Kathryn Willams and David Gray's current guitarist Neill MacColl (BTW a brother of Kirsty MacColl) have anounced a new album. It will be called "Two" and is slated for release in March 2008. Wow! Neill is not only a brill musician, he seems to be an hardworking man too! In February and March 2008 he is touring with David Gray and with Kathryn Williams too.

On their website I found some interesting infos about Neill and his collaboration with Kathryn Williams:

"Neill MacColl...

Was born into a hugely important family in the world of folk-accoustic music. His father, Ewan MacColl and mother, Peggy Seeger, were the famously purist pair at the heart of the British folk revival of the early sixties. Whilst nobody is purely the product of their parents, the influence of a father who wrote such classics as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Dirty Old Town” and a mother who is a supremely talented multi-instrumentalist is undeniable. Neill was part of his parents' touring band from the age of 15.

Then there were the siblings- Callum MacColl is a well-respected musician, and Kirsty MacColl's reputation speaks for itself. Kirsty was Neill's half-sister- they were seperated in age by only six months, which meant “we had a very close relationship, but also a very strange one”. Kirsty was in Neill's first band, Spring: “we threw her out, because we didn't need a girl singer”.

A series of bands followed: new romantic fops The Roaring Boys, The Liberty Horses with brother Callum, and The Bible with Boo Hewerdine, before Neill turned to a career as a guitarist, singer and producer (he rightly rejects the phrase “session guitarist”) His career has included long spells in Eddi Reader's band, several years with David Gray, as well as Nanci Griffith, Boo Hewerdine, David Gilmour, Lou Rhodes, Beth Gibbons, Steve Earle and KD Lang, amongst others.

The other side of Neill's work for the past few years has been as a film and TV composer. Neill plays guitars, autoharp, dulcimer and hammond on the album.

Interestingly, The MacColl legacy continues, as both of Neill's sons are in successful bands of their own, (Bombay Bicycle Club and LoFi Culture Scene), which has given Neill a new job: “i'm a roadie for 2 teenage bands”.

edit: LoFi Culture Scene:  http://www.myspace.com/theloficulturescene  

       Bombay Bicyle Club:  http://www.myspace.com/bombaybicycleclub  

"Kathryn and Neill first met at the Daughters of Albion concert (part of the BBC's Folk Britannia season) where they had been paired to perform “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, a song which Neill's father, Ewan MacColl, wrote for his mother, Peggy Seeger.(...)
“A while later I went to stay with Kathryn up in Newcastle,” says Neill, “we locked ourselves in a room for a few days and the songs just poured out of us. The way we write and play together is like we're both steering the same ship- in the most natural and instinctive way.”
Kathryn adds, “It was like when I first started playing music with people; there was just an openness between us and a real love of playing together, putting everything you had into the pot”

The project has been surrounded by goodwill; friends have offered their time or resources for the love of the music- the enthusiasm of Neill and Kathryn is clearly infectious. Kimberley Rew offered his studio to the pair at no cost and they set about making their collection of songs into an album.
Neill explains, “we just started playing and recording the songs live- some with just the two of us and others with Martyn [Barker: percussion] and Simon [Edwards: bass].” (...)

In just six days, they had recorded 21 songs; thirteen of these became “Two”. Later they brought in another friend, the veteran engineer/producer Phill Brown (whose credits include Stairway To Heaven alongside numerous seminal albums by the likes of the Rolling Stones, John Martyn, Roxy Music and Brian Eno as well as Talk Talk's Spirit Of Eden and Laughing Stock). the record was mixed in just 5 days and the result is one of the most astonishingly beautiful albums to see the light of day in recent years; one which feels like an instant classic and could have been made at any time in the last four decades.

If there's an over-arching idea to the album, it's about how to capture a moment before it's lost forever. The album was written, recorded and mixed in a little over two weeks- a miniscule timescale in these times of recording, re-recording and digitally manipulating every note of every part played. This is a record in its truest sense: a record of an event. The event is a group of people standing in a room and playing a song together- this is what you're hearing and this is why listening to these songs feels like such a privilege. We're being invited to share in this world of intimacy, the natural affinity of two human beings moving in symmetry. This is the world of Two.(...)

There are so many great lyrical and musical moments in these recordings- you know that this is one of those records where every track is going to be someone's standout moment and they're going to want to sit alone and listen to it all day."

Source:http://www.williamsmaccoll.com/biog.html

http://www.kw-forum.co.uk/phpbb/index.php

Kathryn and Neill will be on tour in 2008 :

06-February                                                               
FORT WILLIAM
FIRED ART

07-Feb-08
INVERNESS
EDENCOURT

08-Feb-08
STORNAWAY
WOODLANDS CENTRE

09-Feb 08
ULLAPOOL
THE CEILDIH PLACE

March

16-Mar-08
BRIGHTON
KOMEDIA

18-Mar-08
CARDIFF
ST DAVIDS HALL,
LEVEL 3

19-Mar-08
BURY
THE MET

20-Mar-08
LONDON
Supporting David Gray

24-Mar-08
PERTH RED ROOMS@ PERTH THEATRE

25-Mar-08
EDINBURGH
CABARET VOLTAIRE

26-Mar-08
GLASGOW
CLASSIC GRAND

28-Mar-08
LONDON QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL

29-Mar-08
LEICESTER
MUSICIAN

31-Mar-08
CHESTER
TELFORDS WAREHOUSE

April

01-Apr-08
CARDIGAN
THEATR MWLDAN

04-Apr-08
ABERYSTWYTH
ARTS CENTRE

05-Apr-08
DURSLEY
PREMA ARTS CENTRE

06-Apr-08
WOLVERHAMPTON
WULFRUN

08-Apr-08
NORWICH
ARTS CENTRE

10-Apr-08
LEEDS
CITY VARIETIES

11-Apr-08
GATESHEAD
THE SAGE

12-Apr-08
POCKLINGTON
ARTS CENTRE

13-Apr-08
BRISTOL
ST GEORGES

15-Apr-08
CAMBRIDGE
THE JUNCTION

16-Apr-08
NOTTINGHAM
RESCUE ROOMS

17-Apr-08
BEDFORD
CIVIC THEATRE

19-Apr-08
MORECOMBE
PLATFORM

http://www.williamsmaccoll.com/

 HAPPY X-MAS!

Now that's a very interesting read. Thanks a lot Nevermind.

The way I read this

20-Mar-08
LONDON
Supporting David Gray 

the audience at the London Hammersmith will be in for a special treat.  

Bluewater:

Thanks for that Nevermind, I had heard something about his sister, I will be looking forward to hearing their music.

Do you know the song "Fairy Tale of New York" by the Pogues &  Kirsty MacColl?

Bluewater:

No but I just had the radio on the in van and they were talking about playing some Pogues music which I am not familiar with.  Sounds like a good reason to get on itunes and see what's there.

Here you are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwZbo_K7nsY

Rena:

Now that's a very interesting read. Thanks a lot Nevermind.

The way I read this

20-Mar-08
LONDON
Supporting David Gray 

the audience at the London Hammersmith will be in for a special treat.  

Yeah! I'm looking forward to the DG concert at the London Hammersmith with Neill in a "double pack"

Kathryn Williams & Neill MacColl have a new video online.

Hear some of their beautiful music and watch them talking about their story so far.

http://www.williamsmaccoll.com/videos.html

The cover of their new album out on 3rd March 2008!

The South Bank Centre London recently announced a concert with Kathryn and Neill

on Friday 28 March 2008

Queen Elizabeth Hall London

Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl

Friday 28 March 2008, 7:30 P.M.

A supremely talented Mercury Prize nominee teams up with a member of a hugely influential musical clan who also happens to be one of the UK's top session musicians and film composers: they write and record an album together. This is the story so far of Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl.

In just six days, they recorded 21 songs, a selection of which became their album Two due for release in March 2008. Their songs feel like instant classics that could have been written at any time in the last three decades. Now Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl bring their astonishingly beautiful folk to Southbank Centre.

http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/music/productions/kathryn-williams-and-neill-mac-38108

Recently Kathryn and Neill went online with their new website for their forthcoming album "Two":

http://www.two.kathryn-williams.net/

Their frist single from "Two" will be "Come With Me". It'll be available on itunes from february 25th and is paired with "Ghost" (exclusive track).

See Kathryn and Neill perform Come With Me live at WilliamsMacColl.com/videos.html .

They have added a player for samples of all songs from their upcoming album Two:

http://www.kathrynwilliams.net/news.html#comewithme

THX to uselessdesires from the kathryn williams forum for this news:

Kathryn and Neill will have the first single from their new album played on Radio 2 this Saturday on the Jonathan Ross show between 10am and 1pm. Why not text, email or call the show to tell Jonathan how much you love the new single, which, if you didn't already know is "Come With Me"
The BBC Radio 2 Johnathan Ross Show Website is here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/ross/

Source: http://www.kw-forum.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=443

Here a nice review of their new album:

Listening to Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl is like lying on your back outside on a sunny day, watching the clouds go by. The music is so tranquil that I couldn’t concentrate on the work I was trying to do - and instead, gave up and am now writing this review.

Their new album, ‘Two’ is out in March 2008, but I’m lucky to have it early and am happy to tell the world about it. The harmonies and musicianship throughout ‘Two’ is superb - it’s the most hypnotic and relaxing music that I’ve heard in a long time. Kathryn’s voice is gentle, and seems to float in amongst the chords of the acoustic guitar.

‘Two’ is a generous album, with 13 songs, most of them co-written by Kathryn and Neill. It was recorded in an intimate setting, and the album was unbelievably written, recorded and mixed in just over two weeks.

Opening track, “6am Corner” features Neill’s subtle vocal harmonies - just enough to add ‘a little color’ to Kathyrn’s lead. The instrumentation is tight - albeit at times the melody reminds me of the Beatles’ “Let It Be”, but only briefly. On the quaint “Innocent When You Dream” (Tom Waits), Neill and Kathryn harmonize throughout, and apparently, the song was recorded in just one take.

“Come With Me” is the first single release off of ‘Two’. The lyrics are enchanting, and the song as a whole draws me in with each note. Like some sort of spell is being cast. A brilliant choice for the first release.

“Frame” is one of my favorites, a clever song, and is the one song on the album that makes me think, “Joni Mitchell”. Maybe it’s Kathryn’s vocal phrasing, or the lyrics that include, “look at that painting on a hotel wall, seen by lonely eyes. Don’t go into hotels lookin’ for dreams, don’t go into them with thoughts of your life” - either way, it’s a stand out track. I love the story - very touching and unique.

The rustic feel of “Armchair” could be a number straight out of Gram Parson’s repertoire. Perfect around a campfire at night - and surprisingly includes a particular swear word. Excellent!

Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl’s album, ‘Two’ is highly recommended, to be consumed in it’s entirety. One of my favorite albums of the year.

Read more about Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl on Band Weblogs.

Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl Official Website

By: Jenny May - BandWeblogs.com

source: http://bandweblogs.com/blog/2008/02/12/neill-mccoll-and-kathryn-williams-two-review-simply-superb/

Kathryn Williams & Neill MacColl- "Two" will be out on 3rd March 2008

Here the track list:

1.6am corner 2.innocent when you dream 3.come with me 4.before it goes 5.blue fields 6.frame 7.grey goes
8.weather forever 9.sholders 10.armchair 11.rolling down 12.all 13.holes in your life

There’s a few more reviews out:

It takes two

By Chitra Ramaswamy

'I HAVEN'T told you this before," says Neill MacColl to Kathryn Williams, "but when you sing on 'Innocent When You Dream' you sound like my mum did when she was in her twenties. It's very odd." Considering MacColl's mother is Peggy Seeger, the American folk singer for whom his father, Ewan MacColl, wrote the classic 'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face', I'm not surprised Williams is tickled pink at the comparison.

"That is weird," says the Mercury-nominated folk singer. "I think our voices fit together, like when you hear a brother and sister singing."

"I think we need therapy," MacColl quips. Both of them dissolve into giggles.

We're at Inverness's Eden Court theatre, where the duo will later perform songs from their upcoming album, Two, one of which is a whimsical cover of Tom Waits' 'Innocent When You Dream'. They're doing warm-up gigs in the Highlands because, according to Williams, their music goes with the mountains, and because MacColl, whose father was a Scot, takes every opportunity to head north.

Two is a sublime record of intimate folk songs, written and recorded by Williams and MacColl in less than a fortnight at her studio in Newcastle. Like all great collaborations, from June Carter and Johnny Cash to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, it's the frisson between them, in this case the marriage of Williams' sweet, hushed vocals with MacColl's high harmonies and fragile guitar pickings, that makes it so very good.(...)

Read the full story here:

Scotland on Sunday
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sos-review/It-takes-two.3784229.jp

The Belfast Telegraph
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music-gigs/reviews/article3413935.ece

THX to Ryan from the Kathryn Williams Forum: http://www.kw-forum.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=446