Ukulele Records of the Year 2013

2013 is coming to an end. And it’s been another golden year for ukulele music. Here’s a rundown – in no particular order – of my favourite uke albums and EPs of year. Leave yours in the comments.

If you use Spotify you can listen to my Ukulele 2013 playlist with a much bigger selection of the year’s ukulele music. If you’re not a Spotifier here’s a list of the songs on it.

The Flamin’ Mamies – The Flamin’ Mamies

Who: Liverpool’s own toe tappin’ deco dames.

What: Rollocking 20s tunes.

Buy it on Bandcamp

Me & Amelia – Me & Amelia

Who: Brother and sister duo Zeke and Amelia.

What: Simon and Garfunkel for today’s swinging teens.

Buy it on iTunes.

Ninebarrow – Kingdom EP

Who: British folk duo.

What: Pastoral and historical songs with beautiful harmonies back with perfect uke picking.

Buy it on iTunes

Keston Cobblers’ Club – A Scene of Plenty EP

Who: Instrument swapping Kentish five-some.

What: More of the ever popular tuba and ukulele combination on this selection of oom-pah folk pop.

Buy it on iTunes

Leftover Cuties – The Spark & the Fire

Who: Jazzy L.A. noir-poppers.

What: Second long-player with a bigger sound and sharper tunes.

Buy it on iTunes

Peter Delaney – Witch Bottle

Who: Limerick singer/songwriter.

What: Melancholic folk songs with Hawaiian influence.

Witch Bottle – Peter Delaney

Cammy Enaharo

Who: New York singer/songwriter/baritoner.

What: Stripped down album of heartfelt songs.

Buy it on Bandcamp

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19 Comments

  1. jotegr December 4th, 2013 6:48 pm

    what a year! picking up Ninebarrow’s and Keston Cobbler Club’s EPs now that they’re available on itunes.

  2. herman vandecauter December 4th, 2013 8:19 pm

    I like Lammy Enahora’s Song and video!

  3. Ninebarrow December 5th, 2013 11:16 am

    Thanks so much for the support, guys! We’re really chuffed you like our stuff.

    We’ve got an album that’s coming out in the near future. If you join the mailing list on our website – we’ll let you know when it’s released.

    :)

    x

  4. melissa December 5th, 2013 12:24 pm

    fantastic to have them all together
    bought Leftover Cuties songbook you got to get this

  5. shamwow December 5th, 2013 2:10 pm

    Could we possible get a tab for that amazing Peter Delaney song?

  6. Woodshed December 6th, 2013 12:25 pm

    jotegr: Hooray! Glad they’re available over there now.

    Herman: She’s great!

    Ninebarrow: Always a pleasure. I’m looking forward to the album.

    melissa: Glad you enjoyed them!

    shamwow: It’s possible. I do like the tune a great deal.

  7. Alistair C December 6th, 2013 8:40 pm

    Nice one Al, I like all of those.

  8. John Bianchi December 7th, 2013 6:37 am

    Wow! Great year and great choices, Al!

    The Keston Cobblers Club just keeps getting better and better – wonderful video. And thank you for introducing me to Leftover Cuties and Ninebarrow. They’re GREAT.

    I’m glad to see the Flamin’ Mamies, whom I love for a number of reasons, not the least of which is Chantelle Cox’s excellent banjolele playing. But, what I like about them is they shine in live recordings, which doesn’t apply to everyone’s work. They’re five great musicians AND a killer bar band – and they play their versions of classic jazz. What’s not to love?

  9. Woodshed December 7th, 2013 8:37 am

    Alistair: Glad you enjoyed them!

    John: Pretty easy for me with so much great music around! When are you releasing a record?

  10. banter December 7th, 2013 8:20 pm

    Keston Cobblers’ Club and Leftover Cuties are great. Recently, I felt in love with Mela Koteluk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_rvslVAv8E

  11. John Bianchi December 7th, 2013 8:52 pm

    :D Oy, I guess I should.

    OK; you talked me into it.

    :)

  12. Woodshed December 8th, 2013 12:00 pm

    banter: Thanks! She’s great!

    John: Hooray! Looking forward to it already.

  13. JCMcGee December 12th, 2013 1:15 pm

    Song of the year…by an embarrassingly long way:

    http://youtu.be/FAKzOiRTtAY

  14. Gwyn December 13th, 2013 9:46 am

    Hard to fault this list.
    Not quite ukulele, but there’s definitely loads of Charango on Olof Arnald’s amazing album this year: http://www.olofarnalds.com/pre-order-sudden-elevation/tplp1152_600/

    Here’s another of my uke-heavy favourites from this year: http://mapetitemusic.bandcamp.com/

  15. Woodshed December 16th, 2013 11:18 am

    Gwyn: I really enjoyed Olof Arnald’s album too.

  16. Lindsay December 16th, 2013 6:03 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing these — I’m working my way through the list and got stuck at Ninebarrow. Now I’m listening to everything they have on YouTube!

  17. Woodshed December 17th, 2013 8:56 am

    Lindsay: Really glad I could turn you onto them!

  18. banter December 20th, 2013 1:36 pm

    Speaking about Mela Koteluk, there is a tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbJsZQK9OXs
    It is in Polish, but even if you do not speak Slavonic languages, it is still understandable (I guess).

  19. Woodshed December 21st, 2013 6:59 am

    banter: Thanks for the link. That’s really cool.

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