Folk Bands and Artists
Tiny Ruins
Tiny Ruins is the project of Bristol-born, New Zealand-raised musician and songwriter Hollie Fullbrook. It grew out of writing the music for fringe theatre productions whilst a student in Wellington, recording by four-track and playing at live music and poetry nights in 2007-2009. Samuel Prutton committed the first Tiny Ruins songs to record, in the form of rough demos.
Tiny Ruins’ live shows began to attract attention and praise for soul-stirring, intimate performances and strange, hypnotic songs. Asked to support Alasdair Roberts in Sydney, May 2010, Tiny Ruins was then signed to Australia’s Spunk Records.
Fullbrook went a-roaming in May of 2010, embarking on a small yet noble tour of Northern Spain with Barcelona-based musician Lieven Scheerlinck (‘a Singer of Songs’).
A collaborative EP, Little Notes, was recorded in Scheerlinck’s apartment during the week following the tour. Fullbrook hastily finished two songs for the EP - ‘Little Notes’ and ‘Down South’, and also recorded a version of ‘Running Through the Night’. Little Notes was released independently in December 2010.
Returning to the antipodes, the first Tiny Ruins album, Some Were Meant For Sea, was recorded in the characterful Moyarra School Hall, South Gippsland, Australia by J Walker (CW Stoneking, Holly Throsby, Machine Translations). Fullbrook and Walker added piano, cello, violin, accordion, bells and percussion to the live guitar and vocal takes.
Some Were Meant For Sea was released in New Zealand and Australia in May and July of 2011 respectively. Said the New Zeland Herald, “From time to time an album comes along that stops you in your tracks and demands you to listen. Tiny Ruins’ Some Were Meant For Sea is one such record”. Australian press were also smitten with triple j magazine writing, ”Kiwi captures attention and hearts” and Mess & Noise noting, “the songs sway and heave with warmth and approachability”.
The album saw a UK release in December of 2011, after being championed by BBC 6 and BBC 2. It was hailed by BBC World Service programme The Strand as one of the top five albums of 2011.
Tiny Ruins has toured the album through New Zealand and Australia, as well as supporting Beach House, Joanna Newsom, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Holly Throsby, The Middle East, Sonny & The Sunsets, Olof Arnalds, Seeker Lover Keeper and Grand Salvo. She is set to tour the UK and some of Europe in January and February of 2012.
Hollie Fullbrook is usually based in Auckland, New Zealand. Tiny Ruins performs both as a solo act and band, most recently calling upon the talents of double bassist Cass Mitchell and drummer Alex Freer.
