In 1998, an album was released that made quiet ripples. Recorded in the evenings after she had put her four-year-old to bed, Charlotte Greig recorded simple versions of folk songs and originals about lovers and ghosts that come to you at night. She used a four-track cassette recorder to tape her voice, harmonium, dulcimer and an idiosyncratically programmed Dr Rhythm drum machine.
Released on vinyl for the first time this month, Night Visiting Songs still sounds unearthly, beautiful and startlingly sincere, carrying the ghosts of Anne Briggs, Nico and the Young Marble Giants in its textures and rhythms. A set of cover versions follows on Bandcamp, with James Yorkston, Alasdair Roberts, Euros Childs and Katell Keineg among the artists paying tribute. It is a timely reminder of the many talents of Greig, who killed herself in 2014 at the age of 59.
