The Days That Shaped Me

10 years ago, the long awaited but inevitable happened when siblings Marry Waterson and Oliver Knight, of the legendary Waterson folk dynasty, recorded together for the first time in memory of their late mother, the great Lal Waterson. The album was praised for its touching and intimate lyrics, diverse influence behind Knight’s guitar work as well as the obvious and honest presence of loss.‘The Days That Shaped Me’ is full of beautiful, evocative, mysterious songs that include collaborations with Kathryn Williams, who provides harmony on ‘Father Us’ and ‘Secret Smile’, both of which she co-wrote, James Yorkston duetting on his co-composition ‘Yolk Yellow Legged’, as well as (cousin) Eliza Carthy. On this special anniversary record, collaborations also include multi award-winning musician Andy Cutting on new track ‘Middlewood’ as well as Emily Scott of chamber pop quartet Modern Studies on ‘Fine Horseman’, lead single ‘Moira’s Mae’ and ‘Purple Polka Dot Linen’, for which she also holds co-writing credit.The album’s majesty is intrinsically linked to the ease at which Marry and Oliver explore various themes and ideas, at the same time uplifting and ethereal as well as haunting, ‘The Days That Shaped Me’ utilizes the best in jazz and rock as well as the folk stylings they know so well.Marry Waterson tells us; “That first album 'The Days That Shaped Me' is for me indeed an album of firsts. Crafting poetry into song, discovering the joy of singing to Oliver and him playing back to me and forging a path down the middle. Those songs were the stone thrown into a pond reaching out to collaborators who became my life-long friends. The waters rippled on into a world of new connections and creative possibilities, which ten years later still shape me.”For some time, the anticipated collaboration seemed suspended, for the best part of a decade after Lal Waterson’s passing in 1998. The breakthrough came when the Waterson family were booked to appear at London's Royal Albert Hall in 2007. When, accompanied by Olly, Marry stepped forward to sing one of her mother’s most celebrated songs, ‘Fine Horseman’, which affected both them and the audience profoundly.‘The Days That Shaped Me’ exists in its own genre-blending, unique world. Marry Waterson was at the time vocal about tackling her personal experiences in her writing, about childhood memories, parenting, love, death as well as PMT in ‘Curse The Day’. It received praise from some of the industry’s most prestigious outlets as well as being nominated for a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award. A second album by the siblings, ‘Hidden’, was released in 2012.On ‘The Days That Shaped Me’ we’re offered the opportunity to revisit an original and gracious collaboration with sentiment and emotional breadth that’s as impactful now as it was 10 years ago.