Folk music often seems to emerge from the ground, a necessary outgrowth of a particular place or time. This is true of Toby Hay, who has lived all his life on the edge of the mid-Wales town of Rhayader, a place of dark skies and wild weather where, as Hay says, ‘everything moves at a slower pace, and the air is fresh in the true sense of the word.’ It is a place that Hay carries with him and which permeates his music.
Hay’s debut, The Gathering, was an earthy gem of 2017. As nature writer Robert Macfarlane, who penned the liner notes for that album, observed: ‘the world’s dew gleams on this music, but the world’s dust swirls though it too.’ Now Hay returns with The Longest Day, recorded live over four days in Giant Wafer studios in Wales and mixed by Toby’s brother Tim. Its release coincides with the summer solstice, and it is another bright offering, both more celebratory and more urgent than its predecessor.
For Hay’s 2019 project, New Music for the 12 String Guitar, he signed to The state51 Conspiracy, who contacted legendary luthier Roger Bucknall of Fylde Guitars to ask if he would make a bespoke 12 string for the album. The final ‘Red Kite’ guitar, named after the bird of prey local to Hay’s home, was set up to play in alternate tunings. Hay then went to Peter Gabriel’s Real World studios to record the album’s 12 tracks. With no additional musicians, and no overdubs, edits or effects, the recordings fully demonstrate Toby’s exceptional playing and composition skills.
