Bishopskin
Formed in 2020 by singer Tiger Nicholson and guitarist James Donovan, the band released their first single 'Worship ll' in the summer of 2020, followed by their debut EP 'Ye Olde Britland Isle Bishopskin'.
Bishopskin are..?
We are a musical group of between 6 to ten pieces, based originally in south London now our lead lives in englands pleasant pastures… songs are mainly written by the lead Tiger Nicholson and Guitarist Ja Més but more increasingly it’s become the whole body.
The songs are rooted and continue in the tradition of Folk and explore the the ancient muse of Christ and theme well trodden in music for the past 2000 years.
"Ave Maria" is definitely a fine piece of Alt-Folk, what was your inspiration?
It was the summer of love 2021s Tiger had just got married aged 23 to his teenage sweetheart, he was honeymooning in Scotland listening to CDs paul Simon and Kevin Morby . the week after his moon he went writing with Ja Mes and out birthed Ave Maria written for Tigers wife and unknowingly was written at the Genisis of the life of his baby girl Elvis. The song is for both his beloved girls and tells this tale -
Ave Maria is a story from 1934 of Old man England and his vision on the Moor. We wrote this song to join the canon of mythology and ancient tales surrounding the old Moors of England. We wrote it quick, true and linear. Inspired by William Blake inspired by Christ.
We Bishopskin share his vision of Jerusalem build in Englands hills where the moors, the caves and the islands hold in their soil ancient bones and relics of holy men and woman where apparitions and visions or Maria reside, among these dark satanic mills.
What's in your opinion the most difficult part of writing a song?
Honestly we don’t often struggle to write songs, but that doesn’t mean they are all good… majority are bad 1 in 6 is okay and 1 in 100 are really good…it’s about flinging shit to a wall and seeing what sort of diet you need to implement to make shit stick.
Being Indie is ...?
Not sure I think it’s short for independent and in the music world it may mean Independently released music that is not directly financially dependent on any of the major labels.
The last artist who impressed you was ...?
South African cellist Abel Selaocoe! He just released his debut album… very impressive!
What's your favorite song at the moment?
"Never quite right" by Oscar Browne
Any chance to see you somewhere live on stage?
Lexington London 7th October - or follow us on Instagram for updates on next gigs we have many coming up
What's next for you?
Album is being recorded in our humble chapel cottage it will be a small collection of the best songs we’ve written and hopefully will resemble some sort of familiar rhythm of ancient hymns intertwined with the broken reality of England, maybe the music equivalent of Jez Butterworths Jerusalem.
Photo credits: Spela Cedilnik
