Of this week’s 17 tracks, 13 are new or forthcoming releases that set such a high standard that you will come away feeling uplifted and refreshed with the confidence that the folk and roots scene is in great hands.
Folk Show: Episode 36 Playlist
00:00:00 – Mountain Man – Rang Tang Ring Toon
The new single from Mountain Man who finally return after a significant hiatus. You can read more about their new album Magic Ship and watch the beautiful video for the single here.
00:03:22 – Young Waters – Enemy
Young Waters are a five-piece British neo-folk band who bring a brilliant contemporary twist to trad-folk. Combine that with their superb harmonies and intricate melodies and you have a sure winner. They will make a big splash with their self-titled debut set for release on 28 Sept.
00:08:41 – Davey & Dyer – Not Too Young To Marry Yet
With the UK Government having concerns about sport drinks containing sugar and caffeine maybe this is the healthy replacement. Wake up to this in the morning and you won’t need that caffeine/sugar boost. Taken from Neil Davey and Jen Dyer’s new EP ‘Dynamite Quay’ – two of the leading proponents of Cornish traditional Celtic music. Gleefully foot-tapping and exhilarating musicianship.
00:12:50 – Northern Flyway – Rosefinch
Taken from their self-titled album (14 Sept on Hudson Records), this is the work of two of my favourite artists – Jenny Sturgeon and Inge Thomson. In 2017 they wrote and created Northern Flyway – an audio-visual production exploring the ecology, folklore, symbolism and mythology of birds and birdsong. Northern Flyway premiered to a sold-out audience at The Barn (Banchory) in January 2018 and a CD of the songs was recorded at Mareel, Shetland, over four days in early February 2018. Also features Sarah Hayes and Jason Singh on vocal gymnastics along with some beautiful field recordings of birdsong by Magnus Robb. This is an album to escape with.
Pre-Order https://lnk.to/northernflyway
00:16:28 – Fara – At the Ebb
Yes indeed, Fara make a return on 19th October with their new album Times From Times Fall. A pivotal release from the band that marks a significant milestone in their musical journey.
“It feels like we’ve arrived at a sound now, and we’re pretty chuffed with how that comes across. We wanted the whole thing to be self-written, a new body of Orcadian music. “
We will have more on the album soon but in the meantime don’t miss their UK album tour which kicks off on 3rd September.
Get those your dates and pre-order the album here: http://faramusic.co.uk/
00:19:01 – John Smith – Hares on the Mountain
John announced the release of his new album recently at Cambridge Folk Festival (read more here). Hummingbird is released on the 5th October and was produced by Sam Lakeman and features Cara Dillon, John McCusker and Ben Nicholls.
I was pretty spoilt for choice on a track to play so settled on this ballad which also happens to be a personal favourite. Sam Lakeman introduced John to the song:
“Sam introduced me to this song. There is potent and romantic imagery in this song, unnerving and pagan. I heard it once and have been hearing it ever since, like the call of some wild animal.” Read more about the album here.
Pre-Order Hummingbird http://smarturl.it/hummingbird-eu
00:23:17 – The Furrow Collective – Write Me Down
We recently premiered this new single from The Furrow Collective. It’s taken from their new album Fathoms which was produced in Powys and Oxfordshire by honorary fifth-Furrow Andy Bell and sees the group build further on their substantial reputation for breathing new life into traditional songs. Read more about the album release and tour here.
Pre-Order https://thefurrowcollective.lnk.to/fathoms
00:25:51 – Martyn Joseph – The Ghost Of Tom Joad
Taken from Martyn’s 2013 album Tires Rushing By in the Rain, a brilliant Springsteen cover.
For longer than I can remember I’ve thrown the occasional Bruce song in at shows. Despite thirty years of writing to try and make sense of the path I was on, there was a reference point within Bruce’s material that I was able to engage and connect with and make my own. He was making sense of that journey for me and the music came alongside and became a great friend. That was worth passing on and of course, it always drew an audience in that much closer.
00:29:47 – Curse of Lono – And It Shows
One of the softer offerings on As I Fell, the new release from Curse of Lono and a Featured Album of the Month on Folk Radio UK.
“And It Shows offers something softer, with light drums, guitar like a pulsating beacon in the far, far distance; the song is given a sharper edge in its theme of loss, and ultimately softened by a beautifully harmonic outro…There are big ideas and compelling prose in Bechtolsheimer’s songs, every bit as powerful and with a shade more ambition, but that music is just thrilling. Curse of Lono have lived up to the promise of their fascinating début and somehow manage to offer even more. As I Fell is an exceptional album.” Read Neil McFadyen’s full album review here.
Pre-order on: Amazon / iTunes / Rough Trade
00:34:27 – Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage – A Thousand New Moons
From Hannah and Ben’s latest album ‘Awake’ which was released earlier this year. This is another album I would have been happy to select any track from. Released two years on from their debut album it is their most accomplished offering and shines very brightly. It’s one that you will return to time and again. Read our album review here.
00:37:33 – Kinnaris Quintet – Nonna Pina/Space Ghettos
Although the band name may be new to you these high-spirited musicians maybe won’t be – Fiona MacAskill (fiddle), Laura Wilkie (fiddle), Aileen (Reid) Gobbi (5 string fiddle), Laura-Beth Salter (mandolin) and Jenn Butterworth (guitar) have all come together to form the brand-new quintet that is taking the Scottish traditional music scene by storm. This is just one demonstration as to why. Their debut album Free One is released on 20th September.
Pre-Order the album and find out more here http://kinnarisquintet.com/
00:43:05 – Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith – Turning of the Year
Taken from Jimmy and Sid’s new album Many a Thousand, another Featured Album of the Month on Folk Radio UK. “Turning Of The Year proves that they can do the personal as well as the political – Aldridge conjures up the imagery of a Cornish cliffside in a song that sounds every bit as elemental and cathartic as its stormy subject matter….
“Aldridge and Goldsmith have created a record whose songs are immediate and politically necessary, and whose melodies will remain in the memory for years to come.” Read Thomas Blake’s the full album review here.
Pre-Order Many a Thousand via http://www.jimmyandsidduo.com/
00:47:16 – Chris Wood – Beads And Feathers
This is from a great double album that was released on Navigator Records in 2010 – The Songs of Sandy Wright. The first CD featured Sandy and the Toxic Cowboys and the second featured some brilliant guest artists covering his songs including Chris Wood. It also included the sheet music for each song for those keen to spread the gospel of Sandy. You can still pick up a copy on Amazon.
00:50:24 – Grace Petrie – This House
Yet another album I found myself spoilt for choice on what to choose. Grace releases her new album ‘Queer as Folk’ on 14 September with an album tour the following month. It is her best yet. In her own words “Queer As Folk is a collection of songs that celebrates both sides of the artist that I am: passionate about and deeply inspired by the magnificent tradition of folk music, but seeking and striving always for it to become again the vehicle for radical politics that it once was. Mixing the personal with the political, these songs mean to offer a hand on the shoulder of those whose struggles in this world chime with my own, whether that be with identity, with love or with the faith to fight for a more equal tomorrow. This album is both a celebration of and a step beyond protest singer, offering some of the most urgent and honest song writing I have ever put into the world.’
Tour dates here: http://gracepetrie.com/gigs/
00:54:51 – Ashley Hutchings – Avona And The Giant
The Guv’nor returns on 2 November with ‘Paradise and Thorns – Gloucester Docks revisited and Other Tales of Love’. Hutchings’ new double CD is all about love and its consequences. Disc One – ‘Gloucester Docks Revisited’ – adds more detail to the unfolding relationship Hutchings depicted in the original album and brings into focus other scenes not previously described. On Disc 2, from which this song is selected is a personal selection of love songs and stories demonstrating the many faces and types of love and what it means in different contexts. This track features the gorgeous vocals of Kitty Macfarlane whose debut album Namer of Clouds is released on September 21st.
Pre-Order Paradise and Thorns via Talking Elephant here http://www.talkingelephant.co.uk/product/ashley-hutchings-paradise-and-thorns-gloucester-docks-revisited-and-other-tales-of-love-lp/
00:59:14 – Assynt – Fiend And The Hound
One of two final tracks that pick up the pace of this week’s show. Fiend and the Hound is taken from Road to the North, a Featured Album of the Month and the debut release from Assynt – the talented trio of Graham MacKenzie, David Shedden and Innes White.
“Fiend and the Hound opens the album with a gently skipping march from Dave Shedden set against the backbeat of Innes White’s guitar, and it’s immediately evident that the arrangements for those tunes add another dimension to the music. Graham McKenzie’s fiddle joins the mix and picks up the pace nicely to lead the second melody (A Race to the Top), before moving on to the set’s closing tune, Deadlines, with a fine mix of reeds and strings. In short – a first class lesson in arranging a tune set.” Read Neil McFadyen’s full album review.
Album available to buy from the Assynt website www.assyntmusic.com or via Bandcamp: https://assynt.bandcamp.com
01:03:44 – Alasdair White – The Weatherman/Fiona Katz’s Reel/Calder’s Reel/A’ Phige Ruadh
The final track was chosen because of Kinnaris Quintet featured in this week’s show. One of their sets includes The Weatherman which I used to play a lot of on our old 24 Hour radio stream. It features on An Clar Geal (The White Album) released in 2006 on Temple Records.
You can buy it here on Temple https://www.templerecords.co.uk/collections/fiddle-music/products/alasdair-white-an-clar-geal
Fans of Temple Records and traditional music should read our in-depth feature on Robin Morton which looked at the traditional music of the 1960s. Robin founded Temple Records and was also a founder member and player-manager of the early Boys of the Lough. Read it here.
Photo by Antoine Fabre on Unsplash