Held By Trees arrived with debut album Solacein spring 2022 to global critical acclaim and a unique story. Not many artists can claim direct DNA from their chief influences, but on Solace, project leader David Joseph managed to bring together a total of eight alumni of the fabled Talk Talk/Mark Hollis albums that inspired his instrumental, progressive post-rock. The album also featured contributions from veterans of Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Blur and blues/roots hero, Eric Bibb. Solacehas gone on to delight listeners and critics around the world, selling thousands of CD and vinyl copies and entering the indie and physical sales official charts in the UK.
Held By Trees is the collaborative vehicle for David Joseph, a recording artist, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Dorset, England. After cutting his teeth in a couple of rock bands, he released ambient/instrumental music under various names until founding Held By Trees in 2020.
Hot on the heels of Solace, Held By Trees is excited to be releasing two new EPs this year on Sound Canyon Records. Recorded at Peter Gabriel’s famous Real World Studios, the first EP is comprised of live versions of five tracks from Solace. The six piece live iteration of Held By Trees brings together three of the Talk Talk/Mark Hollis alumni that contributed to Solace including renowned guitarist Robbie McIntosh. The band recorded playing all together in the ‘Big Room’ at Real World in November 2022, a week after their debut live performances.
The second EP is an entirely new suite of pieces themed on the transition from daylight to darkness. Entitled ‘Eventide’, it was tracked live at Real World Studios and then additional layers were added by musicians in America and Canada, by old friends of project leader David Joseph. The new music is also influenced by the likes of Van Morrison, Paul Simon and John Martyn.
Pre-order the vinyl and CDs below. Vinyl / CD release date: August 11th, 2023.