Chiswick Folk Duo Release Bone Marrow Appeal Song

Two thousand voices ring out to help save little girl

A Chiswick-based folk duo pursuaded 2,000 people from across the UK to sing as part of a 'national choir' to help their bid for a top 40 hit in a desperate attempt to find a blood stem cell donor for a little girl for whom time is running out.Six-year old Emma Whittaker, from Buckinghamshire, suffers from the rare genetic condition Fanconi Anaemia and needs to find a donor by March 2015 to save her life. Emma and her family feature on this video interview by The Chiswick Calendar.

The song, ‘The Rest Of Time’, written and produced by alternative folk duo  The Portraits, who live in Chiswick, will raise funds for the charity Delete Blood Cancer, whilst appealing to the general public to sign up to the bone marrow donors register. Their CD is available to buy on December 28 or you can pre-order on i-Tunes.

The Portraits singer Lorraine Reilly Millington said “We wanted to create a huge national choir by layering the voices of different crowds we played to and every person that has sung will be credited on the single. There are enough people with an interest in its success that reaching the charts is really achievable, and this would make a huge noise for Emma and everyone else searching for a donor!”

Some of the public voices which play a key part in the final song were recorded at their St Michael's and All Angels Church concert in May 2014.

The track will also feature acoustic duo Ethemia, regulars on Gaby Roslin’s BBC Radio London show, and Minnie Birch, selected for airplay by Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1.

The song’s upbeat sound, Lorraine explained, is a testament to the positivity of the public: “We’ve had such an amazing reaction from real people as we’ve recorded them. The UK has sung its heart out for one little girl, from Lancaster to Leighton Buzzard, Cornwall to Camden. The results are stunning and the song has a huge momentum behind it. Next stop, the charts!”

The track, written about the power we each have to save a life, will accompany an urgent call for people to sign up to the Bone Marrow register at a time when many potential recipients still die before finding a donor match.

For pianist and songwriter Jeremy Millington, the subject of the song and the cause are close to his heart following the death of his father Graham from Leukaemia a decade ago.

The Portraits were formed in 2005 by husband and wife Lorraine and Jeremy Millington, from Galway and Bristol respectively. They have been based in Chiswick since 2010.

www.theportraitsmusic.com
www.facebook.com/theportraitsmusic

December 18, 2014