“Refreshingly original, organic and expressive”
Neil March, Trust the Doc
“I can warmly recommend both
Into the Woods and All at Sea”
Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music
Amy writes beautiful thought-provoking songs, designed to comfort, amuse and inspire. She writes mostly in the folk genre and sings traditional folk as well as her own original songs inspired by the likes of Karine Polwart, Emily Portman and Leon Rosselson. She has studied folklore, social anthropology, philosophy and psychology and these interests often creep into her lyrics. Amy weaves her words and melodies together using a range of folk instruments, field recordings and her much-loved multi-layered harmonies.
“Good music makes you think, and this is good music”
Tony Birch, Folking.com
Hands on with all aspects of her music, Amy uses her recording, mixing and production skills to self-publish her music, and her artistic skills to design the album artwork and create music videos. Being a little camera shy, these videos are often in an art-based medium, such as this stop motion animation for her song “Brambles”:
In her last album, Into the Woods, Amy delved into the psychological themes represented in the old folk and fairy tales and applied them to the way we live now. So, we have the Sleeping Beauty inspired song “Brambles”, where sensitive Rosa has built a wall of thorns around her own heart as a protection from rejection; and “The Liar and the Tailor”, a topical song about politicians and lying which draws on both the Cassandra myth and The Emperor’s New Clothes story. She also explored our ambivalence towards “the wild woods” – both our fear of what might lie within (“Three Impossible Tasks”, “Astrid and the Wolf”) and our deep need for nature (“Where the Wild Bees Go”).
“If you want to hear where the folk tradition is in 2022,
this is the album to listen to”
Tim Martin, reviewer for FATEA
Her disability has made live performance problematic in recent years, but songs from the album continue to do well on streaming services and are regularly played on a wide range of radio stations from BBC 6 Music to more niche national and international folk shows. In March 2024, one of her songs had the honour of being selected by Tom Robinson for a special show containing his highlights from the last 17 years of broadcasting new music on BBC Radio 6!
In April 2024, Amy made the scary, but very happy, decision to start an unpaid sabbatical from her “proper job” for one year, so she could focus fully on songwriting and music production. Her first release is the single “River and fish” on 14th June 2024, and she is looking forward to producing much more music during the following 12 months!
During her sabbatical Amy also continues to lead “The Songwriting Project”, running community singing and songwriting programmes aimed at reducing social isolation; building confidence and increasing people’s connection with nature. Currently this includes the “Forget-me-not Singing Club” for people living with dementia and/or Parkinson’s disease. You can find out more about The Songwriting Project here.
22nd May 2024
Dear friends and supporters, I have a proposition for you!
As I’m sure you are aware, the financial value of music has plummeted in recent years. Every song I’ve ever produced is available online, for free. Any profit is scooped up by the big streaming organisations, like Spotify or Apple, and no more than a few pennies find their way back to me.
Clearly that’s not sustainable, so, many musicians are now trying to build a direct relationship with their listeners, using the traditional concept of patronage. People who like an artist’s music can support them directly, to help them create more music, and in return, the artist offers special perks to their patrons.
Would you consider becoming one of my patrons? It costs as little as £3.50 a month and you can cancel at any time. Click here to find out more about what it all means and what you would receive from me in return!
www.patreon.com/amyhopwood
Thank you!
