Folk musician and songwriter Calum Gilligan releases his new album ‘Footsteps on the Broken Road’ with a launch show in Liverpool at the British Music Experience on 14th April.
He describes the album as ‘A collection of wistful, longing tracks written deep in isolation, on the road and as an expectant father. Looking backwards and forwards, ‘Footsteps on the Broken Road’ encapsulates the feeling of stillness and reflection we all experienced in the last two years.’
Calum has been described as a ‘gifted songwriter, with a voice to back it up’ by Folk Radio, and his debut EP ‘Maybe Half a Lifetime’ was named as BBC Merseyside Folkscene’s EP of 2019.
Travelling the country playing shows with the likes of folk legends Martin Carthy, Emily Portman and John Francis Flynn, as well as winning the 2021 Purbeck Valley Folk Festival ‘Rising’ competition, Calum has been impressing audiences with his intricate guitar playing and masterful songwriting.
Pulling together the many influences on his musical styles from across the world, ‘Footsteps on the Broken Road’ is inspired by deep, dark Scottish winters, Cornish seafaring communities, ancient folk tales of forests and foxes, and the wide, often desolate plains of the Kazakh steppe.
The album was preceded by the single ‘Winds A-Wailing’ which was well received and widely played on radio across the UK and Europe. Calum describes ‘Winds A-Wailing’ as ‘…a song about longing for a return to the way things were, but being beholden to the whims of nature.’
Of the two Kazakh language tracks on the album ‘Dudarai’ and ‘Kozimnin Karasi’ Calum says; ‘I was introduced to these songs whilst living in Southern Kazakhstan, and was immediately struck by their familiarity in melody and content. Despite not initially understanding the lyrics, I was moved to tears by both tracks, which just goes to show that music truly is the common language of the human race’.
Calum will be touring the UK for the rest of April, taking in venues in London, York, Brighton, Chester, Glasgow and Manchester.
