...doof.

Chauffeur

Private chef

Housekeeper

Live-in Nanny

Personal Stylist/MUA

Fitness coach/trainer

My dad used to play the Pogues in the car when I was young. I quickly became enamoured with the song Dirty Old Town, and it led me to discover other Irish musicians and the song Spancil Hill.

When we set out to create this album over two and a half years ago, our vision for it was very different from what it turned out to be. We planned on making melancholy soundscapes where the traditional tunes and songs that inspired them would perhaps not be that recognizable. I don’t think either of us expected to be doing any singing. Spancil Hill was the first song I sang live for an audience of strangers (after downing three pints) at the open mic night in my dad’s bar, supported by my dad on the bass and a nice man from South-Africa called Bruce on guitar. I barely remember it because I was so scared I just didn’t register anything that was happening outside of my own brain. Since then, I’ve being gradually exposure therapy-ing myself into becoming comfortable with being perceived while playing music. I feel I’ve grown a great deal in that regard and I’ve discovered – now that the fear is gone – that I actually really love singing for people, and I plan to be doing a lot more of it.

Percussion/guitar: Brian

Cello/vocals: Saskia

IG: Hildur's Feet

This is the only song on this album that isn’t a traditional (yet). Many thanks to Andy Irvine/Patrick Carroll for giving us permission to release it. The tune played by Brian on the banjo in the middle is a variation on Sheep Under the Snow, a traditional Irish tune. It was his idea to record this song, and when I asked him for his reasons, he said: “Having worked in geriatric care for over 15 years, there is a tragic feeling around the elderly people I see daily, who seem to have lost their relevance in modern society, and are thoroughly deprived of attention and support. Old Woman In Cotton is such a wonderful song, because it shifts the attention and curiosity to the experience of an elderly lady. How has she lived? I feel that this subject is very rare, both in folk music as in today's culture, and I couldn't be more proud to be someone who gets to sing this song.”

Guitar/percussion/vocals/banjo: Brian

Cello: Saskia

IG: Hildur's Feet

AKA HEY TUMBLR WHO WANTS TO DO A BRACKET

so I'm doing this as a fun activity with some friends and I thought HEY TUMBLR LOVES A GOOD POLL

so anyway who wants to do some fun and totally subjective art competition? This is a 16 statue bracket, 8 starting categories and 4 founds. Gonna add all the rounds as reblogs

Round 1

Category 1: National Heroes

The Statue of Unity vs the Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue!

The Statue of Unity in Narmada Valley, Gujarat, India is 182m/597ft tall and depicts Indian politician and independence activist Sardar Patel (1875–1950), who was the first deputy prime minister and home minister of independent India. (It’s actually 240 m (790 ft) if you include the 58 m (190 ft) base and is the tallest statue in the world)

The Genghis Khan equestrian statue in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia memorialises the Mongol emperor. It is 40m/130ft tall (not including the base which is 10m/33 ft tall), it is the tallest equestrian statue in the world. For scale: people, bottom right. Most importantly: like its namesake, it FUCKS!

The Leshan Giant Buddha vs the Ushiku Daibutsu!

The Leshan Giant Buddha in Leshan, Sichuan, China is 71m/233ft tall, and is the largest and tallest stone Buddha in the world! Look at him, he’s so chill. I want his vibe

The Ushiku Daibutsu (Buddha statue of Ushiku temple) is 100m/328.1ft tall, not including the 20m/65.6ft base, and is Japan's largest daibutsu. Still got that chill energy but now with posing!

The Statue of Liberty vs Christ the Redeemer!

The Statue of Liberty (officially Liberty Enlightening the World) is on Liberty Island, NYC, USA, and is 46m/141ft tall on its own or 93m/305ft including the base. She is also the target of every crashing alien spaceship to come to NYC.

Aka that big fuckoff Jesus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is 30m/98ft high, plus the 8m/26ft pedestal, with an arm span of 28m/92ft. He’s 16m shorter than Liberty, and the fact illustrations of them together make him look taller instead of showing that he is comparatively a Short King is a travesty.

Ten Directions Samantabhadra Bodhisattva vs The Angel of the North!

The Ten Directions Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is 48m/157.4ft and sits at Huazang Temple on the Golden Summit of Mount Emei in Sichuan Province, China. It’s not called the Bo-deca-sattva, but I think that would be hilarious.

This tribute to Northern English workers is 20m/66ft tall and has a wingspan of 54m/177ft. The vertical ribs on its body and wings serve to redirect the wind to keep it from toppling over, up to winspeeds of 100mph (160 km/h). Didn't realise angels had so many ribs, I thought it was a million eyes, but you learn something new every day.

Mactan Shrine Lapu-Lapu vs Guerrero Chimalli!

Mactan Shrine's statue of Lapu-Lapu, the indigenous leader who led the resistance that killed Magellan, is 20m/66ft tall in Lapu-Lapu, Philippines. Fuck Magellan, all my homies hate Magellan

The Guerrero Chimalli is a 60m/197ft giant red sculptural statue in Mexico City of an Indigenous shield warrior on Bordo de Xochiaca Avenue, in Chimalhuacán, State of Mexico. Probably the most abstract on this list aside from maybe the Angel of the North

The Apennine Colossus vs the Colossi of Memnon!

The Apennine Colossus in Vaglia, Tuscany, Italy is 11m/36ft high and is a representation of the spirit of the Apennine mountains, and was built in the 1580s. Is this guy why they call that one lichen Old Man’s Beard?

The Colossi of Memnon in Luxor are a pair of stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, are 18m/60ft tall, and have stood since 1350BCE. The oldest and most fucked up on this list

Pegasus and Dragon vs the Big Biue Bear!

Pegasus and Dragon in Miami, Florida, USA is 34m/110ft tall, third largest in the US, and also the largest equine and dragon statue. Apparently there are enough of them for that to be a distinct category? wild

Officially "I See What You Mean", this bear in Denver, Colorado, USA is 12m/40ft tall. It is peering into the convention centre and is visible from the entire atrium! I went to primary school with the artist’s kid lol

Mother Ukraine vs Warrior on Horseback!

Mother Ukraine in Kyiv stands 62m/203ft tall, and in 2023 had the communist symbolism on her shield replaced with the tryzub symbol of Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion. Potentially hot take but I honestly think the Tryzub has a much better balance than the Communist symbolism, we love a simplistic beauty

The Warrior on Horseback is a 12m/39ft statue of Alexander the Great in Skopje, North Macedonia. It is on top of a 10m/33ft pedestal and a fountain. The foreign minister told the Guardian it was an "up yours" to Greece (direct quote!) over historical disputes re: Macedonia, and that’s frankly hilarious

-Replacing his vitimens with poision

- getting her brother to invite him out onto his boat and then killing him and dumping him in the ocean and saying he got drunk and fell off.

- get tboned with him in the passenger seat and then once he was in the hospital theres all kinds of easy ways to kill him like not washing my hands after a poop and then touching his wound casually.

-replacing his drink of choice with moonshine!?

- take him on a hike thats locally notorious for a rapid otter attacking hikers and once he had rabies I could just kill him any ol way and say self defense.