"a passionate, perceptive songwriter" Uncut 2008
"exceptionally subtle and melodic" Q 2008
"takes the heart to places few singers even know exist" WORD 2008
Scots songwriter Karine Polwart combines the economy and universality of the folk storytelling tradition with a probing intellect and compassionate lyricism. Twice winner of "Best Original Song" at the UK-wide BBC Folk Awards, she continues to wonder at the homes her many poignant songs find for themselves:
"The most beautiful thing about songs is how they can take on a life and a meaning of their own. I'm constantly moved and inspired by the deeply personal experiences people let me in on to me as a result of hearing them".
A former children's rights worker, Karine allows images, narratives, questions and wry comic asides to do much of her work. She tries never to say too much. And whether it's the dilemmas of modern parenthood, the unsettling kindness of lies, or the resilience of hope, she admits most of her songs are an attempt to make sense of the fact that "there are people in this world who don't think like you do" (as she herself sings in 2006 song "Daisy"). All of which is precisely the kind of sideways, allegorical approach to contemporary living that you might expect from someone with a Masters degree in philosophy.
