Music that is a living sound track to the Welsh Marches. Acoustic guitar, voice and cello combine to create the atmosphere of the landscapes that inspire them. Ian Mann’s (The Jazz Mann online magazine) description spoke that the ‘filmic quality of the work is very much rooted in the restless beauty, and at times unforgiving nature, of the Welsh Marches where they are both based.’
Formed in 2014 improvising duo Charlie Beresford (acoustic guitar/voice) and Sonia Hammond (cello) both herald from the Welsh Marches, a wild landscape that has left a deep imprint on the sounds they make. Their first album ‘The Science of Snow’ was born when the two found themselves at a loose end due to a cancelled studio session, they used the opportunity to record some duo improvisations together just to see where it would go. From this chance session the duo decided to release the recording through ‘The 52nd’ label. ‘The Science of Snow’ received critical acclaim in both the UK and mainland Europe. World wide radio airplay from the US to Germany led to the duo performing in Hungary and Austria as well as the the UK. In 2016 they teamed up with pianist Carolyn Hume (Fourth Page) to form the Beresford Hammond Hume trio and released the also much lauded album ‘The Lightning Bell’. Also released through ‘The 52nd’ this CD contained performances by the singer Judie Tzuke who had joined them on a couple of their laid back recording sessions. Three other albums have followed, the latest being ‘Corvids on the Cusp’ released earlier this year.
“It still astonishes me that Beresford Hammond are able to conjure these seemingly fully formed pieces out of thin air. I’m not sure how much editing there was prior to release, but that performance at The Globe in Hay served to prove just how finely attuned to one another’s musical sensibilities the duo have become.” Ian Mann
“Across these three albums they have demonstrated that they have the capacity to generate fresh, engaging music endlessly. We must hope that they continue to do so well into the foreseeable future.” John Eyles All About Jazz
‘This is a beguiling album, rich in emotional inflexions. Its mimetic melancholy is offset both by the immediacy of the performance and its poetry. It is really quite beautiful.’ – Tim Owen Dalston Sound
“This stuff comes from a border country and a border state.” – The Wire
