available to download from iTunes and many other online stores. 2006 was another busy and successful year. Lisa began it by playing packed out shows opening for Chuck Prophet and Eileen Rose. Tracks from Lost Again and Slipstream also continued to receive airplay on Bob Harris's Radio 2 shows. Her heartfelt live version of Neal Casal’s Fell on Hard Times has been one of his most played tracks. In Spring she toured throughout the UK and played headlining shows in the Netherlands. She also played the SWAP festival in Manchester and opened for Gina Villalobos, Corb Lund, Eve Selis, Michael Weston King, Devon Sproule, Rod Picott and Keith James. The year ended with two very exciting events. In December, Lisa played live dates at some of New York's premier acoustic venues including a co-bill with another Bob Harris favourite, singer-songwriter Lizanne Knott. Then, she was personally invited to do a live session and interview on the BBC Radio 2 Bob Harris Saturday show. Lisa performed 3 songs live and the response was amazing. 2007 saw Lisa return to New York City twice for headlining shows and be the very special guest at a 'Bob Harris Presents..Americana' showcase in London. Autumn saw her play headlining shows in the UK and she supported Jess Klein and opened for one of Ireland’s most acclaimed and popular songwriters, Brian Kennedy. Due to the demand for more material, ‘Lost Again – The Acoustic Sessions’ became available. 'The limited edition album includes the original live studio versions of the songs from Lost Again. Beautifully recorded, the songs truly reveal Lisa's soulful and powerful voice with just acoustic guitar and touches of mandolin and is a wonderful chance to hear the songs from Lost Again in their original form and includes a rare bonus track 'Changing Times'. So far 2008 has seen the acclaimed track ‘Dragonfly’ feature in a short independent movie filmed in LA and a show at the prestigious Living Room in New York City. A brand new album Clouds with Silver has been recorded in New York City with talented and respected multi-instrumentalist and producer Brad Albetta (Teddy Thompson, Martha Wainwright). It is also available on iTunes, Fish Records and distributed through Proper and already had a wonderful reception. Tracklisting: Come Back Down NY Song Call Me Makes Your Heart Sing Never Was a Yesterday When You Come Home Live Your Life Here Alone The Boy Who… New Years Day Time To Grow Lisa is also an accomplished and experienced session vocalist and is available for session singing and live work. If you're a band or artist interested in having Lisa's beautiful vocals on your record or at a live show, please get in contact. She has already sung harmonies for Americana artists Quiet Loner, Gabriel Minnikin and Garron Frith and recorded vocals for Jon O'Bir, one of the leading DJ’s at the moment who is carving the new face of the trance genre. "Live, her voice really has immense power yet great control too and reminds me of the same heart-worn tender vibrato of a young Emmylou Harris. Lisas voice is purer with a warm timbre, but has that same raw emotion in her voice that makes you feel she has lived through all the heartbreak she sings and writes about." Live Review at Americana UK To listen to clips from Slipstream, Lost Again and Clouds with Silver, go to the music page If you would like to be added to the email list please click here and put subscribe in the subject line To read about Lisa's favourite music click here *Interview with Lisa in Italian Magazine* In 2006 Lisa was interviewed for Italian Magazine JamOnline by a great supporter of her music Paolo. Below is the interview: You are from Norwich, UK, but your music is so deeply connected to american roots music, country and folk. So how happened that a young girl from a small english city is so deeply in love with that music? I just love the honesty and purity of that music. It was the classic singer-songwriters of the 70s that initially really inspired my music; artists like Neil Young, Carole King, James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. I then got into American roots music in the 90s and have loved it ever since. What kind of music were you listening to when you were growing up? There was a particular record, or a song, or a concert, that makes you decide to become a songwriter, and to follow this particular kind of music, American country and folk? I listened to all sorts of music when I was growing up and I still have a very eclectic taste in music. The first artist I was really into was Kate Bush, her music and voice are so unique .I then got into indie/alternative guitar music which I'm still very much into, bands like The Smiths, New Order, The Cure, Joy Division, Belle and Sebastian and bands of the Brit pop era (Pulp, blur, Suede). Then, I also got into electronic and dance music, artists like Massive Attack and Faithless. I love soul music too, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye especially. My parents listened to lots of different music too and my dad was and is still is a huge Neil Young fan. In the late 90s I really got into Americana music and singer-songwriters. Seeing solo performers such as Boo Hewerdine and Neal Casal during that time really moved me and made me want to become a solo singer-songwriter and performer. If I’m not wrong Beth Orton is from Norwich too: do you know her? How do you like her music? I personally think she is fantastic I don't know Beth personally but I know good friends of hers. Yes, she's a very cool artist and songwriter and great that she is originally from Norwich too! Tell me a little bit about your first album, Slipstream, which unfortunately i dont have. Slipstream is very special to me being my first album and produced by myself. It is a very acoustic record with only one song, the title track, being a band song. The rest are mostly acoustic guitar and there are 3 ballads with just me and piano which came out really great considering they were recorded very quickly. I'm really proud of the title track as the song is about me reaching for my dreams and in a way is a statement for my career, doing it all by myself and on my own terms. The album has some of my favourite songs that I've written including 'Don't Tell Me' and 'Red Eyes' people seem to instantly love those two songs and say they really touch them when I play live. It also includes a ballad called 'Be Around' which was my first song played on national radio here, BBC Radio 2, that was amazing! The song was also a charity single for The Samaritans. The album is less Americana than Lost Again but certainly has elements of that with lots of mandolin and some slide guitar. Your second album, Lost Again, was produced by Gabriel Minnikin, a Canadian artist. How did you find yourself in touch with him and how it was to work with him? I was a fan of the band he played in called The Guthries and I just got in touch with him. He's now a solo artist and he happened to be moving to England. We did a show together and then when I asked him to play some instruments on my record, we thought it would be cool for him to produce the record too. It was fun working with him, he's a cool guy and he assembled some terrific musicians for the recording who provided some beautiful instrumentation. It was good to see that you covered a Neal Casal song, i think he is one of the most brilliant songwriters of recent years. Why that particular Casal song, and what he means to you, musically speaking? Have you ever met him? And if so, what did he say about your version of his song? Neal is a friend and he said he was honoured I was doing one of his songs and that my version was very heartfelt. I have played other songs of his but felt I could put a lot of emotion into that particular song and I just enjoy playing it. My version was recorded totally live in the studio so you can hopefully really hear the raw emotion that I put into it. Universe is at the moment one of my fave songs off the album; how that particular song came out and what is about I'm really pleased you like Universe, it's one of my favourites too. It's essentially a song of loss and how you would do anything to have that person back in your life. There’s a real sense of yearning in the lyrics and the way I sing it I feel. I'm really pleased with the arrangement on the album, it came together very well. I like how it starts with just me and my guitar and then really builds into quite an epic sound with the strings, steel, piano, clarinet, hammond and even a theremin at the end too. Also Lost Again, the title-track, is a wonderful song; I love the way you can write a good pop song without being “commercial” – hope you know what I mean – in this age where few people is able to write good pop songs in the best tradition of this kind of musical approach (like in the 60s and in the 70s) Thanks so much for your kind words, that's what I'm trying to do I guess, I'm a huge fan of good pop and aim to write melodic pop songs with meaning whether they're uplifting or sad. Lost Again, like Slipstream before it, set the theme for the record and that's why it's the title track. Did you already perform in America, and if yes, how was the reaction to your music? I played some shows in New York in December and they went really well, exceeded expectations. I performed at some really great acoustic venues and got a lovely response. I loved it there too. I've since been selling albums to fans in America through MySpace and Amazon. I am going back in spring to play again as I enjoyed it so much and hope to build on the cool shows I did. How easy (or not) is for you to write a song Songs sometimes come really easily, it's as if they seem to write themselves. When I feel really inspired and have some words and a title, sometimes the song can be very quick to write and finish. I can come up with melodies pretty quickly and it's exciting when you write something you're really happy with and you can't wait to play it to people. I'm not the most disciplined or prolific writer though, I can get easily distracted, so that can be frustrating. Also hearing a great song by other songwriters that I admire, pushes me to write better songs. Are your songs mostly autobiographical or not? If yes, how do you feel to expose yourself in front of unknown people, on record but especially on stage? Is that easy for you? Shawn Colvin once told me that all of her songs are autobiographical and that the main problem is not to perform them on stage in front of unknown people, but to write them. Bob Dylan, on the other hand, very often hides himself in visionary songs where you can hardly say if he is really talking about himself: what is your approach? My songs are very personal and are mostly about what’s going on in my life. I’ve also written about people I know and situations I’ve gone through. I am also inspired by books and films that have captured my imagination but there’s usually always a very personal strand running through the songs. Sometimes it feels like you're really exposing yourself in front of an audience and I perform solo too which is even more bare. I love performing though so I just really get into it and I think people really respond if they feel you are putting something of yourself in the music. do you consider yourself an intimate, confessional singer/songwriter in the great tradition of the 70s songwriters movement? People like joni mitchell, james taylor, eric andersen, jackson browne etc.? I love the confessional singer/songwriters of the 70s, that seemed such a magical time. Joni, Jackson, James, Carole, Neil..so many amazing artists. I've been compared sometimes to Joni and Carole which is lovely as I guess I have that vibe but I also think there are some wonderful singer/songwriters around now too making some really honest intimate music. It's like we're really returning to that feel and most people I know love and appreciate acoustic music full of emotion and meaning. do you still live in Norwich? Is that an inspiring place for your songs? I am not based in Norwich at the moment but I've certainly written most of my songs there and been inspired by the sea and the Broads there. Songs like Dragonfly and Just Getting By were written while on a boat in the sunshine. I heard you are going to record in Nashville, is that right? Who is going to be the producer this time? What kind of album do you have in mind? *It would be better I think not to mention this at this point as I'm still in talks with label and people. If I could just put this: I have some new songs that I am very keen to record as soon as I can. I don't know where I'm going to record yet, it all depends on budget and timing, but hope to work in America when I'm there and hope to record a more acoustic sounding record. I think MySpace is a great opportunity for independent artists; I actually discovered you through MySpace; what do you think, is Internet the future of music? The Internet is incredible, so many cool undiscovered artists out there. It's definitely the future, so many people I know enjoy finding new artists that the record companies and radio stations haven't forced them to listen to. Yeah, MySpace is particularly great for discovering new independent artists and it's nice that you can communicate directly to other musicians and fans. I've had so much response from it I also have videos on Youtube and am on lots of other music sites. If you could chose another songwriter to record a duet with, which one will be at the top of your list? One of these guys..Neal, Ryan Adams, Josh Rouse, Teddy Thompson..I think my voice would blend well with any of them! Thanx!