eg's music takes you on a journey through intimate snapshots of life to epic tales of the stormy Atlantic. Joined by her ensemble The Wolf Chorus, made up of viola, percussion and an entourage of voices, Heg has set out to create a dramatic sound that reflects the theatrical, story-telling nature of her piano-based songs. From acapella sea shantys to howling wolves, Heg's rich and exciting choral arrangements put a new take on the singer/songwriter genre.
Born and raised in the South West of England, she grew up on a diet of musicals, pop and folk. With contrasting musical influences from her parents (the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gloria Estefan in one ear - Joni Mitchell and Fleetwood Mac in the other) it’s no surprise that Heg’s style is hard to categorise. Finding inspiration in her family tree, Heg began to inject storytelling into her songs, taking ideas from stories passed through her ancestry as well as well known and not-so-well-known stories.
In June 2010, Heg released her debut EP Little Red. The four track, limited edition EP, was recorded by Ray Hendriksen and Adam Loveday Edwards in Devon. The EP ties together the story-telling theme that has been so prominent in Heg's work.
In 2011 Heg Doughty & The Wolf Chorus released Cinder. The five track EP was released on home-grown label Lantern of Voyage Recordingsand is available from Bandcamp and from iTunes and all well known digital stores.
Heg studied Music Performance at Dartington College of Arts in Devon with vocal coach Sandra Smith and songwriting tutor Julian Marshall.
She is currently based in Bristol and continues to gig around the UK.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reviews
Crack Magazine - Review of Pride Bristol 2011
"Heg & the Wolf Chorus, meanwhile, lift the spirits with their wind-in-sails fantasy pop. Heg Doughty's piano motifs glide and pirouette in ballads imbued with fairy-tale whimsy. However, shades of angst lurk close to the surface. Red, inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, grapples with inner beasts. Ending with a gorgeous cover of Sufjan Stevens' 'The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out To Get Us, Heg reconfirms her status as one of Bristol's most notable rising talents."
Pride Bristol 2011
"Heg Doughty and the Wolf Chorus are one of the most exciting acts to emerge from Bristol in years. Heg’s gorgeous vocals and exquisite arrangements are beautifully complemented by her Wolf Chorus. Definitely ones to watch for the future."
Venue Magazine, Bristol - April 2011
‘Little Red’ (EP, self-released) Ah, the sadly defunct Dartington College in the green wilds of South Devon: petri dish of many a radical, literate young artiste. Blend that with Bristol’s metropolitan edge, and an ancestry spread across the American Midwest, and you get Heg Doughty. This impressive four-tracker results from a research trip to Illinois, the singer-pianist capturing narrative fragments of family history that invite you to fill in the gaps. ‘The March’ might be about mass escape or political protest (“One hundred miles in six long days”), whilst ‘Downfalling’ tells of a homesick soldier in occupied France. The sparse piano-and-voice arrangements, augmented here and there by drums and bass, have the lucidity of spring water. Think Kurt Weill reincarnated as a girl standing on the Harbourside in a vintage dress. (Anna Britten)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Writer and poet Will Kerr on Fallyrag - The Arts & Culture Journal
"Heg's music is a conflict of tension and resolution. Her barely dressed piano arrangements are haunted by a distant cello and backing vocals and whilst minimalist in themselves, they stand as incriminating evidence of the full blown orchestra-that-would-have-been had they not "lost [their] way in the woods" or got trapped down some phantom mine.
Heg defies lazy comparisons to Regina Spektor and on the strength of what we've heard so far Heg might just have found a place in the musical landscape that she can call her own. A place of creativity and high musical artistry."
XYZ Magazine - 6th April 2010
"Heg Doughty shrank the room with a voice and an intensity completely at odds with her age, size and nature. Off stage she is a tiny, bubbly, pixie of a girl masking her nerves with a massive smile and a constant giggle, but as she takes her place behind a piano her vertebrae align like a ballerina and her voice astounds. Her sound sits somewhere between Joanna Newsom and Regina Spektor, which probably means she’ll find her way onto a Latitude Festival stage soundtracking a mid-afternoon falafel binge. Well worth checking out."
24/7 Magazine - May 2010
"There are many factors that contribute to the unique and innovative sound created by Heg Doughty. The South West songstress has a distinctly English style, which draws mainly from folk, although to be fair, you can’t really pin a label on her. Her songs are mainly driven by piano, over which Heg sings her storytelling lyrics with a powerful and passionate voice. Heg has the ability to explore melody, and on a creative level, what she does is very much her own. She has an EP out soon, but until then, check her out online. It would be great if she breaks through, because the South West needs to be associated with artists such as Heg Doughty."
The Icarus Club - 14th May 2009
"A wonderful performance from Heg, whose passionate, soaring vocals are complemented by some extremely accomplished keyboard work, in places putting you in mind of early Kate Bush with a dash of Kate Rusby amongst others. She also brings in stagey, West End musical type elements to her work, all of which adds up to a truly unique style."