5.0 out of 5 stars A musical gift from an angel!!, 18 Dec 2011This review is from: Luminous Wings & Unseen Things (Audio CD)This is the second full length CD from Beck, who is the daughter of Kate Bush's cousin. I came across this album as a fan of Kate. This album grabbed hold of me almost from the first listen.
I find Beck's life story amazing and truly inspirational. She relates this much better than myself on her website, which also includes her moving notes on the themes covered in the songs.
I have very little knowledge of the folk music scene, but this album stands out to me in its eclectic mix of celtic, gothic, world music and other influences. Beck is a gifted poet, songwriter and has the most remarkable angelic voice.
This is music crafted with love. The arrangements are sparse and raw, yet lush and otherwordly. The natural environment is a strong influence on Beck's music, in this case themed on castles and their gardens.
Among my particular favourites are "Siúil a Rúin" where she sings with only the sound of a running stream for accompaniment. Also "Thornfield" with it's strong Jane Eyre imagery. Fans of traditional music will find "Lavender's Blue" and "She Moves Through the Faire" delightful.
I have just heard that Beck is about to start work on her third CD "Ye Old Silent Inn" and has plans for a few concerts and the yet further CDs. Can hardly wait!!
It has been a difficult year but this album has been an immense comfort to me. Will treasure this for years to come!!
Beck Siàn: Press
5.0 out of 5 stars Lose yourself in Beck's haunted forest!!, December 21, 2011This review is from: Unfurling (Audio CD)Unfurling may be Beck's full length debut album, but if you are expecting a hit and miss demo style musical experience, you'd be very much mistaken. In some ways a more challenging listen than her second album (Luminous Wings And Unseen Things), it is none the worse for that.
Unfurling is largely themed on the environment of an Australian rainforest (Beck was born in Australia of English/Welsh parents, her father David Robson is a cousin of Kate Bush on her maternal Irish family line) but is astonishingly diverse in its influences. She is equally at home adspting traditional music and literature, for example Greensleeves or presenting her breathtakingly original poems and songs.
I am not at all familiar with the world of folk or world music but with this album there is a sense that with Beck you are listening to an artist on a musical journey who is in a constant state of evolution.
In this age of the commercial, disposable musical culture it ia heart warming to know that there are still independent artists like Beck who make their own path in the world on their own terms.
Given the large range of influences from the Irish of Beck's grandmother to her friend Stax's didgeridoo playing, the album never sounds disjointed. Her voice has an astonishing range and power (most apparent on The Foggy Dew, make sure your glassware is put away before you play this one!!) but she uses it as an instrument in itself.
Particular favourite tracks are a delightfully mellow version of her classic Moss, and the songs where Beck's voice is largely unaccompanied such as The Night Will Never Stay and Messages In Dreams can melt all but the hardest hearts and work their way into your soul. On Sherbrooke Forest, she quite literally drives a steam train through your head!! Pride of place goes to the evocative, dark and ominous sounding Under Thunderous Skies, which ends on an unexpectedly postive note representing the sense of positivity after overcoming the fallout from a failed relationship, an experience common to all.
This album is truly timeless and will never sound dated. I hope Beck will continue with making new music for a long time. Her third album Ye Olde Silent Inn will be released late 2012.
"The beautiful and haunting voice of Beck Siàn lulls the listener to another place... a wild, forgotten realm inhabited by faeries and spirits, where raindrops fall upon tangled ferns and ivy... where hidden things dwell! To listen to her songs is like taking a stroll through a secret garden... or a Haunted Forest!"
Faerie & Fantasy Masquerade Ball 2009
Beck Siàn - 'Unfurling'
"For virtually all of this disc's 53 minutes the result is charming and intriguing and yes, quite magical. Both earthy and unearthly. Weird even, sure. Charisma aplenty, an amazing singing voice, and a quirkily original writing talent are but three of the common factors, but Beck sounds like no-one else even though there are occasionally theatrical touches in her delivery which definitely remind me of Kate Bush. As well as possessing an amazing voice, Beck's a multi-talented musician, on this CD playing guitar, tenor recorder and Celtic harp. As a general observation, Beck's music - and her writing - is marked by a quite special quality of tactile sensuality in the way that she uses her chosen images and sounds; she also has a natural ear for creative instrumentation in her settings, for the most part eschewing the obvious effects and going instead for innovative colours that genuinely enhance the words. My favourite pieces here are those where all these expressive virtues come together in a unified attempt at conveying a special experience or mood or quality of atmosphere: the extraordinarily powerful 'Under Thunderous Skies', also 'Moss', 'Tangled In Green', 'Mountain Ash' and the two brief a capella tracks. Beck's music is seriously enchanting; she clearly has a very special talent. Generally speaking, Beck's music isn't really like anything else you will have heard."
Album Review: Unfurling by Beck Sian
Album Name: Unfurling
Artist: Beck Sian
Year/Label: 2008 / Independent
Review by Anna Maria Stjärnell
Beck Sian is a relation to Kate Bush which hardly comes as any surprise if you hear her music. She has an ethereal voice and the Celtic influences are present and correct. She writes her own material and adapts traditional folk songs. She’s clearly her won woman and as a listening experience this album is hard to beat.
Moss sees the voice reach high, pure notes and the music sweeping along nicely.
Greensleeves is familiar territory, but this version fits into Sian’s mystical soundworld. Her vocals are like something out of a dream.
Under Thunderous Skies sees Sian take a song of her own that’s quite lovely and strum her guitar wonderfully.
The Foggy Dew another traditional song, gets a nicely atmospheric reading. The use of a didgeridoo elsewhere spices up the album’s sound and gives it a unique flair.
Beck Sian’s Unfurling is an album to treasure.
ARTIST: Beck Sian
CD Title: Luminous Wings and Unseen Things
Label: Haunted Forest Productions
REVIEWER: Jules Cohen
DATE 1-17-10
Beck Sian's latest CD offers so much lush for our ears. "In the Greenery" is a soundscape of birds, piano and vocals followed by "The Garden Seat". Smitten with an angel's message and visual songbook of folk/duets/with guitar, piano and confidence in what she wants us to hear. The titles are like fairytales and stories and at times Beck Sian reminds me of Kate Bush meets Lisa Gerrard. Beck Sian's voice soars on "Weep Ye No More, Sad Fountains", notes that fly into the heavens and back down to present moment. Beck Sian's music is a beautiful blend of folk/shoegaze/Celtic
"Some singers have only to utter a note and instantly, you're transfixed. They've reached out, touched your soul. Beck Siàn has that rare quality. In Beck, you sense she's on a journey and, for a short while at least, you're a traveling companion. She draws inspiration from the subtropical rainforests of her native Australia, creating what she fittingly calls 'Haunted Forest Music', through voice, guitar, whistle and didgeridoo. It's mystical, magical music, spiritual and enchanting. There are touches redolent of Kate Bush, to whom Beck is related, but these are mere brush-strokes of influence. Overall, it's as distinctive as it's original. With a soprano voice to die for, her approach is highly individual, the ambiance emotional and utterly entrancing. She's charismatic, convivial and funny on stage - in short, a real show-stopper! Her outstanding debut album is called 'Unfurling'. And artistically, that is precisely what Beck is doing. Unmissable." (Julian Badcock - Wheaton Aston Folk Festival 2007)
“Really great. She’s got an amazing voice…”
Reg Presley (The Troggs)
“Bucketloads of charisma and a fabulous, enchanting delivery…”
Steve Harley (Cockney Rebel)
“She is fabulous!”
Genevieve Tudor (‘Sunday Folk’ BBC Radio Shropshire)
"She silences audiences with her breath-taking voice. She sings of storms, nature, emotional journeys and a ghost story or two. This is stunning music with a Celtic foundation, a Supernatural thread, a World music vibe, a Gothic darkness and, dare I say a new category, of Fantasy Folk!"
Haunted Forest Productions
“A multi-layered unique artiste with a vocal gift to carry her anywhere.”
Judith Durham (The Seekers)
“Beck Siàn conjured up a magical evening of great good humour, enchanting music, disarming honesty – and just a spoonful of craziness! Her exuberance and love of life is infectious.”
Phil Gillam
“It is one thing to be admired by the Folk Establishment and a whole other matter to be taken into the hearts of the audiences, which Beck Siàn is. Everything about Beck tells you she is a star.”
Bob Lines (St. Valentine’s Charity Folk Festival 2007)
“Her presentation is impeccable: between her songs she tells her story in her soft Australian accent, on equal terms with her audience. It’s like listening to a new friend. Her beautiful voice delivers her beautiful words wrapped in velvet: she captivates.”
Tony Charnock (Topic Folk Club 2006)
“Her vocal range and haunting delivery raises the hairs on the back of your neck.”
David Parker (The Beat International)
"Haunted Forest Music Wins Over Audience"
Beck Siàn
The Keay
"Saturday night saw the sensational Beck Siàn give her first performance at The Keay, St. Austell. The scene was set with candle-lit tables providing the perfect setting for the evening ahead. The stage was decorated, with the microphone dressed in Autumnal roses.
Beck walked on stage as if she had been doing it all her life. She has a tremendous stage presence and began by talking a bit about her background. This was carried on throughout the evening between songs.
She has a unique voice, amazingly with no prior singing tuition, a talent for story-telling and is a multi-talented musician."