XYZ profile picture

XYZ

About Me

Sibling trio Sarah and her brothers Matthew and David play traditional and contemporary folk music from Northumberland, Scotland and Scandinavia, as well as a number of their own compositions. Sarah and David play fiddle backed by Matthew's jazz-influenced rhythm guitar.They were finalists in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards in December 2003 and have performed at the Royal Festival Hall and National Theatre on London's South Bank, at various British festivals and in the north of Spain. They were Young Musicians to the Lord Mayor of Newcastle from 2003-2004 and in 2006 they released their debut album, described as "simply and unfussily beautiful...... inventive and impressionistic." (THE TALK Magazine)They are all former members of Kathryn Tickell's Folkestra and founding members of Tyneside-based Southwind. In 2004 they were involved in an exchange with a group of musicians from Halsingland, Sweden, the following year Sarah spent two months teaching fiddle in Honduras, Central America, and Matthew spent summer 2007 on a music course in Brazil.The musical diversity of XYZ will continue to develop with Matthew beginning the folk and traditional degree at Newcastle university, David studying music in Leeds and Sarah having returned from her year in Asturias, North Spain, where she discovered the thriving Asturian music scene. This year she is continuing her studies in Spanish at Glasgow university, focusing on her particular interest in Asturian music.Now that the band are almost back in the same country, look out for gigs coming soon!

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 01/04/2006
Band Members: David and Sarah Jones on fiddle and Matthew Jones on guitar
Influences: Stewart Hardy, Ian Stephenson, Kathryn Tickell, Aidan O'Rourke, Catriona MacDonald, Martin Hayes, Tony Corcoran, Chris Stout, Harald Haugaard & Morten Hoirup, Blazin Fiddles, Berroguetto, Flook, Ian Carr, Lunasa...
Type of Label: Unsigned

My Blog

XYZ in Spain

This summer we played gigs in Asturias and Galicia. We saw some beautiful places, were very well looked after and a fantastic time was had by all. Here's a video (thanks to Alberto Ablanedo) of the fe...
Posted by on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:12:00 GMT

Reviews

"simply and unfussily beautiful, a sound in which one can immerse oneself... Sarah and David's fiddles can do fast and intricate or slow and lyrical with equal aplomb... Matthew's guitar accompaniment...
Posted by on Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:59:00 GMT

Contact us

If you would like to buy a copy of the album, book the band, find out more information or join our mailing list you can send us a message through myspace, email [email protected] or phone 0191 284 ...
Posted by on Mon, 08 Jan 2007 03:45:00 GMT

FATEA Best of 2006 Awards

Hello and Happy New Year!We've just heard from Neil at Fatea that our debut album was first runner-up in the Instrumental Album category of the Fatea/Cambridge and Beyond Best of 2006 Awards. A great ...
Posted by on Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:59:00 GMT

Young Folk Award

Exciting news... Matthew and David have won this years BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award with their other band 'Last Orders!' Check out the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/events/youngfolkawards200...
Posted by on Wed, 20 Dec 2006 10:25:00 GMT

Review of Berwick gig, 19th August

"Future looking bright for traditional musicAn enthusiastic audience packed The Maltings hall last Saturday evening and were rewarded with an impeccable display of musicianship from a mega-talented bu...
Posted by on Thu, 31 Aug 2006 07:10:00 GMT

XYZ album now available!

Our debut album is out now! It was recorded by Tony Davis at the Cluny Studios in Newcastle, produced by fiddle player Stewart Hardy and features Kathryn Davidson on vocals, Dan Rogers on bass and Pau...
Posted by on Thu, 29 Jun 2006 06:14:00 GMT