Maddie Southorn

Sector: Musician / Solo / Singer Songwriter

Key Skills

singer, songwriter, pianist, Bristol, acoustic, musician, performer, folk

Key Clients

Musical collaborations with numerous artists including Stevie Lawrence, Nancy Kerr & James Fagan and Karen Tweed. Formerly signed to Fellside Recordings now independent. Toured nationally and performed with Kirsty McGee, Eddie Reader, Boo Hewerdine, Seth Lakeman amongst others.

Maddie’s voice is special; it’s what sets her apart. By turns ethereal and powerful yet always expressive.
“A voice that could melt glass.” Decode
“A voice that projects both her humanity and her warmth.” Green Man Review
“Reminiscent of the great Joni Mitchell.” BBC Wiltshire

Maddie’s music is equally impressive. She writes songs of longing, nostalgia and beauty; songs inspired by looking out of the window on long journeys at changing landscapes and glimpsed lives; twisted fairytales and characters as “poignantly real as any that the late Dennis Potter ever invented.” Living Tradition. And all tempered with a wry humour and a whimsy that never becomes predictable.
The arrangements, featuring Maddie’s trademark piano and enhanced by the beautiful and haunting cello of long-time musical collaborator Katherine Martin, display at times an almost classical purity.
“Imagine the contented glow you get sitting comfortably in front of a fire, thoughtfully reflecting on moments and evocations arising within and out of the flames.” Net Rhythms

Her first two releases, the independently produced and released ‘Unlikely Prom Queen’ and the EP ‘Hollow’, were extremely well received, gaining plaudits and airplay both here and in the USA and invited comparisons to Suzanne Vega and Kate Bush. “Maddie Southorn’s delightful album ‘Unlikely Prom Queen’ has depth and heart. This is a beautiful wonderful album…I am indebted to her for sharing her thoughts, her words and her wisdom.” Green Man Review

Her third album, ‘The Pilgrim Soul’, was released by the prestigious Fellside Recordings label and featured contributions from such highly respected artists as Nancy Kerr, Karen Tweed and multi-instrumentalist Stevie Lawrence. On hearing it Radio 2’s Mike Harding was prompted to declare it “one of the best albums of 2005. A real gem.”
“A CD of great musical integrity, of substance and control.” Stirrings
“An excellent contemporary slant on the folk tradition.” Maverick

Maddie is currently working on her fourth release. This time it’s completely independent as she’s not only writer and performer but also engineer and producer in her own studio. “This time it’s all about freedom, freedom to create whatever I want and say whatever I feel like saying.”
Proof, if proof were needed, that Maddie is “a creative force to be reckoned with” Net Rhythms and continues to create the kind of music that “could find itself resting proudly on a million coffee tables worldwide.” Decode.