Derek Piotr

We chat to Derek Piotr about his Fieldwork Archive, featuring over 2,000 field recordings. The New England-based folklorist, performer and composer discusses recording total strangers, many of whom have never sung into a microphone before — to elevate someone for a minute to the status of a musician and record a clip of them… and have them celebrated in discussion and reflection… is a huge triumph to me. 

Since we last spoke to folklorist, researcher and performer Derek Piotr, his fieldwork archive has expanded from 300 to nearly 1,300 recordings of folksongs, poetry, memories, interviews, and tales. As part of a sponsorship behind the project this year, he is issuing a non-commercial CD titled “Absolutely Not for Sale.”

On Divine Supplication, Derek Piotr weaves strands of strangeness and familiarity together in such a way that the final pieces often feel like heirlooms, half-remembered things retrieved from dusty boxes which spark bright, lucid memories.

Taken from his new live album ‘Seven Devils’, Derek Piotr premieres The Bramble Briar, one of several unaccompanied live recordings made in support of last year’s ‘The Devil Knows How’.

Folklorist Derek Piotr recently reached the milestone of having recorded 300 recordings for his Fieldwork Archive – he shares the stories behind his top five with Folk Radio.

Derek Piotr expands on his album “The Devil Knows How”, on which he interprets traditional ballads and folk tunes, with a reworking of “Yes They All Sing” by guitarist and Alan Lomax Archive curator Nathan Salsburg.

Taken from his forthcoming album ‘The Devil Knows How’, listen to Derek Piotr’s ‘Old Lady and the Devil’. These are untethered traditional ballads and folk tunes to delight in.

Derek Piotr is back with a new solo single, an excellent take on “How Can I Keep from Crying?” taken from his forthcoming album “The Devil Knows How”. I can’t wait to hear the rest of the album.

We talk to NYC-based musician and folklorist Derek Piotr who recently released two folk music compilation albums of mountain songs from North Carolina featuring Child ballads and local murder songs that sit alongside dulcimer & close harmony singing.