Mermaid Kiss is an English band formed in Kington,

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, England, in 2000, with influences ranging from contemporary folk music to

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

Biography

The initial line up was: Evelyn Downing (voice and flute) Jamie Field (guitar and bass) and Andrew Garman (keyboard, bass, and drums). In the beginning the band was envisaged purely as a studio project, and in June 2003 they released a 14 track debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''The Mermaid Kiss Album'', and following many requests they made their live debut on 21 December 2003, at The Rock Cafe 2000,

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

supporting

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. In September 2004, Downing left Kington to further her studies at University in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and two guest vocalists, Kate Belcher and Kate Emerson, were recruited by Field and Garman. Guitarist Nigel Hooton also joined the band at this time. The band's second release in February 2006, a 7 track EP entitled ''Salt On Skin'', contained songs featuring vocals by both Downing, Belcher, and Emerson. The

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

and

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

for the CD was by Chris Walkden. One of the songs on the EP, "The Blushing Bride", featured guitar work of

Panic Room ''Panic Room'' is a 2002 American thriller film directed by David Fincher. The film stars Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart as a mother and daughter whose new home is invaded by burglars, played by Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight ...

(and former Karnataka) guitarist, Paul Davies. A second album, '' Etarlis'', was released on 18 June 2007. ''Etarlis'' was described by the band as a series of musical illustrations of the fantasy story of the same name, written by Field and Downing over the past years. The album's eleven tracks were written and arranged by Field and Garman. Kate Belcher once again featured as a guest vocalist on this album, in addition to which a range of

woodwind instrument Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and ...

s were played by Wendy Marks. Further guest appearances from Troy Donockley (

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

) on uilleann pipes and Jonathan Edwards (Panic Room and ex Karnataka) on keyboards were also featured. Following her contribution to ''Etarlis'', Wendy Marks joined the band as a full member in 2008. Garman and Hooton subsequently departed the band, and the new line-up was augmented by Colin Henney (keyboards), Peter West (bass), and Steve White (drums). With this lineup the band released their third full-length album, 'Another Country', in 2012. Shortly after the release of 'Another Country' Downing departed the band and was replaced by Maria Milewska. The band subsequently dissolved in 2013, with Field, Marks, and Milewska forming new band Zero She Flies with keyboardist Jeremy Robberechts and bassist Shane Webb.

Personnel

;Former members * Evelyn Downing - vocals, flute (2000-2012) * Jamie Field - guitars, bass (2000-2013) * Andrew Garman - keyboards, bass, drums (2000-2010) * Nigel Hooton - guitars (2004-2010) * Wendy Marks - cor anglais, flute, oboe, recorder, backing vocals (2008-2013) * Colin Henney - keyboards (2010-2013) * Peter West - bass (2010-2013) * Steve White - drums (2010-2013) * Maria Milewska - vocals, flute, piano (2012-2013) ;Guest musicians * Kate Belcher - vocals (''Salt on Skin'', ''Etarlis'') * Paul Davies - guitars (''Salt on Skin'') * Kate Emerson - vocals (''Salt on Skin'') * Troy Donockley- uilleann pipes (''Etarlis'') * Jonathan Edwards - keyboards (''Etarlis'') * Richard Northwood - bass (''Another Country'')

Discography

;Studio albums * ''The Mermaid Kiss Album'' (2003) * '' Etarlis'' (2007) * ''Another Country'' (2012) ;EPs * ''Salt on Skin'' (2006)

References

External links

Mermaid Kiss Official SiteMermaid Kiss @ Myspace
{{Authority control English progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 2000 People from Kington, Herefordshire Musicians from Herefordshire