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Ken Nicol is a guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer from Preston,
in England. His music covers the spectrum from blues to rock, and effortlessly
takes in folk, jazz, ragtime, ballads and more along the way. Ken was
a member of the legendary Albion Band from 1997 until September 2001 when he left
in order to spend more time on other projects. In December 2002, he successfully
joined forces with Steeleye Span, and has continued working with the
band since - touring extensively for the last seven years, more recently on the band's 2009 40th Anniversary Tour, visiting the USA and Australia. During this time he's recorded four albums with the band: 'They Called Her Babylon', 'Winter',
'Bloody Men' and 'Cogs, Wheels and Lovers',
When he's not touring or writing, he can be found producing projects
of his own and other artists at his MVS Studios in Preston. On these
pages you can read more about Ken and his music.
Due to technical issues, the online music store has been down for a few weeks - apologies to those who've tried to access the site. Now CDs, guitar tuition DVDs and books are available through Paypal by clicking this banner ...
NEW RELEASE
Live in Florence
See and hear Ken at his 'LIVE' best.
A combined audio CD and DVD recorded over five nights at the Teatro del Sale,
in the beautiful Italian city of Firenze.
If you want to purchase Ken's "Live In Florence" CD & DVD
or just find out more
Click here ...
from
Live in Florence
Ken's Blog: 2009 On The Road
Guitarists . . . Check out Ken's four 'Clawhammer' lessons at kennicolmusic Now available on DVD
Acoustic Magazine: The musicianship is staggering, seldom are the compositions less than inspired, and fans of instrumental guitar are likely to be thrilled with this album.
Living Tradition says: I would urge even listeners who wouldn't normally subject themselves to an entire album of instrumentals to give this one a bash. . . KN at his best - roller coasters of musical virtuosity that spellbind . . .
Rock 'n' Reel says: Some of the later pieces demonstrate Ken's digital dexterity to particularly good effect . . . best of all is his avoidance of any accusation of noodling. These are well crafted melodies . . .
Stirrings says: Ken plays with great virtuosity and sensitivity, and recording and production values are excellent. Recommended.
Net Rhythms says: a brilliant sequence of ten finely-etched and well-contrasted instrumental pieces . . . a CD that will be a must for guitar aficionados, but its appeal is definitely more wide-ranging; there's intelligent and beautiful music here to suit all moods and tastes. Exquisitely crafted and melodically rich; deftly and stylishly played; and of course expertly recorded.
A lovely record.
Record Collector says: Guitar players will appreciate his masterclass style, while more general listeners will be aware that his gift for melody carries the album higher than the rest.
Read the full reviews here: Reviews.
To purchase the CD, or to download Initial Variations, click here: Initial Variations
Read in-depth interview with Ken on Italian website 'Il Popolo Del Blues'. The interview is in both English and Italian.
Read reviews of Ken's latest solo album 'Initial Variation' in latest UK editions of Record Collector, and Acoustic Magazine.
Check out Sara Holloway's YouTube vidoe: Jack O'Neill - Retired
Sara sets Ken's 'All He Wants To Do Is Go Fishing' to video clips from the cult television program: Stargate.
Ken on YouTube playing: In the Wake of Forward Motion.
STOP PRESS . . . You can now buy any of Ken's music, as well as his combined guitar instruction CDs & booklets at his new online store Kennicolmusic.
Discography page updated
'Swans In Flight' is a 16 track album of specially written songs using recording techniques which have pushed the boundaries of the acoustic guitar to new and previously unexplored dimensions. Energetic and highly melodic, the album is the work of songwriting partnership Hugo Montgomery-Swan and Mark Tucker and draws upon influences as diverse as 1920's jazz through to hard rock. The album also features key guests of world-class distinction. These include; James LoMenzo (Black Label Society/Megadeth), Martin Barre (Jethro Tull), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake), Kip Winger (Alice Cooper/Winger), Phil Johnston (The Robert Plant Band), Doyle Dykes, Ken Nicol (Steeleye Span), Robin Guy (Bruce Dickinson/Martin Gretch), TM Stevens (James Brown,The Pretenders), Ric Sanders (Fairport Convention), Johnny Mars, John Noyce (Gary Moore/Jethro Tull) and Michael Messer.
Take a look at the 'Swans in Flight' Myspace page.
FolkCast
The first UK 'folk' podcast. Check out the latest 2008 August show.
Steeleye Span
2004 saw Steeleye visiting Australia, New Zealand, and on two occassions
Scandinavia.
The band also completed two tours of the UK, played festivals during the
summer months, and released two CDs and a DVD. For more details click:
Park Records
To read Ken's tour diary from Feb to June 2004 click: 2004 World Tour Diary Spring / Autumn
To read Ken's tour diary of the 'Winter Tour' click: 2004 Winter Tour Diary
To read Ken's diary of the December 2002
'Reunion Tour' tour, click: Steeleye Span Reunion Tour.
Steeleye Span Pictures.
Pictures of the Queen
Elizabeth Hall show 19th Dec 2002, taken by Chris
Bates.
For information on Steeleye click here
or / and visit the Park
Records site.
Also, you could take a look at Richard Hollis's
The Unofficial Steeleye Span site
Listen to
samples from Ken's albums.
Please have a look around, and if you
have time then please sign the Guestbook
before you leave.
If there's anything else you'd like to see here, or if you find that
anything isn't working, then please send Ken an e-mail
and let him know. Please also drop him a line with your postal address
if you'd like to be added to his mailing list.
Pages last updated:
Monday 5th September 2011
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