Satellite Inn (Italy) / Elaine Palmer

It's a complicated…

Not many original bands have alt.country pioneers bloodline (Satellite Inn's first record, Cold Morning Songs, came out in 1998 and got praised by the alternative press), nice stories to tell (in 1997 Satellite Inn got signed on a US label, MoodFood Records, to replace Whiskeytown that went on a major label) and great collaborations (their lead singer, Stiv Cantarelli, put out a solo album with Richmond Fontaine as backing band). The fact that they always preferred to shy away from the bright lights playing smokey pubs and roadside bars it only proves that they stayed true with themselves.

Back in 2002, Satellite Inn were the italian touring band for Robert Fisher (Willard Grant Conspiracy). That persuaded him to handle the production of what it should have been Satellite Inn’s second album.
What did happen is that MoodFood Records went out of business and the band on permanent hiatus, as well as the songs included in that demo.
After the self- release of their 2024 eponymous album, Satellite Inn, almost a decade since the death of Robert Fisher that lost songs reappeared in a box of Satellite Inn’s unused master tapes. The material was so inspiring for the band that they decided to pay a tribute to their old master. Those early songs sounded so fresh that they became the backbone of their new record.

For the occasion, Satellite Inn will team up again with their old friends at the historic El Cortez label in Portland, Oregon, once run by Richmond Fontaine and now the platform distributing aural gems from the acclaimed band The Delines. 

“Tension and melancholy typical of the alternative country gesture, as expressed in its finest form...” ROOTS HIGHWAY

“Pitch-dark, husky indie blues for the guilty and tarnished” WHISPERIN' & HOLLERIN'

“Takes a punk rock approach to songs built around traditional country music tropes and perfectly encapsulates that alt.country spirit.” RNR

“A grizzled, world-weary attitude… wonderful little slices of Americana that fans of Uncle Tupelo and The Jayhawks are sure to love.” VIVE LE ROCK

Elaine Palmer's latest album Some Seek Silver, Some Seek Gold started life in Northern Ireland at the isolated Amberville Studios, Co. Antrim, once built for Van Morrison. It deftly blends the quiet after-hours reflections of the title-track and the gossamer ‘Roses’ with the strident alt.country of ‘I Still Feel The Same’ and soulful single ‘The Losing Hand’, demonstrating a newfound assertiveness. The wintry Brontë-esque ‘Once Were Lovers’, meanwhile, evokes the windswept moors of Elaine’s homeland.

Hailing from an isolated village in rural North Yorkshire, Elaine has spent much of her life travelling back and forth to family in Phoenix, Arizona. She immersed herself in music, writing songs influenced by her surroundings both in the UK and USA. Finely honing her distinctive voice and building a reputation as much for her emotive, mesmerizing stage presence as for her fusion of British folk and American country styles, sharing stages with the likes of KT Tunstall, Patty Griffin, Courtney Marie Andrews and The Delines and receiving airplay from such BBC legends as Bob Harris, Iain Anderson and Eve Blair.

“With a beautifully conversational voice, an unerring sense of melody and a bittersweet and wistful repertoire, Elaine Palmer is undoubtedly a talent” MOJO

“A rich and powerful voice that ranges from a subtle whisper to a full-blown bluesy edge, she writes incredible songs that stand-up to repeated listenings” MAVERICK MAGAZINE

“Conjures up the austere splendour of the Yorkshire moors alongside the rugged beauty of the American west” AMERICANA-UK