Hither & Yon – Come Hither

Formed in 2011, father/daughter folk duo Hither and Yon hail from the Canberra region. Performing their own crowd pleasing compositions about lost love, current tragedies and the antics of the local fauna, they use vocal harmonies and accompany themselves on guitar.

They also sing traditional Irish, Scottish and Australian folk songs ranging from rollicking Aussie shearer’s songs to traditional celtic ballads.

Occasionally performing with family member Lyndal, they weave musical stories with emotion and artistry. Tom has been re-incarnated from a formerly well-known, but now sadly defunct, Canberra bush band, while daughter Heather burst out of local music programs, stage musicals, choirs and choruses.

They’ve performed locally and as far afield as the Innerleithen Music Festival in Scotland. With guitars in hand and voices at the ready will have you singing along to old favourites and humming their original tunes long after the show is over.

Debut EP from Canberra-based father-daughter folk duo, Hither and Yon, formed in 2011. They discovered that they could write and sing their own songs and arrange traditional Irish/bush songs and play guitar together. They play mainly in Canberrra/Queanbeyan but have performed as far afield as Wollongong and Scotland.

The EP is being launched in Canberra on 17 November. A full CD with a further 15 songs, of which 12 are original, is planned for 2014, together with a songbook of all their original works.

Tom has been singing since school and spent over a decade in a well-known Canberra-based bush band. He writes serious songs about national events, love and the environment, and quirky pieces about food and the local fauna. Tom plays guitar and banjo.He caught the songwriting bug courtesy of the music summer school run in conjunction with the Illawarra Folk Festival.

Daughter Heather burst out of music programs, stage musicals, choirs and choruses. Heather plays guitar and cello. Her songs are about love, life and family.

Track Listing

Wombat Hymn of the Republic

No More Vodka and Tonic Phone Calls

The Curry Song

Rock of the North

Doin’ Wrong has Never Felt So Right

CD Review by Graham Blackley

Hither & Yon feature the talents of father and daughter duo Tom and Heather Jordan who display an assured grasp of stripped back acoustic folk on their debut EP Come Hither.

Highlights of this fivetrack collection include: the vocal interplay between Tom and Heather on the playful Wombat Hymn of the Republic; the plaintive atmosphere of the moving No More Vodka and Tonic Phone Calls; and the solemn power of Rock of the North which delves into the human tragedy that occurred at Christmas Island in December 2010.

After listening to this enjoyable EP, I look forward to hearing Hither and Yon’s debut album which is due to be released in April.