Smoke Fairies

A duo combining the ethereality of British folk with the earthiness of the blues, Smoke Fairies is the project of Jessica Davies and Katherine Blamire. The pair met at school in Chichester, West Sussex, and discovered that they felt more of a connection to classic rock, folk, and the blues than the more modern music that the other kids listened to. While they were still in school, they began crafting their own take on those sounds incorporating their delicate harmonies, and named themselves Smoke Fairies after mystical creatures who scare and confuse late-night drivers. After school ended, Davies and Blamire traveled to New Orleans and other areas of the American South, performing at venues like Tipitina’s; they then settled in Vancouver for a year. In 2007, Smoke Fairies went on tour with Bryan Ferry after a mutual friend gave him a copy of the duo’s demos. The following year, Blamire and Davies released their official debut single, Living with Ghosts, as a 7" on the Music for Heroes label. The buzz around the duo grew in 2009, when releases like the EP Frozen Heart and the single Sunshine won acclaim from artists such as Richard Hawley, who took Smoke Fairies on tour with him that October, and Jack White, who had the duo open for the Dead Weather and recorded a single with them. The single, Gastown/The River Song, was released by White’s Third Man imprint that December and featured White on drums and guitar and Raconteurs/Dead Weather member "Little Jack" Lawrence as part of the backing band. In 2010 the group released the compilation Ghosts, as well as the full-length Through Low Light and Trees. Although much of the following year was spent touring the U.S., the duo preceded those dates with their first ever U.K. headline tour. Influenced by mid-'70s era Fleetwood Mac, Blood Speaks was issued in different territories between 2012 and 2013, before a self-titled synth pop-inspired fourth full-length saw the light of day in April 2014.