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We chat to Luke Daniels, our current Artist of the Month, about his new album “Old Friends & Exhausted Enemies”. Daniels is one of folk music’s true originals. Whatever he plans to do next is unlikely to be quite like anything else.

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. As a bonus, watch their video for their new single The Line Between.

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Thomas Bartlett have created an album that is seductively dreamlike but sometimes sad, layered like a palimpsest but accessible on every one of those layers. It is unlikely you will hear a better instrumental album this year.

Band of Burns 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.

Luke Daniels’ “Old Friends & Exhausted Enemies” is full of mystery and emotion. It is the work of a discerning reader, a remarkable songwriter, and a musician with the touch of an alchemist.

Hannah James has created an album that explores life from countless angles. It is sad, fun, wise, angry and thought-provoking in equal measure and it has a real flair for the dramatic. She has established herself as a highly individual and almost unparalleled songwriter.

With ‘Battlefield Dance Floor’, Show of Hands have put together one of the most cohesive, diverse and persuasive sets of their entire career and one of the most consistently adventurous collections in their catalogue.

We talk to Martin Simpson about his new album “Rooted”. He may now be on his 21st solo album and in his fifth decade as a professional musician, but his creative output, vision and musicianship has never been finer. Plus we have a special “Rooted” giveaway.

On ‘Being Myself’, Tim Edey captures the spontaneity, energy, virtuosity and emotion that we’ve come to associate with his live performances. Brilliant!

‘I’ve finally made the album I wanted to make’, says Vera Van Heeringen on ‘Won’t Be Broken’. We fully concur with her sense of achievement. It makes for a strong set so don’t be surprised if your first instinct is to go straight back to the start and play this mature, rich song cycle over and over again.

Gwilym Bowen Rhys’ “Arenig” is a work of art that is as reassuring in its quality for modern folk music as it is confident and entertaining. A highly accomplished and original album that cannot fail to dazzle in just about every way.

Rooted is an album of rich material put to wonderful music that all combines to result in a release that is an essential career highlight from the most inimitable of musicians. Watch Martin’s new video for “Trouble Brought Me Here”.