Robin Williamson

Robin Williamson performed as half of the Incredible String Band from 1966 until 1974. After the group ended, his path avoided stagnation even though it veered into unexpected areas, among them co-writing a spy novel and issuing an eccentric partial memoir. Beyond those writing projects he assembled the Far Cry Ceilidh Band together with Stan Schnier and Mark Simos, yet the group never reached a recording studio. In 1976 he met harpist Sylvia Woods, and with Chris Caswell and Jerry McMillan they launched Robin Williamson & His Merry Band. The ensemble produced three albums from 1977 to 1979: the traditionally rooted Journey's Edge in 1977, American Stonehenge in 1978, and A Glint at the Kindling in 1979, which contained the extended historical piece “Five Denials on Merlin's Grave.” Following the Merry Band’s dissolution Williamson began solo touring with atmospheric programs built around traditional narratives set to music. Releases from that time include Songs of Love and Parting and the folklorist’s collection Legacy of the Scottish Harpers. His interest in the British bardic lineage also appeared in several books and tapes that offered spoken renditions of classic tales. Later work found the busy Williamson issuing recordings of children’s music while devoting effort to environmental initiatives for the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Iron Stone appeared on the ECM label in 2006.

Although Williamson kept performing across the United Kingdom and Europe, eight years passed before another release arrived in the vinyl-only live set Love Will Remain in 2012, issued in an elegant package that incorporated his writing and reproductions of his paintings. Reissues of Incredible String Band material and his solo albums continued to surface from assorted labels. His next collection of original songs, Trust in the Rising Light, came out on ECM in November 2014, his first recording for the label in eight years.