‘The nature of our music feels suited to this time of year; close harmonies, stories and characters that we like to imagine folk enjoying with a glass of red wine or a hot cup of tea by the fire. These old ballads that we’re all drawn to seem to come into their own as the nights draw in.’
The Furrow Collective – Rachel Newton, Alasdair Roberts, Lucy Farrell and Emily Portman – have a knack for blending the traditional with the quietly experimental, and their four albums to date are all marked by a strange but beautiful allure. The quartet’s new album, We Know by the Moon, is a chilly delight: eleven folk songs blasted by winter winds and steeped in the glow of firelight and moonlight.
Staying true to the spirit of their name by answering FRUK’s questions collectively, the group are keen to talk about the influence of the colder, bleaker portion of the year on their music. It’s no coincidence that their last three albums have been released in November. This one is themed specifically around the moon: its cycles and effects, its ghostliness and coldness and serenity. So, how did that preoccupation take root?
“We knew we wanted a dark, nighttime theme for the album without it being too festive or Christmassy. Our aim was to look for songs that took place in winter, or at least at night, and the moon seemed to feature in many of the songs, so we went with it. It also harks back to our first E.P, Blow Out the Moon, so it seems to build on themes we’ve always been interested in. The title ‘We Know by the Moon’ is actually from the song ‘The Gower Wassail’, which we have been singing on our tours. It contains the lovely line ‘we know by the moon that we are not too soon’. We liked it so much we kept it for the album.”
And are there any practical techniques that the band uses to create an atmosphere of coldness, spookiness or bleakness?
“As a band we tend to take a ‘less is more’ approach, keeping the stories as a central focus. This can mean that we keep things sparse, to give the stories space to breathe, but it depends on the song! We try not to be too prescriptive musically and just respond to the song as best we can, so often our arrangements are very loose and evolve over the years. We have a natural tendency towards the darker, more atmospheric musical textures and harmonies, but there are some lighter moments in the album, such as ‘Blow the Candle Out’.”
The ingredients of storytelling on We Know by the Moon are subtle but strong, something that fits in with the fireside feel of the recording. The stories in question, particularly on songs like The Wild Wild Berry and The Wife of Usher’s Well, contain elements of the weird. The Furrow Collective seem to have a knack for tapping into the same emotions we might feel when encountering a haunted, misty lane or a spooky old church. What is it about folk music that taps into the eeriness of landscapes and historical events, and why do they think there is such an appetite for ‘folk horror’ and its offshoots?
“Folk songs often delve into the darker aspects of life because that’s such a large part of the human experience and it’s often in those dark times when we most need to share, connect and try to understand what’s happening around us. It’s fair to say we all have an interest in the weirder aspects of folklore, perhaps it’s partly what drew us together as a band. There does seem to be a resurgence of interest in such things, perhaps folk are looking for some magic and wonder to counteract the hard times we find ourselves in and to deepen their connections with a sense of place seeing as many of us have spent so much time confined to our locality over the past few years.”
An important thread here is the importance to the band of a sense of connection. Is this connection something that is reflected in the recording process? And does each member know which songs their bandmates are going to bring to the party, or is the material chosen in isolation?
“It’s usually a mix of us each bringing songs to the table to lead and sometimes finding songs that we think would suit another bandmate or work as more of an ensemble vocal piece.
“We were fortunate to have some time together in a residency at Halsway Manor, where we got the chance to explore their library and work up the songs. Many of the arrangements for this album came together pretty organically in the studio.”
It’s a method that seems to sit well with the band’s insistence on only recording trad material. Is there an unwritten rule to the effect that they will only record traditional/collected songs rather than self-written or contemporary ones?
“Because we are all solo artists who write our own songs and music in our individual projects, we find it works well for us to have the space that is The Furrow Collective where we can nourish our shared passion for traditional songs. We are kind of bending the rules a bit with this new album in that it features a few of what might be described as ‘art songs’ rather than folk/traditional songs (thinking particularly of the Schubert song), so it seems like it’s not really a hard and fast rule for us. Perhaps at some point in the future we’ll find new ways to keep bending that rule!”
In spite of this rule, there are some real surprises on We Know by the Moon, including some songs that people might not have heard before. Do they think that, at some point in the future, folk music will reach a stage where every song has been done to death, so to speak, or is it in the nature of the genre to adapt and change? Will some of the songs being written today become the folk songs of the future?
“Sometimes it’s an interesting challenge to find a new way to communicate a folk song that has been widely performed before, but it’s always nice to find a rare song that people haven’t heard previously. We are always interested in the various different versions of songs that are out there and how to merge our favourite verses and lines to make something that feels special to us. We are lucky that these days it is so much easier than ever to find folk songs as many archives are digitised. Perhaps it’s unlikely that every song will be done to death though, because fashions and preoccupations change and some songs that no longer feel relevant fall by the wayside, whilst others take on contemporary resonance as history repeats itself.”
Three of the songs here have lyrics by writers who were known primarily as poets (Robert Tannahill, Robert Burns, Wilhelm Müller). Poetry and song seem to be linked through a kind of balladic tradition, but that link seems a lot more tenuous in contemporary music. Do the band think that the gap between poetry and songwriting has grown wider over the years, and if so, why?
“Yes, the fashion in contemporary poetry seems to have shifted away from the shorter lines and neat rhymes that lend themselves to singing, but are perhaps seen as outdated forms by some contemporary poets who are forging new paths. The poems we chose seem to sit comfortably alongside the historic songs we sing and are written by writers who were familiar with folk songs and in some cases may have specifically written the lines to be sung. In some ways perhaps songwriting and poetry are closer than ever if you consider the rise in popularity of performance poetry (rather than page-based poetry). The forms might be quite different, but they’re similar in that they depend for a lot of their impact upon that unrepeatable moment of live declamation.”
On a personal note, it’s great to hear a new version of one of my favourite folk songs, The Wild Wild Berry. I really love the Stephanie Hladowski/C. Joyne‘s recording of it from a few years back (2012 via Bo’ Weavil Recordings). Have any of the band heard that version?
“We love that recording too, it’s brilliant. Our source for this song was Ray Driscoll, no doubt the same as theirs. The recording was made by Mike Yates in 1989. Ray was born in Ireland, grew up in London and picked up songs wherever he went. Ray learned ‘Wild Wild Berry’ when he moved to Shropshire with his family after their house was bombed in the Blitz. His source was Harry Civil, a fellow farm worker and although the song is linked to the ballad ‘Lord Randal’, nothing else quite like it has been collected (that we know of!) We find it fascinating to trace the songs back and find out about the singers who have gone before us. There’s so much to learn from those recordings, and it’s evident that Ray was a brilliant storyteller. Emily decided to avoid listening to any contemporary versions when learning the song in order to avoid any accidental arrangement influences!”
I’m interested to hear about how the Furrow Collective got together in the first place. Lucy, Rachel and Emily met at university, and they went on to meet Alasdair while on the same bill at a gig, but how did they get from that point to deciding to form a quartet?
“Alasdair first met Emily when they did a gig together at the Star and Shadow Cinema in Newcastle and later shared some bills with Emily’s trio, also featuring Lucy and Rachel. Emily, Lucy and Rachel were looking for an extra outlet for them to sing traditional songs and each have more of a lead role. They really liked what Alasdair was doing, felt they’d work well together and asked him if he’d be up for forming a band. Luckily he said yes! Emily also sang on one of Ali’s records, and he sang on hers too. So the Furrow Collective seems like a logical conclusion of that line of collaboration.”
And what’s next on the horizon, as a band and as solo artists?
“We are on tour in December to promote We Know by the Moon and are planning a few summer festival appearances as well. Rachel is releasing a solo album in February, touring with Heal & Harrow and launching a new project later in 2024. Emily is touring with Rob Harbron in March 2024 and is currently writing a new solo album. Alasdair has been working on a couple of international recording projects this year, which will hopefully see the light of day in 2024, and he is continuing to write new material too. Lucy has just released her debut record ‘We Are Only Sound’ and will be touring the UK and Canada.”
We Know by the Moon is released on 27th November via Hudson Records.
Pre-Order here: https://hudsonrecords.ffm.to/weknowbythemoon
Tracklisting
- The Moon Shines Bright
- The Moon Shined on My Bed Last Night
- Every Day is Three
- Apprenticed in London
- ‘s fhada leam an oidhche gheamhraidh
- Are Ye Sleeping Maggie
- The Wild Wild Berry
- O, Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast
- The Wife of Usher’s Well
- The Hurdy Gurdy Man (Der Leiermann)
- O Watch the Stars
Tour Dates
1/12 The Witham, Barnard Castle
2/12 Grand Junction, London
3/12 Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
5/12 NCEM, York
6/12 Philharmonic, Liverpool
7/12 The Mac, Birmingham
8/12 South Street, Reading
9/12 Whitchurch Folk Club
10/12 Dartington Hall
Tickets: http://www.thefurrowcollective.co.uk/tour-dates.html