We recently caught up with Jamie Smith’s MABON (JSM), one of Wales’ finest purveyors of original InterCeltic music. Their recent album release Windblown (read our review) brought more than a few pleasant surprises in the form a couple of firsts: vocal tracks as well as their first Welsh language song to appear on an album. We started by asking Jamie about these changes…
“The band has been through some significant changes recently” Jamie explained, “not least the line-up, and those changes brought with them a renewed sense of confidence and ambition. There was a collective desire to take on a new challenge musically and I had already begun to wonder about introducing songs into the mix. My interest in songs within the folk/trad genre has grown significantly over the last three years so the timing felt right to finally go there. I have been singing and writing songs since I was a teenager, so it was something I was already familiar with. The challenge was, and is, writing songs that work for Mabon and sit well alongside our existing tune sets. I’m looking forward to experimenting with more ideas next year.
“The decision to write Welsh lyrics for one of the songs was inspired by the melody of the song itself. I came up with the tune in the car one day, singing whilst driving, as I sometimes do. When I played it to Oli he thought it reminiscent of some old Welsh airs, and that gave us the idea to put some Welsh words to it. Knowing his abilities with the written word, I asked our drummer Iolo, our only fluent Welsh speaker, if he would be up for trying his hand as a lyricist. The results, I think, speak for themselves!”
The inclusion of vocal tracks has certainly served to enrich JSM’s output as a band, but where they really shine, as anyone who has seen them will know, is live on stage. I first saw them perform in 2007, they’ve come a long way since then but they have always gone down incredibly well with festival audiences. I was naturally inquisitive about audience reactions to the new changes and asked Jamie wether it introduced a new dynamic and relationship to their audience.
“Most definitely” he confidentally confirmed. “The songs have really freshened up the live show and given us a new and direct channel of communication with the audience. The dynamic on stage is fantastic when we are all playing our instruments and singing harmonies together – great fun! We’ve often said we like to take the audience on a journey and the songs really enrich that experience.”
Whilst it’s easy to think of Mabon as a British based act their large European fan base is equally important. I asked Jamie about the European response to JSM’s music in general and whether he found the Interceltic nature of their music allowed them to cross more musical boundaries.
“Yes. Fortunately, Celtic music is popular in many countries around the world and we have been particularly successful in Europe, where I find the general public is more open-minded when it comes to judging music as they find it, rather than what genre it is supposed to be; the general public in the UK can be very dismissive of music that doesn’t sound like the mainstream popular genres they are used to hearing. We can do big outdoor concerts in Europe that are free to the public and we’ll get a big happy crowd turning up and having a ball. Try the same sort of event in the UK and people are nowhere near as interested, unless some sort of celebrity is involved. Obviously I’m not talking about folk festivals here, which of course are full of people who really know their music!”
One of the attractions of Mabon’s music is its untethered nature: traditionally inspired but all original. Rather than create boundaries and confines to work within they also take influences from other folk tradtions and beyond as Jamie explained when I asked him what other music had been inspiring him recently.
“Well I have been listening to a lot of Quebecoise music in recent years – Le Vent du Nord and Genticorum are my current favourites – and that has influenced a couple of the tracks on Windblown. Qualities that I admire in these groups are their energy and vocal harmonies. There are also influences to be found within the arrangements from outside traditional or folk genres, which come from the band members putting their individual marks on the music. This is most obvious in the rhythm section, with both Iolo and Matt having studied jazz in music college.”
A number of guest artists appear on Windblown. Callum Stewart re-joined the band who also recently released an album with Lauren MacColl titled Wooden Flute and Fiddle (read our review here). It’s only when you add up the sum of the parts that you begin to appreciate the diverse nature of the band…Jamie shared some of their contributions as well as touching on some of his other projects.
“Calum [Callum Stewart] is a good friend and used to be in the band full time, so of course we wanted him to contribute his superb playing to the album. Accordion, fiddle and flute is a powerful melody section!
“Tom Callister is a young fiddler and multi-instrumentalist from the Isle of Man who has been Oli’s dep [Oliver Wilson-Dickson] for over 18 months now. Tom is a great tune player and we have started a trio together, along with Adam Rhodes on bouzouki, called Barrule, playing and promoting trad music from the Isle of Man.
“We recorded Windblown at Stiwdio Felin Fach in Abergavenny, which is run by ace guitarist Dylan Fowler. As well as recording the album Dylan also contributed some lovely acoustic guitar and lap steel parts. These extra touches to the existing arrangements really help to bring the tracks to life and make for a rich and satisfying mix.
“Finally, we were pleased to join forces once again with another long-term collaborator, bodhran player Will Lang. We use the bodhran to drive along the more acoustic arrangements and in other places to compliment sparser kit parts.”
Despite being influenced by other tradtional and contemporary sources nearly all their tunes are new and original…Jamie went on to explain why that was.
“Nearly everything we play is created from scratch, inspired by the music that I love, which is predominantly traditional or contemporary Celtic music. I admire artists who hunt out old tunes to work anew, but I just love making my own music, and Mabon is my outlet for doing this. I think there’s a healthy balance in the scene at the moment between artists using traditional material and those making new music within the tradition; lots of musicians are doing both of course. Mabon focuses more on the latter, whereas other bands I play in, such as the Manx trio Barrule and Welsh trio Alaw, focus on arranging the traditional music from the Isle of Man and Wales respectively.”
Trivia
Jamie Smith:
What album are you currently listening to?
Karine Polwart – Traces. Karine is my favourite songwriter working in the folk scene today.
What are you currently reading?
Richard Dawkins – The Magic of Reality.
If you could only take one luxury item on tour what would it be and why?
A chef, thus eliminating the inevitable disappointment of motorway services fodder. Jamie Oliver would do nicely.
Recommend a new artist that you think our readers may be interested in.
Well obviously my new trio Barrule (www.barruletrio.com)!
Also, The Olllam, featuring John McSherry on uilleann pipes, is worth a listen if you like your Celtic tunes served up with a side of tasty grooves!
Iolo Whelan:
What album are you currently listening to?
On the kitchen stereo as I look, there are four cd’s: Erykah Badu, Jan Garbarek, the great organist Jimmy Smith and a compilation of Christmas classics. Fairly varied!
What are you currently reading?
“What You Think is What You Get”, which is a book about the Alexander Technique by Donald Weed; and “Hanes Cymru”, a history of Wales by John Davies. I’ve been trying to read both for years and still haven’t managed either – there just aren’t enough hours in the day for reading!
If you could only take one luxury item on tour what would it be and why?
Does my wife count as a luxury item or not? If not, an inflatable drum studio so that I could practice during down-time. It’s harder to sneak off into a back room with a drum kit than a fiddle!
Recommend a new artist that you think our readers may be interested in.
To rock out to: I did a gig alongside a band called The Racehorses the other night. They’re really not at all folky, it’s a big rock sound, but I really enjoyed their energetic live performance and their multi-instrumental shenanigans.
For jazz: the Bristol-based quartet ‘Moonlight Saving Time’. Ethereal and gorgeous.
For something acoustic, I work a lot with a singer songwriter called Colum Regan, and his last album ‘Hotel’ is well worth a listen if you’re up for something chilled and a bit dark. He’s not a new artist by any means, but he may be new to a lot of your readers.
Windblown Album Stream
Tour Dates
Jamie Smith’s Mabon are back on the road again for the Windblown Tour Part 2, which starts on the 2nd of March at their home festival, Cwlwm Celtaidd – Porthcawl Interceltic Festival.
Full March dates:
Saturday 2 March – Porthcawl – Cwlwm Celtaidd (Porthcawl Interceltic Festival)
Grand Pavilion, Esplanade Porthcawl, Bridgend, CF36 3YW
b/o: 01656 815 995
Thursday 7 March – Rockhampton – Village Hall
Gloucestershire, GL13 9DX
Info: 01454 260530
Friday 8 March – Pewsey – Bouverie Hall
Pewsey, Wilts, SN9 5ES
Info: 01672 562584
Saturday 9 March – Bowerchalke – Village Hall
Wilts, SP5 5BE
Info: 01725 552384
Sunday 10 March London – Cecil Sharp House (tbc)
Wednesday 13 March – Abergavenny – The Borough Theatre
Town Hall/Cross St, Abergavenny, NP7 5HD
b/o: 01873 850805
Thursday 14 March – Greenham, Newbury – New Greenham Arts
113 Lindenmuth Way, New Greenham Park Newbury, Berkshire, RG19 6HN
b/o: 01635 817480
Friday 15 March – Great Torrington – The Plough Arts Centre
Great Torrington, Devon, EX38 8HQ
b/o: 01805 624624
Saturday 16 March – Doynton – Village Hall
Toghill Lane, Doynton, Bristol, BS30 5SY
Info: 0117 937 4561
Sunday 17 March – South Petherton – David Hall
Roundwell St, South Petherton, Somerset, TA13 5AA
Tuesday 19 March – Farnham – Maltings
Bridge Square, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7QR
b/o: 01252 745444
Wednesday 20 March – Bath – Chapel Arts Centre
St.James’s Memorial Hall, Lower Borough Walls, Bath, BA1 1QR
b/o: 01225 461700
Thursday 21 March – Pontardawe – Arts Centre
Pontardawe, Herbert Street, Pontardawe, West Glamorgan, SA8
b/o: 01792 863722
Friday 22 March – Machynlleth – MOMA, The Tabernacle
Heol Penrallt, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 8AJ
Saturday 23 March – Lichfield – Guildhall
Donegal House, Bore Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 6LU
b/o: 01543 262223
Tuesday 26 March – Swindon – Arts Centre
Devizes Road, Old Town, Swindon, SN1 4BJ
b/o: 01793 614837