Rachael Roberts and Alex Swift met whilst working at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside. Realising they had similar musical tastes they decided to collaborate and the album Quietude is the result. It’s a lush blend of electronica combined with the organic tones of strings and clarinet and a sweet vocal narrative.
Complimented by Alex’s intuitive and contemporary production, most notably evident in recent years with Massive Attack, this album would sit comfortably between Zero 7 and Morcheeba on your iPod.
Allthough electronic based, the album features beautiful instrumentation. The strings, clarinet, flute and saxophones were all recorded in a little wooden room in the middle of a Dorset forest!
This album is about getting away from it all, escaping the madness of life and seeking out a place of solitude. It just seemed like the natural thing to do, to record the album in the middle of a forest!” says Rachael. “It was a long summer but every recording had a good vibe about it…. Strange and magical things happened in those sessions and this is how we brought you Quietude…..”
So could it be jazz or maybe folk? Who knows, probably both! It would certainly be fair to say that Rachael’s influences come from both camps. Her father is Tony Roberts, the respected jazz musician who has worked with John Dankworth and Danny Thompson and who was a member of ‘Pentangle’ in the 1960s. Rachael’s sister, Lucy Roberts, is a fiddle player on the folk circuit and most recently featured on the award winning ‘The Imagined Village’ album on Real World Records. Rachael herself has worked as a session vocalist for folk/electronic artists such as Beth Orton and Merz.
The songs on “Quietude” tell a story from start to finish. A twisting tale of heartbreak, and dark days, (Breaking) to finding strength and independence (I Walk Alone). Memories of loves and lives lost (I Remember You) through to finding love and happiness. (Sweet Is The Air). The final song on the album is the end of the tale, where we realise that these ups and downs in life are what keeps us alive (Bittersweet)
Artist Rachael Roberts Album Quietude Release: 16/06/08 Label: Long Tale Recordings Cat No: LTCD011
“Quietude” - Look it up, it’s defined as “a place of peace and quiet”. This is a chill album which emanates cool...
Rachael Roberts and Alex Swift met whilst working at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside. Realising they had similar musical tastes they decided to collaborate and the album Quietude is the result. It’s a lush blend of electronica combined with the organic tones of strings and clarinet and a sweet vocal narrative. 
Artist Rachael Roberts
