Indie Folk Christmas Playlist & Winter Warmers

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Embrace the season with our new festive playlist (KLOF Mag’s Indie Folk Christmas), a curated blend of contemporary and indie folk featuring alternative twists and abundant winter themes. To deepen the midwinter mood, we’ve also included KLOF Mag’s most popular archive mixes. From pagan-inspired electronica to traditional solo ballads, these collections offer a haunting, soulful alternative to the commercial noise. Pour a drink and enjoy.

Listen via: Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal | Qobuz

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Folk Show – Episode 155 (A Winter Folk Mixtape)

Available via Mixcloud, this is another essential winter folk mixtape, a lovingly curated journey (a more traditional feel) for this festive season. This collection balances the sparse, haunting beauty of Anne Briggs and Plinth’s late-evening ambience with the psychedelic folk of Trees and the flighty fingers of Leo Kottke.

A rich tapestry of the folk tradition that weaves together the communal warmth of the Georgia Sea Island Singers with the evocative poetry of Michael Hartnett. Alongside songs about the house-visiting Mummering tradition, you can hear the intricate guitar work of Dick Gaughan and the joivial communal singing of Martin Carthy with June Tabor (backed by Norma Waterson, Leyley Davies, Alison Younger, and Eliza Carthy). As well as capturing the stillness of a snowy night, the collection includes “lively winter warmers” to stave off the chill. Whether you are drawn to solo ballads or spirited group sing-alongs, this mixtape serves as a perfect companion for the festive period.

Listen via Mixcloud

Playlist

1. Plinth – For C.S.
2. Fionnuala Maxwell – When the Mummers Come Calling
3. Sairie – Bushes and Briars
4. Dick Gaughan – MacCrimmon’s Lament/Mistress Jamieson’s Favourite
5. Appendix Out – The Cherry Tree Carol
6. Jean Ritchie – Wintergrace
7. Norman Edmonds and the Old-Timers – Breaking Up Christmas
8. John Sebastian and the J Band with Geoff Muldaur – Minglewood Blues
9. Georgia Sea Island Singers w/ Hobart Smith and Ed Young – Yonder Come Day
10. Michael Hartnett – Moonsnow ‘77
11. Plinth – In the Bleak Midwinter
12. Anne Briggs – Bruton Town
13. Phil Tyler & Sarah Hill – Heathery Hills Of Yarrow
14. Ultan O’Brien – The Boyne Hunt
15. The Boys of the Lough – Jackson and Jane
16. Ossian – Gie Me A Lass Wi A Lump O’land
17. Leo Kottke – Vaseline Machine Gun
18. Spud – Twa Corbies
19. Trees – Geordie
20. Pentangle – Rain And Snow
21. Piers Faccini – When Winter Comes
22. Katherine Priddy – Still Winter, Still Waiting
23. Appendix Out – Year Waxing, Year Waning
24. Dave Burland – the Bleacher Lassie O’ Kelvinhaugh
25. Lal Waterson – To Make You Stay
26. Anne Briggs – Three Maidens a Milking Did Go
27. Martin Carthy – Hunting The Cutty Wren (w/ June Tabor – backed by Norma Waterson, Leyley Davies, Alison Younger, and Eliza Carthy)
28. David Strawbridge & Tim Laycock – The Humstrum
29. Steve Tilston – Roving on a Winter’s Night
30. Lisa O’Neill – The Wren, The Wren
31. Lizzie Higgins – Up and Awa’ Wi’ the Laverock
32. Cilla Fisher & Artie Trezise – Binnorie O (live)
33. Dick Gaughan – Jock O’Hazeldean
34. Ewan McCall – Moving on Song
35. United Sacred Harp Musical Association – Sherburne

KLOF No. 37 (A Winter Mixtape – pagan vibes, electro-folk fusion and improvised sounds)

For those that need their minds purged of the overabundance of commercial music this time of year, KLOF No. 37 counters with pagan vibes, electro-folk fusion and improvised sounds that briefly dabble with the festive and then throw you a left hook.

Includes music from Ross Ainslie, Windborne, Sam Amidon, The Memory Band, Martin Cradick, Rami Atassi, Tartine de clous and a roster of artists from one of my favourite French record labels, PAGANS, are also present throughout.

Listen via Mixcloud

Music Played

1. Windborne – Satan Es Ben Estonat/Lo Paure Satan (review)
2. La Cleda – Quo’es la sensilha e lo pinson / La crosada
3. Martin Cradick – Atlas
4. Ross Ainslie – High Place Phenomenon (review)
5. Rami Atassi – We Three Kings (review)
6. Seward – Sweet Kick
7. The Memory Band – Falderal All Day (review)
8. Aronde – Dessus la rota de Lonzac / A tot l’entorn de l’om
9. Norman&Corrie – Robbie Tampson’s Smiddie
10. tashi dorji – we will be wherever the fires are lit
11. The Memory Band – Calling On Again (review)
12. Sam Amidon – Friends And Neighbours
13. Cocanha – Dempuèi Auriac
14. Matthieu Prual, Carol Robinson, Toma Gouband, Gabriel Lemaire, Joris Rühl – Marche fictive
15. Tartine de Clous – La Mignonne à l’ombrage
16. D’En Haut – Quan èri joen pastor
17. La Preyra – J’ai fait une maîtresse
18. Robbie Basho – If I Give My Heart to You (review)
19. Les Poufs à Cordes – La mer coulante / Rossignolet sauvage
20. AVA Trio – Didima
21. Tal Coal – Chema / Complainte du Juif errant

Folk Show: Episode 89 (A Winter Mix)

A winter-themed Folk Show featuring Dick Gaughan, Stephanie Hladowski, Ian Campbell Folk Group, Symondsbury Mummer, Alasdair Roberts, Archie Fisher, Vashti Bunyan, Pumajaw, Sproatly Smith, Martin Carthy, The Watersons, Maggie Boyle and more.

Listen via Mixcloud

Music Played

1. Dick Gaughan – Battlin’ Roarin’ Willie ; The Friar’s Britches
2. Stephanie Hladowski – Willy O’Winsbury
3. Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick – Prince Heathen
4. Ian Campbell Folk Group – Cutty Wren
5. A Hawk And A Hacksaw – Mana Thelo Enan Andra
6. John Kirkpatrick – Wassail
7. Richard Thompson – Poor Ditching Boy
8. Symondsbury Mummer – Excerpt
9. Martin Carthy – The January Man
10. Alasdair Roberts, Neil McDermott & Tartine de clous – Year Waxing, Year Waning
11. The Young Tradition – Lyke Wake Dirge (Live)
12. Stephanie Hladowski/C. Joynes – The Dark-Eyed Sailor
13. Sam Amidon – Rain And Snow
14. Alasdair Roberts – Sheath And Knife
15. Ian Manuel – Lowlands Of Holland
16. Vashti Bunyan – Winter Is Blue
17. Archie Fisher – Blackbirds And Thrushes
18. Dick Gaughan – The Fair Flower of Northumberland
19. Pumajaw – Mother & The Two Trees (Featuring Alasdair Roberts)
20. Sproatly Smith – Wassail
21. Bob & Ron Copper – Shepherds Arise
22. Lady Maisery and Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith – Night Came Early
23. Maggie Boyle – Wexford Carol
24. The Watersons – Apple Tree Wassail

Guest Mixes

A Winter Solstice Mix by Michael Tanner

For the Winter Solstice, Michael Tanner (Plinth, United Bible Studies, The A. Lords) put this mix together.

This is another collection of hymns, carols, folk standards and field-recordings from the past 800 years…why do so few artists manage to evoke winter particularly well? In my opinion, these are the select few that stand up to scrutiny. Whether it’s the pointed, bird-like quality of Jean Ritchie’s bare-branch voice or the hollow, reverent filigree of Dolly Collins portative organ, something about their use of minimalism perfectly captures the stark landscape, stripped of colour and commotion. A place which, when fortified and protected, is not an unpleasant place to be.

Listen via Mixcloud

Music Played

1. Maurice Jarre – Carpe Diem
2. Shirley Collins – I Sing Of A Maid That Is Makeless
3. Jean Ritchie – Wintergrace/Mourning Tears
4. Dick Gaughan – The Snow They Melt The Soonest
5. John Fleagle – Blow Northerne Wynd
6. Anonymous 4 – Videntes Stellam (The Star)
7. John Renbourn – The Moon Shines Bright
8. The Martin Best Ensemble – Miri It Is
9. Sourdeline – La Reine Blanche (The White Queen)
10. Luciano Berio – I Wonder As I Wander
11. Martin Carthy – Cold Haily Windy Night
12. Mike Waterson – The Black And Bitter Night

Midwinter Mix by Stephen Cracknell (The Memory Band)

From Stephen Cracknell, the man behind The Memory Band.

Listen via Mixcloud

Music Played

1. Derek & Dorothy Elliott – Wassail Song
2. Fotheringay – Nothing More
3. Mary Rhoads – Golden Slippers
4. Wizz Jones – Dazzliung Stranger
5. Steeleye Span – Lowlands Of Holland
6. Flora Macneil – Beninn a’ Chethaich
7. Anne Briggs – Living By The Water
8. Ashley Hutchings – Sir Roger de Coverley
9. Pentangle – Cruel Sister
10. Tim Hart & Maddy Prior – Maid That’s Deep In Love
11. The Watersons – Here We Come A Wassailing
12. Bridget St. John – Goodbaby Goodbye

Folk Police Case Report No 1 by Folk Police Recordings (Nigel Spencer)

This is a record label that I greatly miss…

Manchester’s Folk Police Recordings put together this case report featuring some of the songs that have inspired the label’s approach. The mix includes a smattering of classic 70s folk-rock alongside more recent music steeped in the folk-rock spirit. This is followed by a short detour through some of the more pastoral byways of the folk revival and the psychedelic folk fringes and concludes with a handful of seasonal songs for the long winter nights. 

Listen via Mixcloud

Music Played

1. Shelagh McDonald – The Dowie Dens of Yarrow (Stargazer, 1971)
2. Mick Softley – Ship (Sunrise, 1970)
3. Starless & Bible Black – Up with the Orcadian Tide (7” single, 2007)
4. Malicorne- Quand J’Etais Chez Mon Père (Almanach, 1976)
5. Kiila – Kehotuslaulu (Tuota Tuota, 2009)
6. The Woods Band – As I Roved Out (The Woods Band, 1971)
7. Wolf People – The Banks of Sweet Dundee Part 1(Steeple, 2011)
8. The Janet and Johns – I was a Young Man (7” single, 1980)
9. The Straw Bear Band – Lyke Wake Dirge (The Inner Octave, 2011)
10. The Owl Service – Time is Ripe (Echoes from the Mountain, 2011)
11. In Gowan Ring – Hazel Steps (Hazel Steps Through a Weathered Home, 2002)
12. Silly Wizard – Carlisle Wall (Silly Wizard, 1976)
13. COB – Eleven Willows (Moyshe McStiff and the Tartan Lancers of the Sacred Heart, 1972)
14. John Goodluck – The Lover’s Ghost (The Suffolk Miracle, 1974)
15. Bread Love and Dreams – Brother John (Amaryllis, 1971)
16. Steve Ashley – Candlemas Carol (Stroll On, 1974)
17. Crazy Man Michael – Winter Song (The Green Light, 2008)
18. Carolanne Pegg – Winter People (Carolann, 1973)
19. PG Six – Come In/The Winter it is Past (The Well of Memory, 2004)

Winter Salad ii by Salad Sound System

…featuring Ivor Cutler, Michael Chapman, John Martyn, 5 Hand Reel, The Memory Band, Edward II and lots more.

A wintry pastiche exploring the dubbier side folky work, plus voices from the past, seventies folk in minor and a sense of the disquiet that this season can bring about: that unsettling, imperceptible resonance across the land.

Dub-like memorial fragmentation of the above as it swirls and bounces within your bonce on a long walk. Repeat ad libitum.

Listen via Mixcloud

Music Played

1. Alan Stivell – Ys (Part 1)
2. Ivor Cutler – Path
3. William Adamson – Foggy Dew / Version
4. Russ Barnes – Lydlinch Bells
5. Michael Chapman & The Woodpiles – Heat Index
6. Motion Pictures – Unforseen Prophecy
7. Motion Pictures – 4+20 Blackbirds
8. Bill Callahan – Thank Dub
9. John Martyn – Smiling Stranger (Alternate Take #2)
10. The Coral – Nine Times the Colour Red
11. 5 Hand Reel – Death of Argyll
12. Edward II – Staffordshire Hornpipe
13. Kevin Morby – Harlem River
14. Steve Gunn – Atmosphere
15. Paul & Linda McCartney – Hey Diddle (Dixon van Winkle mix)
16. This Is The Kit – Sometimes the Sea
17. The Memory Band – Brambles
18. Alan Stivell – Ys (Part 2)
19. Charlie Andrews – The Geate A-Vallen To
20. Russ Barnes – Lydlinch Bells