Another difficult year for artists striving to create and make a living, again often under challenging circumstances, but nevertheless succeeding in doing what they do best, providing top-class music. It’s been especially gratifying to have been able to review some of the more esoteric releases from around the world, exemplifying Folk Radio’s ‘broad church’ approach. Grateful thanks to all of these musicians, not just ‘The Top 10’, for providing yet again so many illuminating lights during the recent dark times.
Carbonhobo: Memoirs From A Crooked Road
The debut album from Merry Hell fiddler Neil McCartney, trading under the Carbonhobo moniker, in many ways represents a musical globetrotting tour of the planet. This is a varied album, replete with contrasts, both in terms of subject matter, for example, hope/despair, love/loss, and musically through changing tempos, atmospheres and moods. Neil’s undoubted musical dexterity on a range of instruments is matched by his compositional acuity. An immersive album that will reward the listener with repeated plays.
Danny George Wilson: Another Place
The second solo album from Danny George Wilson is a genuinely eclectic release and, in many respects, a marked departure from his previous work. Comprising mainly self-composed songs, the album highlights just what a talented song-writer Danny is, across a range of styles. This diverse mix is a strength, with each track being underpinned and tethered by his warm, ever-welcoming voice. Infectious, with more hooks than Partridge of Redditch, this is in many ways a bold, brave album, but one which succeeds in spades and is an absolutely cracking listen.
Freedom to Roam: The Rhythms Of Migration
Sometimes a piece of music transcends being merely a listening experience, however excellent a listen it may be, and The Rhythms Of Migration, certainly far in excess of being merely ‘excellent’, is one such creation. The brainchild of Eliza Marshall, having garnered the talents of eight leading exponents from the realms of folk, classical and world music, between them, they have created a migratory musical masterpiece. The Rhythms of Migration is an outstanding album. If academics, or others, wished to exemplify the power and ability of music to touch and affect the range of human emotions, then they need look no further than this release. A drink from this global watering hole will leave you enriched, enlightened and, hopefully, a more altruistic, compassionate being.
Joe Danks: Seaspeak
A product of a year-long residency at the National Maritime Museum, Seaspeak is a sumptuous collection of both beautiful original compositions together with deft arrangements of traditional songs and tunes. Rather than “missing a trick”, as one reviewer opined, I would suggest that it is the very lack of shanties and avoidance of reference to aspects of maritime life which have already been “well documented in the folk tradition”, which is the album’s great strength and makes it such a refreshing and adroitly crafted piece of work. This is an absorbing and refined debut album from a talented young musician which warrants a serious listen.
Katy Rose Bennett: Alone On A Hill
With ‘Alone On A Hill’, Katy deservedly makes my Top 10 for the second consecutive year. Primarily written and recorded during the Covid19 pandemic lockdown, and inspired by the subsequent living in isolation, the album, entirely a cappella, with the addition of a soupçon of ‘electroacoustic sound design’ is totally absorbing. This is a markedly unique release; boundaries have been well and truly pushed, creating a fascinating and intriguing album of the highest quality.
Phil Odgers: Ghosts of Rock n Roll
Finally emerging from not one but two crowd-funding projects (following the scandal that was Pledge Music), Phil ‘Swill’ Odgers proves that you can’t keep a good musician down. Possessed, in my view, of one of the best, and certainly underrated, voices in music today, this album oozes quality, both on his own, thoughtful compositions and in his sympathetic reading of the writing of others.
Ray Cooper: Land of Heroes
Land of Heroes does nothing less than confirm Ray Cooper’s place on the highest echelon of singer-songwriters. At its best, his narrative writing compares with that of Harry Chapin, Reg Meuross and Al Stewart, and his instrumental pieces, of which there are several here, are nothing short of majestic. A return to a more Nordic feel, perhaps inevitable given that the album was recorded at his home studio in Sweden during lockdown, this is another exceptional album from a prodigious talent.
Various – Cuba: Music And Revolution – Culture Clash In Havana – Experiments In Latin Music 1975-85 Vol. 1
One of the most significant compilations for many a decade, featuring a number of legendary Cuban artists who flourished in the ’70s and ’80s, alongside others who remain unknown outside their native country. With virtually none of the tracks appearing on this collection ever having been heard before outside of Cuba, this is a truly indispensable collection. Beautifully curated, a masterpiece of musical history.
Various: Edo Funk Explosion Vol.1
From the opening track to the last, this is an intoxicating album. Edo Funk Explosion Vol. 1 is an essential compilation, illuminating the work of three ground-breaking artists, Osayomore Joseph, Akaba Man and Sir Victor Uwaifo, and their incendiary sound, the Edo Funk Sound of 1970’s Benin City, the likes of which had never been heard before. Guaranteed to lift the spirits, every tack is an absolute belter.
Various Artists: Those Shocking Shaking Days
This is an important historical compilation, mining what was indeed a rich vein. These collected gems are, as the title suggests, rare hard, psychedelic, progressive rock and funk songs from the ‘shocking shaking days’ of an Indonesian state under a dictatorial regime, and shows the breadth and depth of Indonesia’s vibrant 70’s scene, which compares favourably with that emanating contemporaneously from the West. Groovy.