Tell us about yourselves and what you do?
Skylark Song are Alex McRae and Emma Davis from Newcastle upon Tyne. We play a mixture of folk and blues and like to include a range of different elements to our music; fingerpicking, violin, vocal harmonies, blues riffs. We also like to play some old folk songs too; some of them local to the North East of England.

How did you get together/start out?
Everything really got started when I’d written a handful of acoustic songs whilst playing in another band. Having played them at home and at a few pub sessions, we realised that performing them as a duo with Emma’s vocals and fiddle really made the songs special. We had played a few songs together before this and had a few weeks in a blues band together but it was only after a few years that we finally got the music together. 

What is your current release?
Our second EP is out now and is a demo of some of our current songs. I think we had a much clearer idea of what we wanted from the recording: Certain songs sounded better if we captured that ‘live’ sound whilst others needed a more polished touch. The tracks on the EP are definitely some of our best songs to date. We tried to be much more adventurous in the song writing process too. One song ‘Northumbrian borders’ pays homage to where we come from; we’ve played so many traditional northeast songs we wanted to write one of our own! I think our current EP reflects the diversity we have within the band. ‘Northumbrian borders’ is pure folk whereas ‘Underneath the roots’ is much bluesier, a bit more ‘rootsy’ (hence the name!). The other two songs lie somewhere in between.

What is the best part of being in a band/singer/song writer?
In all honesty, the best thing is just getting to create and play music, in whatever context. Getting the chance to play our music live is a real privilege and the experience is amazing; it always brings something new. It’s also great to meet lots of like-minded people who enjoy the same music as you!
The satisfaction of completing a song you’re proud of - and especially if you get a good reaction to playing it live - makes the months of writing totally worthwhile.

What is your most significant moment yet?
Recording our new EP. It was probably the most comfortable that we’ve felt in that environment. We’re actually pretty happy with it – which is a major accomplishment as we’re a pair of perfectionists when it comes to music!
Also, I think getting demo of the month from ‘Narc’ music magazine. It was our first demo and we didn’t have a clue if anyone would like it! They were just songs we’d been playing at home really – so when we got demo of the month it was completely unexpected. It was something really special for the band and has helped to propel us forward onto bigger and better things.

What are your biggest musical influences?
Tons of people: A lot of older artists from the folk/blues/country realm. We like artists who have real meaning behind their songs, which is communicated through the music. People like The Band, Nick Drake, John Martyn, Hank Williams…Too many to mention. The list is endless.
Also, watching people live is a big influence, especially when you hear someone who you think is fantastic. It pushes you to be better.

What venue/gig do you most want to play?
Cropredy or Glastonbury festival! Make it happen Eavis! Or The Sage in Gateshead – it’s pretty iconic in the Northeast and would be lovely to play there.

What is your favourite song you have written?
Has to be ‘Underneath the roots’. It encapsulates what the band’s about and works really well live too. We were sitting in the practice room one day, and Alex started picking out this bluesy riff. Within about a week it was written! If only all songs were that simple. 

What's your favourite album of this year?
The Travelling Band – Screaming is Something. We saw them at Cropredy and supported them in October, which was pretty cool.

What does the next six months have in store for you?
Gigs, gigs and more gigs. We really hope to branch out and play around the UK. It would be great to play in Manchester or London. We’ll probably do some more recording in January or February of next year as we’ve got a batch of new songs. There are also a few songs we need to finish writing; whether they are done in a week or in six months time, I can never tell.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Still playing music! And maybe trying to write the perfect song, it can’t be done but you’ve got to try at least. Ultimately, we hope to be touring and playing our music to more people. As long as people are willing to listen, we’ll play!
There’s so much more we want to learn too - we’ve both started to play the mandolin and would like to incorporate the instrument into more of our music.

What's the best thing about Americana-UK?
It gives us access to great artists that don’t get regular coverage in the mainstream – basically it’s all about great music.