Scarlet Starlings

Scarlet Starlings are UK-based alternative folk band made up of cousins, friends and significant others. We grew up listening to our large family playing jangly folk music like Fairport Convention, Crosby, Stills & Nash and The McGarrigles. Granny Maisie, the family matriarch, taught each of us how to play on an old Takamine guitar held together by a piece of Meccano. Mike Scott brought his love of electro pop and Grant Lee Buffalo to the mix – he and Sara-Mae have been writing songs together for years. Now, we love bands like Fleet Foxes, This Is The Kit, Sufjan Stevens, Conor Oberst, Scott Matthews and Son Lux.

The core band members are Sara-Mae (song writing, lead vocals, keys)

and Mike Scott (song writing, vocals, guitar)

Regular starlings fly in to join us: Khalid Ham (bass)

Amy Baker (percussion – see Amy’s fab video for new song ‘She speaks to the night’ below)

Talitha Gamaroff (violin, vocals)

Joe Tuson (drums and guitars), Simon Tuson (on our first album, bass, vocals and song writing) and Jen Tuson (drums).

Other collaborators include: Mike Siddall (violins), Scott Fitzgerald (producer/mixing engineer for This Song May Save You, as well as bass and synths), John Nicholls (guitars), Danny Green (drums), Tom Chadd (keys and synths), Andy Kemp (electric guitar).

We’ve recently released a new album, This Song May Save You, which was made in collaboration with indie podcasting co. Fable Gazers. Watch this fab video for the single ‘She speaks to the night’:

The new podcast, This Art May Save You, will be out by the end of the year, and will explore art and mental health. It asks the question, do we really need art to survive? Guests include: iconic podcaster Helen Zaltzman, Yemeni war photographer and documentarian, Rahman Taha, ex-Vaccine Freddie Cowan, poets Dzifa Benson and Alba Frederick and many more.

Our music was on the soundtrack of 2011 Portabello Film Festival award winning documentary, ‘Hard to Get: From Patient to PinUp. Our song ‘Ransom’ was played on Gary Crowley’s BBC London Calling radio show. We have played at festivals Lakefest 2013, Shuffle Fest London 2013 and a variety of venues across London including The Old Queens Head Islington, Folklore at the Half Moon in Putney, Into the Warm at The Harrison Kings Cross and many more.

We independently released our debut album on June 1st 2014, and is also available on bandcamp, Spotify and other streamers.

It was mostly recorded at a small studio just outside Oxford, England. Jason King at Shed Studios recorded So Glad You Stayed, The Wolf, Montauk, You Give It All Away and Beckons. John Laurence (of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci) and Geraint Jones mixed and mastered those tracks. Daniel Green of Laish mixed and mastered Anyone Can Say I Love You, Death of Innocence, Don’t Fix it and Shape You’re In.