Two spectacular new renditions of the already much-loved Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler song ‘Footnotes on the Map’ have been made available on a new three track collection Listen here. The live version recorded at London’s Green Note venue, as well as a stripped back version, appear alongside the original version taken from their universally lauded debut album, For All Our Days That Tear The Heart – one of twelve records shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize ‘Album of The Year’.
The live take was recorded in early May when the pair made their public debut in the intimate and ornate surroundings of the Green Note on Parkway in Camden. That launch earned Buckley and Butler a “triumphant” five-star review in the Evening Standard , The Telegraph and a glowing four stars in the Times.
The track features Jessie’s rich vocal floating majestically over the tidal push and pull of ‘Footnotes on the Map’, with Butler ably backing her in an enlivening call-and-response as he strums dynamically throughout. When their vocals converge, they’re bracing and thrilling, like waves colliding with the shore. It’s a delicate and spine-tingling performance with enough space to give the listener a sense of the hushed anticipation and gathering momentum within that room. Butler is joined by popular British folk troubadour Sam Lee on vocals on the album track, though with this live version he’s solo, accompanied only by a violin and the supporting rumble of the double bass, bringing a fresh intimacy to proceedings.
It’s a song they’ve approached in several ways thus far, including to great fanfare on Later… With Jools Holland with a small choir and string quartet back at the end of May. Watch HERE
The pace and progress of this collaboration, which started out as little more than a friendly jam session, has been something to behold. Having only spoken to one another for the first time two years ago, they struck up a friendship thanks to a mutual pal who thought they’d spark—meeting via the magic of an unstable webchat: she on a windy Killarney mountaintop, he in a North London kitchen. A project that started as little more than two friends rifling through shelves and opening books to find passages for inspiration, has turned into a soaring duet with a debut album that unexpectedly stormed the UK charts. It’s been a surprising turn of events for two artists who largely inhabit different universes.
“The actor and the former Suede guitarist deliver a beautifully produced folk-inflected set,” wrote The Observer, giving the album 4/5 stars, with sister paper The Guardian calling it a “stunning album”. “Nuanced and sophisticated,” said the Evening Standard in their 4/5 review, whilst The Times 4/5 review said it was “a delight throughout”.
For All Our Days That Tear The Heart has created its own welcoming universe, and it’s a universe that continues to expand thanks to overwhelming demand.
Catch Jessie and Bernard performing live on the following dates;
July 29th – All Together Now, Waterford, Ireland
Jul 31st – All Together Now, Waterford, Ireland
August 19th – Green Man Festival, Wales
August 25th – Mouth of the Tyne Festival series, Newcastle Upon Tyne
August 26th – Connect Festival, Edinburgh
August 30th, Home Farm, Elstree, UK
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