All of the tracks featured in this week’s mix are from new and forthcoming releases. All except one that is – a Jarlath Henderson track, taken from his 2016 album ‘Hearts Broken, Heads Turned‘, on which he finally decided to share the fact that “he wields a vocal ability as clear and expressive as a young Andy Irvine”. Andy Irvine also features, a track from recorded in 1981 which features on his new album Old Dog Long Road vol. 1 which features some very rare tracks from his early days including one as early as 1961. The album arrives in tandem with a new album from Mozaik which we’ll be featuring very soon. More on what is played can be found below.
The image is from the late 60s/early 70s, from a roll of film I developed after finding it in an old Kodak Retina camera I often use for analogue photography. For some reason, it seemed to fit the mood of this mix.
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Music Played
00:00 Skipper’s Alley – The Farmer’s Curst Wife
from The Oul Fip – A long-awaited return from Dublin band Skipper’s Alley with The Oul Fip, I pretty much exhausted the tracks from their last album and I can guarantee this one shifts them to another level.
02:55 Marisa, Jack & Davy – Bows of London
A cracking debut from this Bedford-based folk trio titled Bring Us In on which they present an eerie and melancholic take on the British folk tradition, and they do it so well. An excellent EP you should seek out. Nicola Kearey of Stick in the Wheel is a fan who says they are full of earthly delights and weirdness.
07:05 Nick Wyke & Becki Driscoll – Riddles Wisely Expounded
From Cold Light, another solid album from this Devon-based duo. The playing on this is stunning but what made it stand out was their innovative contemporary approach which makes this a dazzling and dramatic album. I was spoilt for choice on what to choose so expect to hear more again soon.
11:33 Stick in the Wheel – Down In Yon Forest
As recently mentioned, Stick in the Wheel return with their second volume of explorations and collaborations. Against The Loathsome Beyond is named after a line in one of the tracks therein: Nine Herbs Charm is a 10th Century spell translated from Old English. While the mixtape is underpinned by the tense low hum of discord, of troubled times and unrest, it also pulses with ideas, of hope, of struggle and a sense of future.
15:04 Lankum – Ode to Lullaby
From The Livelong Day, the latest offering from Lankum…in David Weir’s words (from his recent Folk Radio review) “Writhing with the terror of our times one moment, then rising with indescribable heart and hunger the next; this is traditional song stretched and submerged.”
19:36 Three Legg’d Mare – The Old Man From Over The Sea
From Milwr Soldier, the latest release from a band hailing from Aberystwyth whose common interest in tunes of England, Wales and beyond is amply demonstrated here. If they are a new name to you, then go and seek them out (https://www.facebook.com/threeleggdmare/), the breadth of their musical talents and gorgeous close harmony singing deserves a much wider audience.
25:47 Catherine Ruddie – London is Changing
The first of our Featured Albums of the Month. It’s hard to believe that The Möbius Kiss is, in fact, a debut album. As Thomas Blake mentions in his recent review that you often have to stop and remind yourself of this fact when listening “such is the quality of these songs and the command that Rudie has over them. She has combined the traditional and the contemporary in a way that feels entirely fresh, and more importantly, she has reminded us that creativity is a constant in a world defined by its fluctuations and vacillations.”
29:17 Jarlath Henderson – Fare Thee Well Lovely Nancy
As mentioned in the introduction above, this is taken from his 2016 album ‘Hearts Broken, Heads Turned‘ – “It shows how Jarlath Henderson shines as an arranger, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, the power of his imagination only excelled by his musical skill.”
34:09 Old Salt – Darling Corey
Old Salt are an Americana band based out of Ghent, Belgium. I have Trio Dhoore to thank for sharing this album along with the releases by Leana & Hartwin and their new release which also features here. They are all from a Belgian record label that they set up two years ago with some fellow musicians and if the quality of these recordings is anything to gauge a label by, then expect more exceptional musicianship and quality to follow. The label is called Trad Records; their website can be found here: www.tradrecords.be
37:51 Andy Irvine – Seamen Three (1981)
As mentioned in the introduction, this is from Andy’s new retrospective album, Old Dog Long Road vol. 1 which features some very rare tracks from his past. This particular track is a Woody Guthrie number that he learned during his ‘Sweeney’s Men’ years “sitting in the hovel we all shared, freezing and starving to death but burning bright with youthful idealism.”
41:10 Son Of Town Hall – Louise
The second of our Featured Albums of the Month, this is from The Adventures of Son of Town Hall. Son of Town Hall are Ben Parker and David Berkeley whose album Bob Fish reviewed for Folk Radio here. It’s an exceptional album; he concludes his review “As The Son Of Town Hall, Ben Parker and David Berkeley have created an album that plays like nothing else you will hear this year. Equal parts care and craftsmanship, joy and sorrow, it is a splendour to behold.”
44:32 Band of Burns – To Ruin
The third of our Featured Albums of the Month and this time a welcome return from Band of Burns with The Thread, which David Weir reviewed here. He concludes his review: Dr Fred Freeman once wrote, “Burns is thought of as a collector of old Scottish melodies and airs, to which he set his own words or adapted old ones. But there is more to Burns. He was a composer and arranger of consummate skill. He could take a jaunty tune and turn it into a smooth air. He could detect the basic essence of a melody, and by doing so, stand it on its head. And he could, most importantly, re-create tunes from fragments and motifs” It needn’t be repeated that our rabble share much more with the bard than just their title. Their gift is deep-seated, and The Thread stands as a remarkable tribute. The Burns clan grows larger still.
49:42 Jon Boden – Hounds of Love
Jon Boden is our Artist of the Month for November in celebration of his new album with The Remnant Kings Rose in June which Thomas Blake reviewed here. Hounds of Love is a Kate Bush cover which, as Thomas says, works surprisingly well with a minimal arrangement for concertina, becoming a personal journey, cyclical and strange. If you’ve yet to hear other tracks from this new release, be sure to seek it out. An “endlessly varied and accomplished album that sees the Remnant Kings at the top of their game, and shows just why Jon Boden is one of the most lauded folk musicians this century.”
53:37 Trio Dhoore – Innsbruck
The three brothers from Flanders return with their new album August this month. August is an album to savour slowly. The intuitive musicianship between the brothers is quite magical, and the rewards are aplenty for those who afford the time to listen deeply to the beautiful soundscapes they create which in turn breathe new life into traditional Flemish music.
56:56 Leana & Hartwin – Tiivad – Wings
As mentioned above in respect of Old Salt, I have Trio Dhoore to thank for sending me this album Kodu which is from their co-founded label Trad Records. This duo live on the Estonian island “Saaremaa” in the Baltic Sea and have been making music together since 2012. To quote from their bio “Leana Vapper-Dhoore is a singer who also plays bagpipes and flutes. Born and raised on Saaremaa the island is what she calls “home” and “safe harbor”. Her self written songs find their roots in the whispering forests, deep swamps and calming landscapes of the island. Hartwin Dhoore plays the diatonic accordion and is known for his contemporary instrumental compositions. His melancholic harmonies accompanying Leana’s songs are a reflection of the silent and magical environment that Saaremaa is.” Kodu offers a doorway of sensory escape.
01:00:10 Froder Haltli – Taneli’s Lament (Sorrow Comes to all…)
Froder is a Norwegian accordion player, and this track is taken from his latest album Border Woods, released on one of my favourite record labels Hubro Music. Hubro describes this release as “Archaic music from who knows where! Nordic traditions get weird in accordionist/composer Frode Haltli’s stripped-down successor to ‘Avant Folk’.” Combining “traditional Nordic folk forms with influences drawn from world music and contemporary composition/improvisation” this album is both unpredictable and rewarding. Like an abstract painting, new revelations emerge on each visit.