David Chatton Barker

The final instalment of Folklore Tapes’ Ceremonial County Tapes series is fittingly personal. Mary Stark’s Cumbria side weaves her mother’s home and Conishead Priory’s Buddhist mantras into something intimate and quietly sacred. Monkshood — David Chatton Barker and his eight-year-old son Rowan — then take on Wiltshire’s West Kennett Long Barrow with discordant electric guitar and heavy percussion: ancient ground, thrillingly contemporary sound.

One of the most wonderfully warped Ceremonial Counties tapes yet: The Clare Voyants explore the mystical and musical elements of John Clare’s life via a collage of free folk, found sounds, traditional melodies and spoken word, while The Universal Veil take inspiration from Horace Harman’s Sketches of the Bucks Countryside and produce something that sits between Wicker Man psychedelia and Ghost Box hauntology (and is arguably more mind-bending than either).

This week’s show has a strong leftfield and alternative feel to it. Some of the tracks are from albums released on small labels that we love: including Okraina Records, Folklore Tapes, Reverb Worship, Burst & Bloom, Cardinal Fuzz, North Western Recordings and Mega Dodo.

Our Tune of the Day is taken from Devon Folklore Tapes Vol.I (the open-ended project of Ian Humberstone / David Chatton Barker) which sees their special reissue on vinyl this month.