Heather Findlay ~ Singer songwriter, Illustrator, Author, Creatrix and Founder of Black Sand Records.
www.blacksandrecords.com/heatherfindlay

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Known for her magical, evocative voice and an ability to interpret and inhabit a range of styles with a mix of power and feeling, Heather Findlay is one of the finest vocalists working in music today. Prog magazine lauded her, “Deliciously sultry vocals”, whilst Maverick magazine hailed her, “Pure, crystalline voice.  She grabs your heart in an almost vice-like grip”.  She has earned her stripes and honed her craft over the years, turning a natural love of music into a stock in trade, with never a dull moment along the way.

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Heather Findlay was born and bred in Yorkshire. Brought up in a very musical household, where the radio was never off unless the turntable was spinning, from an early age the foundations for Heather’s future career were laid. At the age of 13, as a result of her evident and growing passion for playing music, her beloved grandfather bought Heather her first guitar. Heather remembers, “It was a Tanglewood acoustic guitar, that I still have, and is affectionately known as ‘Woody’. It was bought from ‘Rose Morris’ music shop in York, where I had lived from the age of 9. I remember feeling sick with excitement and that it felt like the guitar would be almost like a portal to a whole new universe! With the change I had, I bought pitch pipes to tune the guitar with... pitch pipes! I really didn’t have a clue what I was doing, but somehow it didn’t matter. Woody was coming home with me...”

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There was no stopping her now and Heather sang and played whenever and wherever she could, appearing in many school productions and shows, and constantly listening to new music, fuelled her passion further. At home, the soundtrack included everything from The Beatles to Motown, Kate Bush to Fleetwood Mac; whilst her school common room bounced to pop, rock, grunge and metal. This diverse grounding gave Heather an appreciation of music of all forms, and a love of - and an ability to perform - a wide spectrum of styles.

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At the age of 18, Heather was studying Art at college and, as well as spending increasing amounts of time experimenting in recording studios, took the plunge and started performing her own small gigs around York. Following one such gig, having seriously impressed founder member Bryan Josh, 19 year old Heather was asked to join up and coming rock band Mostly Autumn. She was delighted to accept and, during the 13 extraordinary years that followed, Bryan and Heather went on to share much creative success, writing and recording many albums together.  The band toured internationally throughout that time. In January 2010, however, Heather made the tough decision to part company with Mostly Autumn and to launch a solo career.

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Heather recalls, “In 2010, I really felt ready to break out in a solo capacity and experiment with different styles and work with different people. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to establish a solo career whilst continuing to fulfil my role in Mostly Autumn as I had also given birth to my first child in October 2008. Something had to give and my growing passion to explore other avenues won. My first task was to write and sing for an experimental dubstep project called Maidu, with ‘Above & Beyond’ producer Bob Bradley. I distinctly remember opening that email. It was so refreshing and exhilarating to work on something so wildly different. Even from this short session, I had learned so much. I knew this wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but I knew I was on the right path.”

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She was indeed and, over the subsequent years, Heather has continued to learn and to develop. The boundless depth and dynamism of her stage presence, coupled with the richness, power and beauty of that instantly identifiable voice continues to captivate listeners. Classic Rock magazine love her, “Warm yet powerful vocals”. Heather has worked hard and now enjoys a reputation as one of the finest female vocalists of her time.  Trebuchet magazine called her, “A charismatic performer and a class act as a vocalist”, but Heather has also pushed herself musically and mastered instruments such as acoustic guitar, and added piano, lo whistle and alto recorder to her palette.  Her love of Art has never left her and she has contributed work that has featured as album covers, notably for Mostly Autumn’s ‘The Last Bright Light’, but Ritchie Blackmore also used one of her creations on the Blackmore’s Night album ‘Fires At Midnight’.

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Heather’s appreciation for all forms of music has never left her, and Heather has relished the chance to team up with a huge range of contemporary artists. She has performed guest vocals with Ritchie Blackmore, Jethro Tull, Fish, John Wetton, Uriah Heep, Shed Seven, Iona, Troy Donockley, and with Marillion’s Steve Hogarth as a guest singer on Lonely Robot. With Ayreon, Heather has sung live and in the studio alongside James LaBrie of Dream Theater; Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt, Irene Jansen and Anneke Van Giersbergen of VUUR and UK rock band Thunder.

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In 2015, Heather teamed up with  Dave Kerzner of Sound Of Contact and some old friends, including guitarist David Kilminster to whom she often turns, to form Mantra Vega a transatlantic progressive rock project, which saw the release of ‘The Illusion’s Reckoning’ album. More info here:
www.blacksandrecords.com/mantravega

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The following year she released the Winter-themed anthology album ‘I Am Snow’ with her own band. In 2018, Heather released her first live album / DVD with her semi-acoustic Heather Findlay Trio project entitled ‘Aces & Eights - A Night In The Saloon Bar’. In 2019 Heather released the much-anticipated solo studio album entitled ‘Wild White Horses’. The album was recorded at the legendary Rockfield Studios and was produced by Thunder’s Luke Morley, who also co-wrote some of the material with Heather. Jerry Ewing of Prog magazine said of the album, “Rooted in her more traditional folk and prog background, connecting with a talent like Luke Morley sees Findlay blossom as a contemporary artist, adding gritty classic rock and even a dash of country to her palette. She does it all remarkably well too.”

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Heather herself says of the record, “I’m so very happy with ‘Wild White Horses’! It’s quite an eclectic album and it’s very me! I’m known as a bit of a chameleon and shapeshifter when it comes to the styles I like to experiment with, and the way I use my voice, from the sultry rock chick, to the emotional balladeer, and I feel this album has really created the perfect platform to express the various sides of my personality, songwriting and voice. As ever, I have allowed myself to be pushed outside of my comfort zone, and there has been a lot of development and progression involved. I’m very proud of this album".

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The album saw Heather take to the road with a full band throughout 2019 and early 2020, the fruit of which was realised as the live album offering entitled Live White Horses which was released in 2020. 

 

All physical copies of both the I Am Snow and Live White Horses albums are sold out, however the albums can be downloaded digitally, along with much of Heather's back catalog on the Black Sand Records bandcamp page here:

www.blacksandrecords.bandcamp.com/music

 

All physical titles here:

www.blacksandrecords.com/shop

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2021 saw the creation and limited edition release of Sirens, the much anticipated second studio album from Heather's duo project with Angela Gordon, Odin Dragonfly. The album was released officially in January 2022, most notably on very special blue splash vinyl. Limited edition, signed copies are available here:
www.blacksandrecords.com/odindragonfly

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In the winter of 2022, Heather released her first book Raising Violet. An illustrated therapeutic tale. A semi-autobiographical tale, navigating the journey between two of Heather's best loved songs, Shrinking Violet and I Am Snow.  More info here:
www.blacksandrecords.com/books

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The summer of 2023 saw the release of Heather's second book; an art & poetry collection titled The Orelium. The first edition of which is now sold out. More info on the second edition as and when available can be found here: www.blacksandrecords.com/books. To register your interest, please email Heather at info@heatherfindlay.co.uk

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Some original artworks from The Orelium book are still available, along with limited edition prints of much of her artwork. You can find those, and also pre-order illustrated song sheets of all of Heather's lyrics on her art page here:
www.blacksandrecords.com/heatherfindlayart

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In 2023, Heather began to release singles for two forthcoming new albums of songs called Wildflower and Frame of Heart.

The first of which was for Wildflower, an uplifting acoustic guitar led song carrying the same title. The second release was the first song for Frame of Heart, a poignant, piano led song called 'May It Be'.

Both are available as hi to lo-res downloads here: www.blacksandrecords.com/music.

 

These new offerings from Heather, see her step into a more stripped back, authentic, soul-led era of writing, showcasing both her devotional work inspired by her yogic training background, and also her work towards helping to birth a new earth, through songs which she hopes will help to open hearts and bring awareness, love, light and upliftment to the human collective. Wildflower will offers songs that through honouring Nature, the power of Pure Love, and the Light & Magic within, and available to all beings and Frame of Heart will offer more devotionally oriented work through kirtan, using both Sanskrit & English words, informed by Heather's studies in, and the philosophy surrounding, Kriya Yoga both in India and in the UK over 10 years, with her Spiritual Master, SatGuruNath.

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In January 2024 Heather also announced the co-founding of brand new band project, The Bee Tellers, with long time collaborator Simon Snaize, who also featured on Live White Horses. They released a first single called River Poem in April 2024 which can be downloaded here: www.blacksandrecords.com/music.

More info about the band's progress including sign-up can be found here: www.blacksandrecords.com/thebeetellers

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To keep up with all Heather Findlay related news, you can sign-up here: www.blacksandrecords.com

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Contact Heather directly here: info@heatherfindlay.co.uk

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