MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER, JULIE FOWLIS AND KARINE POLWART TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM LOOKING FOR THE THREAD ON JANUARY 24

FIRST SINGLE “HOLD EVERYTHING” OUT NOW

November 22, 2024—Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis and Karine Polwart will release their new album, Looking For The Thread, January 24 via Thirty Tigers, an exciting debut collaboration from the trio. Pre-order/pre-save HERE.

Ahead of the release, the first single, “Hold Everything,” is out now. Penned by Polwart, the song gives a nod to the world, as it is, and to John Berger’s 2008 book, Hold Everything Dear: Dispatches on Survival and Resistance.

In celebration of the new music, the trio will play five shows in the U.K. in March. “An Evening with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis, and Karine Polwart” will feature tracks from the new album, as well as songs from across their respective catalogues, accompanied by their transatlantic band. Full details can be found at www.marychapincarpenter.com.

Conceived in the remote west of Scotland and recorded at the renowned Real World studios, Looking For The Thread is a rich, resonant and unique record, one which supports and illuminates the core characteristics of each artist while bringing a powerful collective identity to the fore.

Produced by Bonny Light Horseman’s Josh Kaufman (Bob Weir, The National), the 10-track album features a world-class musical ensemble: Rob Burger (piano, organ, accordion, keys), Chris Vatalaro (drums, percussion), Cameron Ralston (bass) and Kaufman himself (guitar, keys). The additional contributions from Caoimhin O’Raghallaigh, whose work has been featured in The Gloaming, productions at the Abbey Theatre and in the film Brooklyn, encapsulate the collective spirit of adventure and creativity which defined the sessions.

Looking For The Thread is grounded in mutual respect stretching back decades. Polwart and Fowlis are dedicated fans of Carpenter, while Carpenter, in turn, has long admired the pair, sharing “I remember telling my manager I wanted to do this and he may have challenged me about who was on my wish list. I’m certain I blurted out Julie Fowlis and Karine Polwart. Anything they do is brilliant and beautiful, and I wanted to fold myself right in there.”

After setting up a Dropbox to share ideas remotely, the three convened in January 2023 to perform alongside Robert Vincent at Song Circle, an event at Celtic Connections in Glasgow. From there, they headed north to a writing retreat at Kinlochmoidart House. “It was like some Hollywood notion of the Scottish Highlands,” says Polwart. “Everything was conducive to creating. It was dark and we were hemmed in, sitting by the fire making stuff.”

They quickly established that the blend of voices and personalities was a strong one. “That first visit to Kinlochmoidart helped us feel that we had some things that might serve us,” says Carpenter. “We’d gather in the beautiful room where the fire was, play and sing together, and then go off to our little corners and work on stuff on our own, come back together, and get to the next step.”

This thematic interconnectivity is underscored by three album highlights: ‘Satellite’, ‘Rebecca’ and ‘Silver In The Blue’, written by Carpenter, Polwart and Fowlis, respectively. “There is such a degree of geekiness about those three songs that brings me genuine delight!” says Polwart. “There is also definitely something about the realm of sky and sea; the songs may not be about that, but the images you’re left with are birds, flight, time, travel... Although the songs were, on the face of it, quite different, they felt like they could easily sit together.”

The trio returned to Kinlochmoidart House in early 2024, this time with Kaufman in tow. The album was completed in a week at Real World studios, where the tracks were recorded live, everyone playing together in the same room, responding to the music in real time. “The songs hadn’t been pre-produced to within an inch of their lives and the band hadn’t heard them in advance,” says Polwart. “The musicians were such attentive listeners, none of them overplaying, all of them bringing a beautiful textural quality. There was something really beautiful and fresh about it.”

This approach left space for new ideas to emerge in the studio. The opening track, ‘Gradh Geal Mo Chridhe’, was recorded for renowned Scottish accordion player, Fergie MacDonald, the ‘Ceilidh King’, who died in April 2024. Fowlis was unable to attend his funeral during the studio sessions, but was invited to send a song instead. She asked Polwart, Carpenter and the musicians if they would record the Gaelic standard, which had been MacDonald’s favorite song. They happily agreed. The recording was imbued with such obvious magic, it forced its way onto the final record.

It is one of two tracks sung in Scottish Gaelic, led by Fowlis. “The Gaelic songs are absolutely foundational to the project,” says Carpenter. As non-Gaelic speakers, both Carpenter and Polwart learned their parts phonetically.

When recording was complete, all three artists, plus Kaufman and the musicians, turned the lights off in the studio, lay on the floor, and listened to what they had made. “There were no words, no critique,” says Polwart. “It was just us all tripping out and going on a wee journey. It was really beautiful. When I hear the songs, that’s what I picture in my head.”

About Mary Chapin Carpenter:

One of music’s “most reliable and empathetic songwriters” (Pitchfork), Carpenter has sold over 16 million records over the course of her renowned career. With hits like “Passionate Kisses” and “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” she has won five Grammy Awards (with 18 nominations), two CMA Awards, two ACM Awards and is one of only fifteen female members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Additionally, Carpenter’s record, One Night Lonely (Live), was nominated for Best Folk Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. A rare solo performance, the album was recorded at Virginia’s legendary Wolf Trap and features songs from across her acclaimed career, including from her latest studio album, The Dirt And The Stars. Most recently, Carpenter unveiled her new podcast, “Hope is a Muscle,” which finds Carpenter in conversation with people from all walks of life.

About Karine Polwart:

Karine Polwart is a multi-award-winning Scottish songwriter, folk-singer and storyteller, whose words and music conjure the connected magic and mystery of worlds, seen and unseen. Across numerous solo albums, collaborative projects, theatre shows and flights of imagination, Polwart has established herself as one of the most vital voices in Scottish music.

About Julie Fowlis:

Julie Fowlis is internationally renowned, award-winning singer whose extraordinary voice evokes the power and beauty of the Hebridean islands and Highland landscapes she calls home. Among her many and varied achievements, she will forever be recognized for singing the theme songs to Brave, Disney Pixar’s Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning animated film.

For more information please contact Asha Goodman 615.320.7753 or Carla Sacks 212.741.1000 at Sacks & Co.

CONFIRMED 2025 TOUR DATES
March 2—Manchester, U.K.—Aviva Studios
March 3—Birmingham, U.K.—Town Hall
March 5—London, U.K.—London Palladium
March 6—Sunderland, U.K.—The Fire Station
March 7—Edinburgh, U.K.—Festival Theatre

 LOOKING FOR THE THREAD TRACK LIST
1. Gradh Geal Mo Chridhe
2. A Heart That Never Closes
3. Rebecca
4. Looking For The Thread
5. Hold Everything
6. Silver In The Blue
7. You Know Where You Are
8. Satellite
9. Buidheann Mo Chridhe Clann Ualrig
10. Send Love

 www.marychapincarpenter.com