Steel And Stone (Black Water) / Braw Sailin' On The Sea / Patrick Spence / Beads And Feathers / Green Grows The Laurel / Honk Toot / 

Harvest Gypsies / Faust Faust / Poor Man's Son / Rodney's Glory / Navigator

REVEAL RECORDS

Kris Drever is a folk singer whose debut album BLACK WATER continues the resurgence lately of traditional folk music to the mainstream led by artists such as Seth Lakeman, Kate Rusby and Roddy Woomble.  The son of Wolfstone singer/songwriter Ivan Drever, Kris Drever is someone carrying on a musical tradition here, BLACK WATER a record that sees him interpreting tradition folk standards.

This is unabashed folk territory, Drever’s vocals steeped in a broad Celtic brogue, and songs with titles like HARVEST GYPSIES and GREEN GROWS THE LAUREL.

Despite all the age old folk traditionalism, Kris Drever manages to breath new life into the songs here; his voice a powerful and mesmerising vehicle that draws you into the songs and manages to keep you hooked on the storytelling nature of these songs.

PATRICK SPENCE with its opening gambit of “the king sits in Dumfernline town drinking his blood red wine/where can I get a mariner to sail seven ships of mine” proves we’re in traditional folk territory here, a fact backed up by the abundance of flutes, fiddles and acoustic guitars on display elsewhere.

With an impressive list of collaborators, BLACK WATER boasts the likes of Kate Rusby, Roddy Woomble, Eddi Reader and Andy Seward all lending their talents at various points; an effect that lends the record extra colour and texture, keeping things from getting stale or tired.

Songs such as the yearning BEADS AND FEATHERS and the tear stained FAUST FAUST see Kris Drever delivering mesmerising performances, his strong vocals keeping the songs centred and maintaining your rapt attention throughout.

As a masterclass in interpreting traditional folk standards, BLACK WATER is a near faultless experience, Kris Drever delivering a record that manages to enchant and engage.

Kris Drever is the son of singer-songwriter Ivan Drever, formerly lead vocalist with Celtic rock supremos Wolfstone. Having self-confessedly spent his adolescence listening to Metallica and Pantera, meanwhile learning the guitar and ruining other people's sessions at the Orkney Folk Festival by playing all the wrong chords, he left home for the mainland at seventeen, eventually gravitating towards Edinburgh's burgeoning session scene. The Tron Ceilidh House was then, in the latter 1990s, the place to be, a haven for musicians from across all manner of genres, and Kris was soon playing there several nights a week.

Having temporarily switched instruments to the double bass, he subsequently returned to the guitar and began honing the style - a highly individual blend of rhythm and harmony, folk, jazz, rock and country inflections - that now finds him in near-constant demand as a session player. In late 2000, Kris? began sitting in at the weekly session at Sandy Bell's, Edinburgh's most famous folk pub alongside the regular co-hosts Nuala Kennedy, from Dundalk, on flute and whistles, and Edinburgh-born fiddler Anna-Wendy Stevenson.? As Kris said, " A guitar's like a portable piano, in terms of its range. I like to try always to use interesting colours in the chords and harmonies I play, rather than just doing the obvious. We do a lot of mid-tempo stuff, nothing totally hell-for-leather, so we can really make the arrangements count." From this collaboration grew the highly acclaimed trio "Fine Friday" which went on to tour in the UK, Europe and Australia. The band recorded two CDs on the Foot Stompin' label before the three went their separate ways to concentrate on individual projects.

Kris's earlier live and recorded work includes collaborations with Cathy Ryan of Irish-American supergroup Cherish the Ladies, Scottish fiddlers John McCusker and Bruce MacGregor, Irish accordionist Leo McCann and Gaelic band Tannas, well as tours of the US and South America with the Irish dance show Celtic Fusion.

More recently, Kris has increasingly been attracting plaudits for his singing as well as his playing, with his warm, soulfully resonant vocals featuring in five of the thirteen tracks on Fine Friday's debut album. His choice of songs ranges from the traditional Cold Blow and the Rainy Night to Steve Tilston's Slip-Jigs and Reels; from Boo Hewerdine's Hummingbird to the classic Scots ballad The Selkie. I like either to do songs that haven't been covered much before, he says, or folky standards that are open to a different interpretation. I try to steer clear of that kind of typical folk-singer sound, and put my own mark on things. Kris also plays with The Kate Rusby Band and Session A9.

In 2005 joined forces with Aidan O'Rourke and Martin Green to form the trio LAU.

You can also hear Kris's excellent playing and singing on the Fine Friday CDs "Gone Dancing" and "Mowing the Machair". Please also click through to the site for the band Lau and many other friends on the links page.

Which brings you up to date and Kris ' debut solo album: " BLACK WATER" .

The album which was produced by John McCusker and features Kris with friends Ewen Vernal, Kate Rusby, Donald Shaw, Andy Seward, Andy Cutting, Roddy Woomble, Eddi Reader, Andy Cutting and Andy Seward. You can buy one from the site ( orders will be processed securely and sent from kris' label Reveal.

Kris Drever is an Orcadian multi-instrumentalist, from singing and guitar playing to banjo and double bass. He has been in great demand since moving to Edinburgh in 1995. Kris has done a myriad of different projects, quickly moving from traditional pub sessions to the gigging circuit, playing large tours of the United States and Chile with dance show Celtic Fusion. After leaving the show Kris began working with Fine Friday, and also worked as a session musician for a variety of artists including The Battlefield Band, John McCusker, Kathie Ryan, Harem Scarem, Clare Mclaughlin and with his father, folk singer and guitarist Ivan Drever. Kris has toured much of Europe, Canada and Australia with Fine Friday and many others. He has also toured Canada with trumpeteer and fiddler Daniel Lapp and England, Ireland and Wales with folk superstar Kate Rusby. Kris also performed with Eamonn Coyne and plays in the John McCusker band and Session A9 and in 2005 joined forces with Aidan O'rourke and Martin Green to form the trio LAU - also signed to Reveal Records (THE ALBUM IS OUT MARCH 19th 2007). The official website WWW.KRISDREVER.COM is up and open with video , music player and pics and interview etc. 'huge abilities on guitar and a highly evolved contemporary singing style' Scotland on Sunday BBC FOLK AWARDS 2007 - WINNER ! (Horizon Award - Best Newcomer)

Kris Drever - Guitar / Voice. guests on " Black Water": Eddi Reader, John McCusker, Roddy Woomble, Donald Shaw, Kate Rusby, Andy Cutting, Andy Seward.. LAU ( Kris Drever guitar and vocal , Aidan O'Rourke fiddle, Martin Green piano accordion)

BLACK WATER (Reveal Records>2007)

Steel And Stone (Black Water)

Braw Sailin' On The Sea

Patrick Spence

Beads And Feathers

Green Grows The Laurel

Honk Toot

Harvest Gypsies

Faust Faust

Poor Man's Son

Rodney's Glory

Navigator

Kris Drever>www.krisdrever.com

Kate Rusby

Roddy Woomble

Eliza Carthy