To mark the 10-year anniversary of Olivia Chaney’s debut album ‘The Longest River’ this strikingly beautiful and unusual album is being released as limited-edition reissue – on vinyl for the first time.
At the time, reviewers commented “Chaney’s voice …
has been called one of the finest in English folk music; it only took one song to see why.” BBC Music proclaimed “it confirms Chaney’s arrival as a major talent.”
The Longest River was recorded at the legendary RAK Studios in London and co-produced with Leo Abrahams (guitarist, film composer, and Brian Eno collaborator).
The record was engineered by esteemed veteran Jerry Boys (Buena Vista Social Club, Sandy Denny) and includes Chaney’s longtime collaborators, Oliver Coates, Jordan Hunt, and Leo Taylor.
Olivia’s debut balances originals–including the two pieces that first brought her acclaim, “The King’s Horses” and “Swimming in the Longest River” with an eclectic selection of covers: “Blessed Instant” by Norwegian jazz singer-composer Sidsel Endresen; an adaptation of 17th-century composer Henry Purcell’s “There’s Not a Swain”; 20th-century Chilean folk composer Violetta Parra’s “La Jardinera” and “Waxwing,” from Scottish avant-folk singer-songwriter Alasdair Roberts.
Olivia has gone on to release two more solo albums; Shelter in 2018 and Circus of Desire 2024 – both produced by Thomas Bartlett (Sufjan Stevens, Florence and the Machine, Rufus Wainwright).
In between the two, she released Six French Songs – an EP of French chanson arrangements, captured over a few late nights in New York with Thomas Bartlett – ranging from medieval ballad to 60s ye-ye pop classic Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles.
Olivia received a Grammy nomination for her album The Queen of Hearts, an iconic folk-rock collaboration with The Decemberists under the name Offa Rex, and sang and played on Folks Songs – a collaborative album with Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant, Rhiannon Giddens and Sam Amidon.
