Palava

“a wonderful mix of folk, roots and country with both Irish and American influences”- Kathy Tan, Folkworld
“Roots music with an authentic feel and Celtic touches, a worthy first release on the label”- DC, Americana-UK
"an Anglo-Saxon take on Americana......A beautiful hybrid!" - Benny Metten, Cntrl Alt Country
Palava originate from Nottingham UK and have to date recorded 3 albums. The first album entitled 'Folkwit' was a home recorded lo-fi affair developed by Nick Butcher and John 'Gaff' Gaffan over a period of months of 'jamming' in Gaff's smoke-filled front room in a small terraced house in the Forest Fields area of Nottingham. At this point Nick wrote the songs and things were recorded using some pretty basic kit cobbled together by the pair which included a couple of cheap mics from the wonderful Maplins store.
Towards the end of these recording sessions, Liam Doona, (Nick's old friend and former musical collaborator) turned up on the doorstep with a grin on his face and a banjo in his hand. Enough said. Within minutes, Liam became the third member of this fledgling outfit.
'Folkwit' the album was never officially released but there are probably a few home-burnt copies floating around somewhere if they haven't been lost or binned.
Anyway, Liams arrival heralded a somewhat more focussed approach and the frequent jam sessions lead to a whole raft of new material and writing contributions from both Liam & Gaff. One evening while playing in Liam's attic, the trio were joined by cellist, composer and producer Chris Madin. Needless to say, a sufficiency of fine beer and spirits were quaffed in a session which extended late into the evening. Discussion turned to the idea of recording some of the new songs. To cut a very long story short, it was decided that an EP would be recorded in Ireland and produced by the aforementioned Chris.
And so it was, in July of 2003, all four jumped into Liam's 'Jeep' and headed off to a tiny cottage in the far West of Ireland near Castlebar, County Mayo. Driving through the night - guitars on the broken road. What had been intended to be a three-day break to record a couple of songs turned into one hell of a weekend which necessitated the consumption of ample quantities of Guiness to facilitate musical sessions long into the night.
Suprisingly, the boys came back with enough material to fill an album. Some of its songs, structured, rehearsed and methodically recorded, some of them free-form, live and improvised. The album, 'Fallen In Clover', was released in December 2003 on the newly created label Folkwit Records - yes that's right, if you didn't already know, Palava were responsible for the now long-established indie label.
The rest, I guess is history. Palava recorded another album 2 years later, again back in County Mayo with producer Chris Madin. The second album was called 'The Whitethorn Tree'.
The band continue to jam and play gigs although less frequently than a few years back. Liam has now relocated back to his native Ireland which does create some problems with getting the band together to rehearse! Nevertheless, a few dates were played by the original trio in Dublin and Belfast late in 2007 and Nick & Gaff make occassional appearances in the UK as a 2-piece. Last seen at The Grassroots Festival in September 2008.
There is talk of a 4th album but meanwhile, the band have decided to make all of their recordings to date available free to download for anyone who might be interested.
UPDATE - Palava are now rehearsing with Steve Church on fiddle - gigs to follow soon!
Listen to and download Palava's albums FREE at http://www.palava.co.uk
Use the player below to hear all 24 tracks from both albums: Click here to view a bigger version of my map!
You can also make your own, it's free!