Witch Of The Vale join Melanie on ‘All The Pretty Little Horses’
Witch Of The Vale join Melanie on “All The Pretty Little Horses”, out via Cleopatra Records.
Scottish ethereal/darkwave duo Witch Of The Vale have joined veteran folk singer Melanie (Melanie Safka) on a new version of “All The Pretty Little Horses”, released as a single via Cleopatra Records.
The song traces back to 1972, when Melanie was touring on behalf of UNICEF. She had become a UNICEF ambassador in late 1971, the first rock or pop star to perform for the United Nations General Assembly, and that year she announced that proceeds from her tour would go to the organization. The final night of that tour, in Tokyo, was later released by Cleopatra Records as “Maiden In Japan”. During the same era, Melanie recorded a brief take, under a minute long, of the traditional folk lullaby “All The Pretty Little Horses”. It stayed officially unreleased until it surfaced a couple of years ago on her “Neighborhood Songs” box set.
Witch Of The Vale now extend that recording. The duo described the result as “very haunting, honest and perhaps a little sad”. Researching the song, they found it belongs to a longer, spookier folk song with a second, darker verse, which they added to the arrangement. The new version runs more than double the length of Melanie’s original take, though it still comes in under two minutes.
“All The Pretty Little Horses” is the first single and opening track from a new Melanie album, “Friends and Co.”, due later this year on Cleopatra Records. The album is built around further posthumous duets, featuring Steve Hillage (Gong), Cactus, the Pink Fairies, Nik Turner, Del Dettmar and Alan Davey (Hawkwind), Terry Reid, Esme White and others.
A video for the track is available at youtu.be/H7hq7xQepI8.
About Witch Of The Vale
Witch Of The Vale are Erin and Ryan, an electronic duo formed in Glasgow with roots on the shores of Loch Lomond and the Outer Hebrides. Their sound sits between ethereal and darkwave, pairing Erin’s melancholic vocals and lyrics with droning synths and abrasive drum programming, with cited reference points including Cranes, Dead Can Dance, Fever Ray and Skinny Puppy. The duo released their debut album, “The Way This Will End”, in October 2018, followed by “Changeling”, “Love of a Father” and “Boys Of Summer”. Their album “Commemorate” was re-released on CD and vinyl by Cleopatra Records in 2021, alongside a new video. Their most recent release is the EP “Lovesongs For The Damned”, also on Cleopatra Records. The Melanie collaboration marks their first credited feature on a release outside their own catalog to reach Side-Line’s coverage.
Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!
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