It’s not often you come across an artist who genuinely deserves the title “cult legend”, but UK folk-icon Vashti Bunyan is truly that. A full 35 years after her only previous album, Just Another Diamond Day , she returned with the “charmingly ethereal… perfect” ( The Age ) follow-up, Lookaftering , & will now, along with her band, tour Australia for the first time in February 2007.

Vashti’s story begins in the mid-60s, when she was discovered by Rolling Stones guru Andrew Loog Oldham , signed to Decca & recorded a single penned by Jagger/Richards. Early reviews were favourable but subsequent singles remained unreleased & led to feelings of despair & a rejection of the music industry. After some years in the wilderness, in November ‘69 Vashti recorded the Just Another Diamond Day album with Joe Boyd & members of the Incredible String Band & Fairport Convention in London. Upon it’s release Vashti left the city again, moving to Scotland with the Incredible String Band, & then onto Ireland… and obscurity. But the album, over the years, accrued a cultish currency as a lost English classic.

Fast forward to the late 90’s & Vashti had become aware of this interest. After tracking down the masters, Just Another Diamond Day was re-released to huge critical acclaim. A host of young, new admirers emerged citing her influence, & Vashti had soon recorded with the likes of Piano Magic , The Cocteau Twins , Simon Raymonde , Devendra Banhart & Animal Collective . She then hooked up with the prestigious FatCat record label & recorded Lookaftering , a beautiful, rich, stirring & fully realised album in it’s own right. With contributions from Joanna Newsom , Devendra Banhart , Adem & Robert Kirby (Nick Drake) , & the beautiful interaction between the lush instrumentation & the incredibly intimate in-your-ear presence of Vashti’s voice, Lookaftering is, 35 years after the release of Just Another Diamond Day , an astounding companion piece.

“Lookaftering would have been a remarkable album even without Bunyan’s story to accompany it. The fact that it is the work of a singer whose brilliance was thought long-lost to the world makes it an instant classic” (Chris Long, BBC)

Don’t miss Vashti Bunyan & her band in Australia this February!

Dates Played

MELBOURNE
When: Tue 20-02-07
Where: The Prince

SYDNEY
When: Wed 21-02-07
Where: The Basement

BRISBANE
When: Thu 22-02-07
Where: The Zoo

PERTH
When: Sat 24-02-07
Where: Perth International Arts Festival