Noted as a “breakthrough performance” artist by The Guardian at AmericanaFest 2016, Yola Carter has debuted a new song ‘Fly Away’ as an exclusive stream, alongside an interview feature on NPR this week.With a soulful, country-gospel style voice that lives between the purity of Gene Clark and the grit of Mavis Staples in her prime, the response to this singer/songwriter among fans, critics and industry has already been overwhelming. Her debut acoustic EP Orphan Offering - out 1st November 2016 worldwide - is an introduction to Yola Carter’s vision, a revival of classic Americana.
Check our the feature here via NPR.
You can catch Yola on the following dates this December:
5th - The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
15th - The Con Club, Lewes
16th - The Square Tower, Old Portsmouth
19th - The Borderline, London
22nd - The Sage, Gateshead
About Yola Carter
Yola Carter is a country-soul singer/songwriter from Bristol, UK, whose recent successes include a much-hyped performance at Americana Fest in Nashville, having been selected by AMA UK as a showcase artist and noted as ‘one to watch’ by publications including The Guardian, NPR, Pitchfork and Wall Street Journal. Heavily influenced from an early age by Sixties country, Stax-era soul and gospel ranging from The Staple Singers to Otis Redding, Yola was raised in a small seaside town in the South West of the England and “always wanted to be a country music artist”.
Unafraid to address difficult issues in her lyrics, Yola’s real-life story - both heartbreaking and inspirational - naturally finds its way into her songs. Coming from a poor, broken home and a parent suffering from mental illness who ‘banned’ her from making any music, Yola’s experience of growing up was one of truly living below the breadline. In a working class community in denial of its status where discrimination and even violence fuelled by racism were not unusual, writing music quickly became an outlet and a means of expression, and touring a means of escape.
From her late teens, Yola Carter (born Yolanda Quartey) worked hard to earn credibility and respect throughout the industry as one of the UK's top singers and a uniquely gifted songwriter. Realising that her soul voice was soon getting attention, Yola graduated to touring internationally straight out of school with critically acclaimed acts such as Bugz in the Attic on their world tour, and later Massive Attack, most notably headlining Glastonbury Festival's Other Stage to 60,000 people and broadcasting live on the BBC.
She began her journey into Americana music performing with her band Phantom Limb, based in her hometown of Bristol. The band self-released the eponymous debut album and the later more country-leaning effort of ‘The Pines’ produced by Marc Ford of The Black Crowes, taking to the road with acts such as Dr John, Solomon Burke and Candi Staton. Despite this success, Phantom Limb eventually disbanded, leaving Yola to focus on her own projects.
Yola Carter has since combined her two skillsets of singer-writer and writer/producer to write, record and produce her debut solo EP Orphan Offering out November 1st 2016. A set of songs that manage to be autobiographical and intensely personal while speaking to wider socio-political issues, the EP is a living example of an artist building something from nothing: In ‘Dead and Gone’ Carter sings 'there was a time when my people were product to you; if we can’t supersede that now, where on Earth am I heading to?' - an explicit reference to assumptions about the role of black female singers in the modern music industry.
Throughout the summer, Yola has been on the road, including appearances at various festivals including Canary Wharf’s ‘Nashville Meets London’, and support slots for St Paul and The Broken Bones, Sam Outlaw and Imelda Mae, along with an increasing focus on her much anticipated debut release.
For further information on Yola, including details for her upcoming dates, visit yolacarter.com.
