Phil Holland and Palmley

Celtic Duo (Harp, Fiddle, Piano, Guitats, Mandolin, Bodhrán)

Contribution to the Show

Phil has graciously allowed us to play some of her beautiful and stirring music in our Spring Holiday Special for 2010, SP17a. Here you can hear Laoch Sidhe which is the tale of a Warrior or Hero Faerie in the Battles of the Tuatha De Danaan. It comes from her album, Faeries (see below).

Biography

Phil Holland

"I feel when I play and sing that the harp and voice become as one. They flow together each embracing and respecting the other. If you love what you are doing and invest every single note with care and feeling I believe that you cannot fail to reach out and connect with someone. Years ago I realised that music is about communicating and not about empty displays of virtuosity. I'm strangely uninterested in how many notes can be crammed into the shortest time possible, or the sheer volume of sound that can be forced out of an instrument. I am on the other hand seriously interested in fluidity of musical thought, single harmonious moments and the importance of letting music breathe."

A Celtic harpist/singer/songwriter, Phil Holland has performed all over Europe as a soloist.
Phil is a classically trained musician with Celtic roots. Her music contains many influences from classical to traditional including jazz and minimalist inspired sounds.
Phil’s music however transcends category and genre.
Her peaceful, reflective style touches the heart and souls of people of all ages, from all walks of life, all over the world.

Phil is of Irish and Scottish origin, rooted and educated in Celtic music and western classical music. She has to her credit 5 CDs for Celtic harp, voice and violin; “LAGAN” in 2004, “STORIES” in 2005, “GOING HOME” in 2006, “FAERIES” in 2008 and “SEASCAPES” in 2009. Her music takes inspiration from her ethnic roots, but also reflects her eclectic background. Her latest work, “Seascapes” is a musical meeting of the Greek and Celtic cultures.

She writes, arranges and performs all her own music.
In international folk festivals she has performed alongside other musicians of worldwide renown, (for example, Hevia, Alan Stivell, Sharon Shannon).

In 2008 Phil opened one of the most important music festivals in Greece, the “Lefkas Speech and Arts Festival”, performing for the president of the Greek Republic, Karolos Papoulias. In 2009, she conceived and launched the very first Sappho Festival by performing on the rock from which Sappho jumped to her death 2500 years ago.


“Phil Holland is a discerning and exacting performer. Her (not so secret) weapon is her sweetness and delicacy; in the movement of her violin bow, in the plucking of the strings of her harp and in her voice, which amazes in its perfect moulding of ornamentations and long, held notes, always careful never to overdo either.
Charm and modesty are her emerging qualities which is why she is appreciated by such a wide-ranging audience.

Phil has all the qualities to make people dream if they enter into her world.”
Folk Bulletin

[Phil's Site] [CD Baby]

Dave Palmley

Dave Palmley is a prolific and eclectic British singer/songwriter/guitarist. His music, is principally rooted in pop/folk/rock, but draws also from many other influences, all of which can be heard in his song writing and instrumental compositions.

With a freelance career spanning 3 decades, Dave has mastered a wide variety of musical styles, forming and performing with groups all over the UK and Germany, including live performances for German television.

Driven by an insatiable passion and curiosity for music and song writing, Dave has amalgamated his years of experience in the music world to create a unique, inimitable yet versatile sound. Dave's guitar work (both acoustic and electric) and warm, strong, fluid vocals form the basis for many of his songs, but he also enjoys experimenting with a variety of other instruments including synths for his incidental and instrumental compositions

With Spargel Records, Dave brought out the album, Looking Closer in 1996, but prefers recording and producing all of his own material himself.

Review of the CD, “The Visit”, from Folk Bulletin

THE VISIT, Phil Holland and Dave Palmley LMCRecords, 2011

That this album has the same name as Loreena McKennit’s album from 1991 is pure coincidence, given the great difference in atmosphere and inspiration between the two works, and the comparison is not necessarily in the favour of the more famous Canadian artist. Phil Holland, the harpist, violinist and singer we have already written about previously. In 2008 we reviewed her interesting solo album “Faeries”, in which we noted her delicate touch in the plucking of her harp strings and the movement of her violin bow and the evocative timbre of her voice. Now she is back in the company of Dave Palmley, who is also a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, tin whistle, mandolin, bass and voice) and they have founded a duo which is stylistically minimal and intrinsically energetic. The energy undoubtedly comes from Dave’s numerous folk-rock experiences which fuse beautifully with Phil’s more classical and melodious style. The repertoire is a fine balance of traditionals and originals, all written and arranged by Phil and Dave together, displaying creative coherence and excellent merging of styles. As a duo Phil and Dave perfectly complement each other, giving us moments of true charm in a subtly vintage style. Clean sounds, sincere inspiration and a pinch of nostalgia: “The Visit” is without a doubt one of the revelation albums of this year…

Albums

Phil Holland has 5 albums available.

	Seascapes Buy at CD Baby		Faeries Buy at CD Baby
	Going Home Buy at CD Baby		Lagan Currently Unavailable
	Stories Currently Unavailable

Holland and Palmley have 1 album available.

	The Visit Buy from Holland & Palmley		Looking Closer Buy from Holland & Palmley

© All non-original items about Phil Holland/Holland and Palmley on this page are copyright Phil Holland/Holland and Palmley 2011

 Last Updated: April 24, 2012