Elle Osborne releases her new album It’s Not Your Gold Shall Me Entice on November 6th 2015, on 9th House Recordings, the home of her acclaimed debut, Testimony.

Her third solo album, It’s Not Your Gold Shall Me Entice is the first to feature her own songs. With a nod to her musical roots – and her adopted home of Sussex.  The one traditional song on the new album is “Come Write Me Down” from English folk royalty, the Copper family, whence comes the album’s title (with the blessing of chief John Copper, himself).  With this one exception, all tracks were written, arranged and produced by Elle.

Elle explains: ‘”Come Write Me Down” is the one traditional song on the album, which comes originally from The Copper Family of East Sussex. The video was filmed on the South Downs, just north of the Copper Family’s home village of Rottingdean, where the song has been sung for centuries. This is the song that the album title – ‘It’s Not Your Gold Shall Me Entice’ – comes from.  It’s just me playing fiddle and cello.  Like a lot of the traditional songs I sing, I’ve never not known this song; I just absorbed it growing up.”

At the heart of the album is Elle’s unique vocal sound, which Alex Neilson of Trembling Bells likens to “A cross between Lal Waterson and Nico” – and gained her a nomination for Spiral Earth’s Singer of the Year in 2012.   Also featured, are her recurrent collaborators Alasdair Roberts on backing vocals and bass and Alex Neilson, with his Trembling Bells colleague, Mike Hastings, on drums and guitars, respectively.

It’s Not Your Gold Shall Me Entice was recorded in four sunny days on the south coast of England, by David Lynch, best known for his work with Ed Harcourt.   Elle’s collaborators, being veterans of inner-city Glasgow’s music scene, were none too impressed by the genteel seaside setting, with Mike Hastings quipping, “Eastbourne’s so depressing, no wonder they put Beachy Head there!”.

And so out of that atmosphere of conviviality and joy, come nine songs celebrating survivors and survival: from the opening track “I Don’t Like Sundays” wherein Elle’s protagonist beseeches a friend to hold on, as “Sundays always do this to you, darling…”, to “Toast (The Ballad of Michael ‘Mini’ Cooper)” written in honour of ‘Mini’ Cooper, a child arsonist and unrecognised genius.

The album’s front cover photo shows Elle’s grandmother, Katherine Compton in a drinking competition at Sidmouth Festival in the 1960s.  Elle grew up thinking this is what grandmothers did!  Kath Compton is still remembered by many in British and Irish folk music for booking The Watersons, Peter Bellamy, et al, for their first folk club gigs.

Still the voice of the outsider, and now with added touches of Americana to her folk heritage, It’s Not Your Gold Shall Me Entice is Elle’s most accessible record to date.

Catch Elle Osborne on tour – dates below:
26th Nov – London, Islington Folk Club
27th Nov – Lewes, The Con Club
6th Dec – Hebden Bridge, Trades Club *
7th Dec – Bexhill East Sussex, De La Warr Pavilion *
8th Dec – Birmingham, Kitchen Garden Cafe *
9th Dec – London, Winterville Victoria Park *

*supporting James Yorkston