Recording Artist
While studying classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Moray released the home-recorded I Am Jim Moray EP. During 2002 he appeared at the Glastonbury festival and the Cambridge Folk Festival gaining notice in the music press. A nomination for the "Horizon Award" at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2003 followed before he began work on his first full length album, Sweet England. The album was recorded in his bedroom while completing his final year of study. During this time Moray toured with Oysterband.
Sweet England was released in June 2003 on his own Niblick Is A Giraffe record label. Over the next year Moray toured internationally visiting Canada, Australia, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. He also completed two headline tours of the UK and supported Richard Thompson and Will Young.
At the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2004 he was presented with the Album of the Year Award for Sweet England and the Horizon Award for best newcomer. He was also nominated twice in the Best Traditional Song category for Early One Morning and Lord Bateman.
Moray recorded and released the single Sprig of Thyme in May 2004, and in the autumn appeared on the Oysterband's Big Session Volume 1 album. This gained yet more Folk Award nominations in 2005, including one for Cuckoo's Nest, which was sung, produced and mixed by Moray.
After a long gestation period, Moray's eponymous second album was released on 1 May 2006. Moving away from the electronic sound of Sweet England it features a more orchestral sound and denser song structures.
On 6 July 2007, The Independent featured Sweet England in its "Cult Classic" series, affirming its impact and influence on the modern folk scene.
Jim Moray's third album, Low Culture, was released on 14 July 2008. On this album Jim makes use of African kora, the Melodeon and mandolin and mbira thumb-piano. Low Culture won the fRoots Critics Poll Album of the Year 2008 and was also the MOJO Folk Album of the Year 2008. It was also nominated for the Album of the Year Award in the BBC Folk Awards 2009.
On 1 Feb 2010 it was announced that Jim Moray's fourth album In Modern History would be given away as a covermount CD with the June edition of Songlines magazine, with a street date of 30 April 2010. It was also announced that the album would be available in a deluxe box set and standard editions on 7 June 2010.
Moray's fifth studio album Skulk was released on Bandcamp with no build-up or warning in January 2012. It was then announced that it will have a full release in April 2012.
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