Sara Daniels  -  Singer Songwriter

This recording has been a labour of love for the last 20 months. I wanted to produce a CD that drew together all the knowledge and experience gained from my years of involvement in acoustic music.

In the recording of Lightly on My Heart I have been supported by the wonderful talents of singers Niamh Parsons, Jon Boden, Mick Daley and Katie Butler. Some of the musicians I have come to know and respect over the years swelled the sound to the kind of production I was hoping for. My son Luke Daniels (accordion & piano), Sam Proctor (fiddle), Mick Daley (guitar & banjo), Andy Crowdy (double bass), Brian Willcocks (piano), James O’Grady (whistle & pipes), and Richard Cox Smith (electric guitar & Dobro guitar).

Harnessing the photographic talents of my son Sean Daniels and Goring-on-Thames based graphic designer Mark Baker, I have been able to produce a beautiful package.

But without the amazing wizardry of Sam Proctor’s recording skills I could have never enjoyed the trouble free recording sessions and high quality result that is my CD Lightly on My Heart.

The sentiments of the songs are the timeless themes of the folk world; love, relationships, lost love and recovery. My own compositions treat these themes with a contemporary view. Inspiration for my songs come from a wide variety of sources, from the obvious; loss of a loved one Lightly on My Heart (track 3), to plucking a title out of the air and seeing where it leads, Forget Your Promise (track 7). The CD includes two songs written by songwriters Phil Coulter and Chris Russell, and two traditional songs. If you would like to know more about the inspiration for my songs and the construction methods I use for my writing I am more than happy to chat. Please contact me...

I have many people to thank in the making of Lightly on My Heart, not least the musicians of the Herschel Arms in Slough where the Irish music session on a Monday night has been a constant encouragement and support to me. The CD is dedicated to my late husband Les Daniels who always believed in my song writing and encouraged me to be true to my ideas. I hope you enjoy listening to Lightly on My Heart with as much joy as I had when making it.

Sara Daniels