I have an extraordinary tale to tell today about how Roger Ebert discovered the music of an Irishwoman called Lucy Foley, living in Co. Clare, and wrote a beautiful appreciation of her music and photography in his Chicago Sun-Times blog this week.
It is a remarkable story of internet serendipity, music, mystery and the wonder of the internet.
A series of extraordinary events happened this week, that led to Roger Ebert writing about my album, Copenhagen, and my photography, in his blog in the Chicago Sun-Times, on Tuesday. He has called my music “pure, fresh, elating” with a “heartfelt clarity”, titling the piece, “Do you know the wonderful Lucy Foley?”
This story began just a few days ago, when someone emailed Roger one of my photographs, with no context and no idea of who took it. Roger described the image as “haunting” him, and he posted the photo on his Facebook wall, clearly intrigued.
This photograph is called Sit Down Please. I took it in Copenhagen a few years ago, on the pedestrian street called Strøget. I had seen this girl perform before, playing uncanny music on a glass harmonica that she played by running her fingers deftly and delicately over the tops of wine glasses filled with varying amounts of water, each one making a different tone. The night I took this photograph was the first and only time I saw her perform with the clown on her back, dancing – to my mind – poignantly, to imagined music. It has always been one of my favourite of my own photos.
The photograph is in the booklet of my Copenhagen CD, and all the artwork in Copenhagen is also available with every download of the full album from my music page.
After a day or so, someone who knows my work saw it there, and sent me an email, asking if I knew anything about it? I didn’t! And I was completely astonished to see my photograph in such an unexpected context! I added my own comment to the thread, with links to more of my work, and he responded with this beautiful, enthusiastic piece on his blog. This is exciting and cool, but it’s also an amazingly generous gesture from one of America’s most legendary critics. I’m really moved by this. It’s incredibly encouraging.
And on the same day, Kiss You Free, the second song from the album, was played by Irene Trudel on WFMU. This is the same track that was played on BBC Radio’s Across The Line show a few weeks ago, and I continue to get positive responses from stations including New York’s WFUV, Pittsburgh’s WYEP, and WORT, Madison WI.
Meanwhile, I’m planning a tour.