Mundy-Turner

MUNDY-TURNER are Catherine Mundy and Jay Turner, an internationally-touring acoustic, original songwriting duo now based in Derbyshire, UK via Cairns & Brisbane, Australia. Both performers are impressive vocalists, able to inject melodies with affecting depth and pathos. Their instrumental work is equally expressive. Jay is a versatile acoustic guitarist, alternately driving and delicate. Cath plays lyrical violin and piano in a cross between classical, folk and rock styles.

Both performers are impressive vocalists, able to inject melodies with affecting depth and pathos.

Their instrumental work is equally expressive. Jay is a versatile acoustic guitarist, alternately driving and delicate. Cath plays lyrical violin and piano in a cross between classical, folk and rock styles.

Together their live performances are characterised by strong original material, intricate harmonies, humorous story-telling, and powerful arrangements.

They are influenced by a melting pot of musical styles - folk, blues, rock, country, classical, gospel, acappella, pop....

MUNDY-TURNER's music is unique and emotionally charged. Their stage presence has been described as exciting, dynamic and charismatic.



MUNDY-TURNER'S STORY



BRINGING JAY TWELVE-THOUSAND MILES TO MEET...

When UK singer-songwriter JAY TURNER left his native shores for a 4-month solo tour of AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND in January 1995, he never dreamed his life would be so dramatically altered.

Whilst playing at Victoria's PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL in March that year, Jay met Brisbane-based singer-songwriter CATHERINE MUNDY backstage after seeing her perform in acclaimed acappella trio, SISTER MOON ENSEMBLE.

"I was mightily impressed by Sister Moon's show and instantly recognised a common passion and commitment in both our approaches to songwriting and live performance, " recounts Jay.

During lively conversations and late-night vocal jam sessions at the NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL in Canberra a month later, Jay also discovered that Catherine played piano, violin, and shared his love of theatre. Their friendship and mutual admiration was developing apace.

"Jay's songs stayed with me for long after I heard him in concert at the festival - I found I couldn't stop harmonising to them..." says Cath.


FOUNDING OF A NEW MUSICAL ENTITY...

By July 1995 these newly discovered 'soul mates' were together in Brisbane, co-composing and demo-taping songs. As Sister Moon's work was coming to its agreed end, it seemed a natural step for the pair to form a vocal-instrumental duo.

"We decided that MUNDY-TURNER's repertoire would be completely original. Our focus was the uniting of two songwriters who come from radically diverse musical and geographical backgrounds. We liked the 'Zen' idea of the Yin and the Yang, male and female, different yet equal, balancing each other and creating an entity greater than its component parts."

In October 1995 Cath and Jay were offered the fabulous opportunity to take part in an inspirational gospel-singing tour of African-American churches in the Southern States of the USA. More songwriting took place culminating in Cath & Jay's first official recording together, live at the legendary SUN STUDIO, MEMPHIS.

Catherine then joined Jay in NEW ZEALAND for his final tour as a solo artist, adding her distinctive harmonies and violin-playing to his songs, plus "previewing" some of their new co-penned material with great success. MUNDY-TURNER was gradually taking shape.


WEDDING, WOODFORD, TOURING & THE FAR NORTH...

Back in Australia in December 1995, Jay and Catherine were married in Woodford, north of Brisbane, on the opening night of WOODFORD FOLK FESTIVAL. This, the country's largest folk festival, was their first official booking as MUNDY-TURNER! During the festival they released the Sun Studio recordings as EP CD "THE SUN SESSIONS" and performed for the first time with Cath on piano.

For the next six months, the duo toured extensively to festivals and clubs in Australia and New Zealand, until settling in CAIRNS, Far North Queensland. There the duo entered into a period of creative development, both in songwriting and as performers.

"Living in Cairns for 20 months was wonderful for us. The intense tropical atmosphere and the demanding nature of the local gigs (4 x 45 minute sets a night) honed the dynamics of our live shows and really cemented our identity as an act."

Indulging their love for theatre, the pair became immediately involved with local professional theatre company JUST US THEATRE ENSEMBLE (JUTE), co-composing and playing live scores for SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK 1996.

During 1997 they were core actors/performers in the JUTE troupe, devising and performing several street theatre shows. Lead roles followed, in Kathryn Ash's new comedy DIGGING IN and an adaptation of Shakespeare's OTHELLO called LUST & LOATHING, Jay playing 'Othello' to Catherine's 'Desdemona'.

In January 1997, MUNDY-TURNER were invited to support multi-platinum Irish pop band THE CORRS throughout the Queensland leg of their Australian tour to critical and audience plaudits. Later that year, Cath & Jay were selected to be showcased at the APRA "COMPOSER EXPOSER" in Brisbane and again at the PACIFIC CIRCLE MUSIC CONVENTION in Sydney.


FULL LENGTH ALBUM, EUROPE, SUNNIE AWARD...

The duo's debut award winning album, HIGH LIFE, was launched in late March 1998 to a sell-out audience at Cairns' RONDO THEATRE, two days prior to their first EUROPEAN TOUR as a duo.

The six month tour of clubs and festivals in the UK and ITALY was a great sucess, resulting in JACEY BEDFORD TOUR PROMOTIONS taking on MUNDY-TURNER's future UK Tour bookings.

Since then, Jay and Catherine have performed extensively in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom playing at FESTIVALS, FOLK CLUBS, and ACOUSTIC MUSIC venues to ever-growing acclaim.

HIGH LIFE was honoured in August 1999 by the QUEENSLAND RECORDING ASSOCIATION "SUNNIE AWARDS" as the BEST FOLK/ETHNIC ALBUM 1998-1999.

MUNDY-TURNER are now based in Brisbane from whence they travel the world, writing new songs and enthralling audiences wherever they go.