Mikey Kenney has taken up residence as a quietly influential figure within the emerging revival of the English experimental folk scene winning audiences over with his warm energy and dynamic musicality. His new album Tiny Little Light captures the essence of that alternative musical spirit: an exciting and innovative voice for our times.
A musical outsider artist, Mikey also embraces duality. Primarily known as a respected fiddle player, singer, songwriter and composer from Liverpool, he is also a multi-instrumentalist, often performing many of the parts on his recordings (banjo, mandolin, guitar, melodeon etc). He is hailed by many as an important conduit of learning, conserving and handing down both English and Irish traditional fiddle music in England's Northwest (his digital release 'Northwestern English Fiddle' bringing him to the fore of the English traditional music scene). Yet he is constantly composing alternative and progressive music of his own: often compared with the likes of Michael Hurley, Vashti Bunyan, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and the Incredible String Band based on his uncompromising, eccentric and boundlessly creative approach to his art.
He has performed, collaborated and recorded with an impressive number of his peers (Alabaster Deplume, Vinicio Capossela, Victor Herrero, Josephine Foster, Katherine Priddy, Dan Haywood, Alessandro ‘Asso’ Stefana, Emily Portman, Moulettes, Owen Spafford, Adam Beattie, Dominie Hooper, Johnny Campbell... to name a few). His past self-produced albums have been released to acclaim (both Counsel of Owls and the Reverie Road were rated 5 stars by then fRoots magazine) and his own idiosyncratic, psychedelic brand of fiddle-led songs have earned him a loyal fanbase from multiple music scenes.
This latest release sees Mikey marry these two forms, the song and the fiddle tune, in a vibrant and imaginative expedition into Mikey's inner-world. The songs are a meditation on life, music and the times we find ourselves in. Mikey specifically wanted to create a record that would bring some joy and light to the listener (hence the album title, 'Tiny Little Light') whilst also treating the traditional fiddle tune form with the informed respect that he carries for it. The result is a thoughtful and adventurous recording that remains gentle and accessible to those previously unfamiliar with the genre.
Mikey considers it his finest work yet and the truest expression of a life devoted to his craft.
"Mikey Kenney is a rare gem... there are few people who seem to embody traditional music in quite the same way. He’s like a walking tune book, and his dedication to keeping the old music of his native Lancashire alive is something to be cherished. In person, he’s much as his press images suggest he might be. Surely born in the wrong era, there’s a wide-eyed wonder about him, and a sense that he was left on this planet to roam and soak up as many musical traditions as he possibly can. He’s seen a lot and he’s played a lot and his music positively drips with the wisdom and experience he’s picked up along the way."- Jon Wilks, TradFolk
“Nobody sees or hears the world like Mikey Kenney." - Songlines Magazine
“Mikey Kenney is an artist for whom music is a calling, not a career choice…a singular and inspiring talent... unfettered by expectations of geography or genre, and a wanderer of worlds both seen and invisible, Kenney is an authentic free spirit”. - 5/5 fRoots
"Superbly charismatic fiddle playing / once heard, never forgotten singing"- FRUK
"Mikey Kenney is a true original" - RnR Magazine
“This is magical, medicinal music that defies labels and borders” - Liverpool Echo