Everything about Make the World Anew – from its title to its execution, from its primary-coloured cover to its lagoon-clear production – is refreshing. The latest album from Sheffield’s Melrose Quartet shimmers with the joy of song and dance. In an increasingly polarised world, where one thing always seems to be prized above another, this music stands out precisely because it omits nothing: it is a staunch defence of the sheer joy of creativity, allowing for contemporary political songwriting and age-old dance tunes, poignant a cappella standards and complex instrumentals. The quartet consists of two husband-and-wife duos (Jess and Richard Arrowsmith; Nancy Kerr and James Fagan), which might partly explain their unique chemistry and also made it easier for FRUK to pin them down and ask them a few questions.
FRUK: The new album seems to be deliberately more upbeat. Given the state of the world at the moment, did you choose/write these tunes specifically as a kind of tonic (and is this the root of the album’s title)?
Jess: I think that as a writer, I do use songs as a means to explore particular situations and my own response to them, but I wouldn’t say I wrote “Make the World Anew” specifically as a tonic. It’s more an expression about how I feel about the way music, song and dance fit into my life, and how much I value the people who make those things happen.
James: I think the repertoire on this album almost subconsciously reflects our own need to have something to be happy about, and our own desire to be energised about what we can do to help the state of things, rather than us having set out with a particular “mission statement”. It definitely captures a mood though.
Like most folk music, there is a strong sense of political awareness in your work, but it never seems to diminish the sheer joy of song and dance. Is this a kind of balancing act that you have had to perfect over time, or do you think the two strands go hand in hand naturally?
Nancy: For me, the partnership between the two strands of folk music and political activism is very evident, and so most of my composition work now is themed around social justice in some way. I think all of us in this band are working in some way to break down barriers and widen access to music. Social song is a brilliant agent for change and unity, and that is a huge inspiration for the quartet. You could argue at this point in the UK that making music is itself a political act, while the powerful continue to undermine and devalue the arts.
Does your group dynamic (being a pair of married couples) have any influence on how you play together? Do you think, for example, that the process of making music is more natural or that the results are more intimate?
Nancy: The experience of family music-making, across generations as well as within them, has definitely shaped Kerr-Fagan’s way of playing and singing together. We learned harmony and arrangement and listening from our parents, and our children are learning those now. I think Melrose functions as a similar, round-the-table, informal sort of culture – of music being part of everyday life, and of each person having their own role and strengths.
Jess: Being partners and friends is a very important part of how we function as a band. Both couples have been playing together as duos for close to thirty years, so we have a pretty good idea of the way our partners think musically. As well, the four of us have been close friends for a long time now, so new quartet things do come together naturally, and pretty quickly.
I’ve noticed that many of your songs are dedicated to bandmates and friends. Do you think it’s fair to say that these expressions of human closeness are an important part of your recording and composing process, and have they become more important in recent years (due to the pandemic, for example)?
Jess: Human relationships have always been a huge part of music making for me. I enjoy music with a purpose – whether that is specifically playing music for people to dance to, or as part of a celebration, or to be part of a community of voices singing together – and I did miss that so much during the periods of lockdown. So yes, maybe they’ve become even more important in recent years!
James: There’s a long tradition of writing tunes and songs for people who inspire you and people you love. When you get it right, it’s a gift that lasts, sometimes much longer than the writer or the recipient! It was a lovely mark of the passage of time that one of the tunes on this new album was written by Jess for my 50th birthday, while the first Melrose album included a tune that Nancy and I wrote for my mum Margaret’s 50th! So the world goes round.
It seems like a lot of British folk bands have been incorporating Scandinavian tunes into their repertoires in recent years. Is this a part of a wider cultural shift towards Nordic aesthetics, or do you think there’s another reason?
Nancy: Musicians here do seem to resonate strongly with Scandinavian influences – for example, the reasonably contemporary “English” fiddle style we see now has borrowed a great deal from this and other sources. I think this has been observable since at least the 1990s – I remember when Eliza and I were exploring twin fiddles in harmony, some stylistic reference points were sourced from recordings of Swedish and Norwegian music, although we were exploring English repertoires.
James: Joe Scurfield, from whom we learned the Swedish “Barseback”, was a great traveller and collector of fiddle music from all over the world and brought many Scandinavian tunes back to the UK and into the repertoire.
How did you come to choose the name ‘Melrose’?
James: It happened to be the name of the street we all live on. But it is a lovely word too – it literally means ‘the honey from roses’ – too good not to use. We do often have to explain though, that we are from Sheffield, and not the Scottish borders!
How did you come across the work of Frank Mansell, and what attracted you to Hedging Song in particular?
Richard: My Dad was a fan of the singing of Charlie Yarwood and learned the Hedging Song from him. It wasn’t until recently that I discovered it was originally a poem by Frank Mansell in a 1969 compilation of poetry called “The Cotswold Ballads”. Having grown up as a Cotswold Morris dancer and musician, I loved the tune to which it was set – “Swaggering Boney”, a Cotswold Morris tune. It all fitted together nicely.
There is a cover of a Leon Rosselson song on the album. It’s not the first time you’ve covered one of his songs – what draws you to Rosselson’s music?
Nancy: Leon is a favourite writer of mine and a huge influence on my own songs. I’m enjoying singing The Voice that Lives Inside You and hearing how much audiences also love and respect his work – plus, I’m keen to be a “gateway drug” for anyone who hasn’t yet discovered his lyrical wit and warmth, and musical brilliance. Definitely the kind of insightful political voice that is vital for our times.
The Watersons are an evident influence on you (as they are on pretty much all vocal groups). What other artists would you say were your biggest influences?
MQ: John Kirkpatrick, Maddy Prior and June Tabor, Martin Carthy, Dave Webber & Anni Fentiman, Peter Bellamy, Swan Arcade, Roy Bailey, Leon Rosselson, Frankie Armstrong, Brass Monkey, Sandra Kerr, Margaret & Bob Fagan, “The Battle of the Field” by the Albion Band. And did you mention the Watersons?
Do any of you have any other projects in the pipeline, solo or otherwise?
Jess: I’m working on a recording project with one of my singing students, Cathy Tattersfield, which contains some previously unrecorded versions of songs collected in her native Gloucestershire. Richard and I are starting to mutter about a new duo album as it’s been a while. Watch this space…
James: Nancy has commenced work on an exciting research project involving Melrose Quartet – can’t say more just yet, but it’s going to be great and lead to some very special shows in 2025.
Also, look out for our big Melrose ceilidh in Sheffield on November 25th, and our December “Bright New Year” seasonal tour. And we have to mention The Melsons! This is our eight-piece collaboration with The Wilsons (hence the name) – we’re running a big harmony singing weekend with them in Sheffield on March 23/24th, 2024, called “Raise your Voice.” and we’ll be headlining Upton Folk Festival 2024.
All details here: www.melrosequartet.co.uk
Make the World Anew is out now. Physical copies are available here: https://melrosequartet.sumupstore.com
It is also available digitally on Bandcamp: https://melrosequartet.bandcamp.com
Live Dates
| Sat 25 Nov | CEILIDH – Sheffield |
| Fri 1 Dec | Stapleford Granary, Cambs |
| Sat 2 Dec | A BRIGHT NEW YEAR – Harrogate Folk Club |
| Sun 3 Dec | A BRIGHT NEW YEAR – Hexham Queen’s Hall |
| Fri 15 Dec | A BRIGHT NEW YEAR – Bradford Arms Folk Club, Newport |
| Sat 16 Dec | CEILIDH – Southampton SHOCC |
| Sun 17 Dec | A BRIGHT NEW YEAR – Southampton Turner Sims |
| Fri 22 Dec | A BRIGHT NEW YEAR – Sheffield, Crookes |