A spiritual vibe hangs over Common Ground, a four track EP, from acoustic duo Ethemia.

Michaela Mott and Berny Poulton from Cirencester hooked up with producer Damon Sawyer who works out of Crescent Records, based in Swindon and owned by James Richings. There was an instant understanding, a ‘natural bond’ which was predicted in a Tarot card reading.

Berny said: “As the cards were being shuffled one fell on the floor, face down. I was asked if I wanted to include the card in the reading. Our first album was called Quirk of Fate, so I trusted it would be right. Sure enough the face down card It turned out to be a Queen, highly energetic and not prone to shy away from a challenge. The description fitted Michaela, my musical partner, perfectly.

“The main Tarot depicted a third person, a stonemason standing on a bench and holding a mallet and chisel. We knew this person instantly, it was Damon who had taken the building blocks of our songs and honed them into something greater.”

They invited Geoff Dunn (drummer of Van Morrison and Procal Harum fame) as guest musician on Common Ground.

The duo will be singing songs from the EP tomorrow, Friday, July 6, when they perform at Cafe Kino in Bristol with support from Swindon singer/songwriter Rob Richings. Tickets for the Bristol gig are available from https://www.ents24.com/bristol-events/cafe-kino/ethemia/1073890361 Their belief in the spiritual side of life doesn’t rest with a Tarot reading as the musicians created a cover for the EP which they wanted to reflect the Three of Pentacles in the form of a picture of themselves, Damon and a solitary Maisie tree peeping through an archway.

Maisie was Michaela’s young niece who sadly died of cancer. “It is a true likeness of her special tree,’’ said Michaela “She told us that should we ever need to be close to her after her death we should sit beside the tree,’’ Michaela said.

Another twist was that the duo had started out writing for an album following a dream, but after meeting Damon it became an EP.

“A transaction of song occurred between us, everything has a deep meaning to it,’’ said Berny.

The duo have toured in Europe and the UK and have had airplay on BBC Introducing, BBC 6 Music, The Gaby Roslin Show BBC London and they were featured on BBC Radio 2.

They have supported The Strawbs, Curved Air, Loudon Wainwright III, Steeleye Span and on this tour are due to support John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett on September 16 at the Cheese & Grain in Frome.

Common Ground, is released (on CD & digital downloads) through Crescent Records for more details visit https://ethemia.com/ - Flicky Harrison