The elite singer and musician sheds some light on his current masterpiece, the deep, wide-spanning and finely nuanced Rooted.
Martin Simpson’s new Rooted album is one that gives us an insight into his career in a more interesting way than a ‘Best of’ could because, in a way, it is an album of reminiscing and considering songs that were introduced to him decades ago. “Some of the material on this album goes back to when I was twelve or thirteen,” Martin explains. “That’s one reason why it’s called Rooted, because the roots of the material reach back to when I was first playing and first listening and it was really exciting for me to sit down and look at that stuff and then play that stuff and remember being in contact with it for the first time when I was in my teens. It was an incredible feeling to look back and go ‘Wow, I remember hearing this tune played by my friend in Scunthorpe at the folk club or in the music shop’, you know?” It is an album connected in many ways to Martin’s past, and to his previous album, Trails and Tribulations, not least in the nods to Jackson C. Frank on both records. “The story of his [Martin] D-28 is one of the things that link them quite nicely,” Martin agrees, having played Frank’s instrument on Rooted‘s ‘Kimbie’ and covered his ‘Blues Run the Game’ on Trails. “Having had access to that guitar and being able to spend time with it and think about how I learned that material all that time ago was great,” he continues. “I tuned it to the same D tuning I played ‘Blues Run the Game’ on with the capo in the same place at the third fret, but what I found interesting about that D-28 was I didn’t want to own it; I realised that it wouldn’t hold my attention.”
If the Martin guitar lacked creative longevity for Martin, the American folk artist Hedy West certainly doesn’t, and Martin goes on to mention the huge influence she has had on him throughout his career and how she has informed his music through the years. Both ‘Queen Jane’ and ‘Joe Bowers’ on Rooted are from West’s recordings and I suggest that the album is in part symbolic of his own journey and his position as an artist at present. “Yes absolutely,” he answers. “And it’s also symbolic of my deep affection for the countryside and what nature provides for us in terms of mental health.” When I mention that the beautiful, rather soothing vocal arrangements on the album reminded me of birdsong, Martin is quick to agree and explain the recording process. “That’s a lovely idea, I hadn’t thought of that… I certainly don’t think I’ve ever sung better than I do on this record. It’s interesting because when I started making it I had the most hideous Sinusitis and I couldn’t sing, it sounded like someone had poured concrete over my head! So I actually over-dubbed all of the vocals on this record, which is something I’ve never done before, but it was a really good thing to do. It meant we had to rehearse the be-Jesus out of the strings and Andy [Cutting]’s bits and play the pieces so that they absolutely knew them and could map them so they knew exactly when the breaks were coming. I think they played so well, it’s extraordinary, I’m very proud of everybody who contributed to it.”
As Martin mentions, the music on Rooted is unsurprisingly beautiful; we wonder how the arrangements were initially conceived. “Well, I did have some dream sounds in my head,” he smiles, after a moment. “If you listen to a record that Topic put out [Vision and Revision] of people covering songs from their back catalogue, I recorded a version of ‘Beaulampkin’, which I learned from Hedy West years ago and recorded on my first record [Golden Vanity] in 1976. I did that in the studio with Nancy [Kerr, violin], Liz Hanks playing cello and Ben Nicholls on bass and that track absolutely underlined the direction I wanted to go with this one. It’s really quite orchestral at times and I think it’s a very listenable record.” It’s an interesting point, especially when considering some songs tackle quite heavy issues, like ‘Born Human’ looking at environmental disasters, as there is a lightness of touch in much of the music. “I wanted it to be really beautiful,” Martin explains. “Because, if you can make something beautiful and get people to listen to it, then you’re reaching people with the information that you want them to hear, you know? I didn’t want it to be a punk or rock record in any way.”
As we mentioned in the review, one of the biggest strengths of Rooted is this ability to use its beauty and listenability to comment sharply on political themes. “I think as artists we have to do that,” he says immediately. “We can’t just ignore the immorality, destruction and stupidity that’s going on in the world. Take that song ‘Neo’ for example; it takes no prisoners at all, but it’s fun and people love it and I love singing it. And it’s true what it says!” He gives a little laugh and then recites some of the neo-liberal directed lyrics, obviously still very much enjoying the song: “’All the little people standing around, come and take some of my trickle down. My trickle down, that’s what I said, it’s just me pissing on your head.’ It’s aggressive stuff, but you just can’t ignore these things.”
But it’s not all daggers out by any means; Rooted successfully manages to juxtapose the more pointed songs with plenty of softer ruminations and interpretations, including the gorgeous ‘Who’s Going to Shoe your Pretty Little Foot’, ‘Fool me Once’ and the wonderful ‘Kingfisher’, to name just a few. After a brief digression into some old Gretsch guitars Martin has his eye on, we return finally back to Rooted to ask whether the album is everything its creator hoped for. “I think so, yes,” he answers. “You work at a record for two years, well I do now anyway, and when you finish you look at it sideways and go ‘Well, did I do it, did I do the thing I wanted to?’ and I think I have. I think it’s good. You wouldn’t hear any of it and not know who’s done it. It sounds like me.” It does indeed; Martin may now be on his 21st solo album and in his fifth decade as a professional musician, but his creative output, vision and musicianship has never been finer.
‘Rooted,’ is out now on Topic Records.
Buy, listen or download here: https://smarturl.it/martinsimpsonrooted
Martin will tour extensively in support of Rooted.
See full dates here: http://www.martinsimpson.com/gigs/
http://www.martinsimpson.com/
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Martin Simpson – Signed Test pressing Giveaway
Courtesy of Topic Records, we have two test pressings of ‘Rooted’ to giveaway that are signed by Martin Simpson.
As well as CD and Digital, Rooted is also available on Vinyl via Topic Records here.
To enter simply email us here: info@klofmag.com. In your email include “Rooted” in the subject along with your name and address in the body of the message. Last entries by 10 am on Friday 20 September 2019.
*Terms & conditions apply:
- Only one entry per household.
- A winner will be chosen at random on 20 September 2019.
- The winner will be informed soon thereafter.
- Your information will not be shared with any other parties other than the winner’s address details which will be forwarded to Topic Records so the test pressing can be sent to them.
Folk Radio UK’s full terms can be found here.
Photo Credit: Elly Lucas
Video Credit: Rob Bridge at Redwood Photography