In a new single and video, visual artist and multi-instrumentalist Simon Jones of Harp and a Monkey tells the dark and disturbing tale of Joan Peterson, The Witch of Wapping, who was found guilty of witchcraft and sentenced to death in 1652.
Folklore and superstition surrounding birds inspire the latest single from Simon Jones – I Thought I Saw A Bird. “…For me, even though my logical mind says superstitions are not rooted in factual truths, there is an equal part that asks, ‘What if?’”
Andy Smith, one-third of the modern folk and storytelling trio Harp & a Monkey, shares his new video ‘Holiday Time’, taken from his debut solo An English village – it’s a pastoral delight – One to cosy up with for winter.
Andy Smith of Harp & a Monkey shares the video for ‘An English Village’, the title track of his first solo album, which combines English folk music with abstract electronica and offers a playful and often tongue-in-cheek look at traditional English village life.
Simon Jones, of the acclaimed experimental folk song and storytelling trio Harp & a Monkey, shares his new single and video ‘Call off the Dawn’ – “…I’m just trying to tap into my own internal imagery and hoping that the results resonate for others.”
On Skylarks, Harp and a Monkey present a tender and poignant ode to parenthood – based around the narrative of a father taking his children on a walk over the West Pennine Moors.
Watch Harp and a Monkey’s video for Travelling Salesman, a self-penned tune that draws on such age-old concerns as separation, love, work and travel. It is the second song in their new project, ‘The Extraordinary Ordinary’, exploring everyday experiences and emotions.
Watch the video for Harp & a Monkey’s new single ‘Poor People We’ which deals with such timeless themes as injustice, frustration and social protest. The accompanying lyric video is suitably gritty.
Computers are now a staple of modern life, but in our latest FRUK video exclusive by Simon J Jones of Harp & a Monkey, the artist winds back the clock to the early days of distressing dial tones and white noise.
Simon J Jones likes to do things differently, and he doesn’t disappoint in this new video in which he presents the story of the founder of electricity, Michael Faraday, with nothing more than the most organic of tools – the human voice.
Simon J Jones’ ‘How Things Work’ is a delight from start to finish, celebrating simpler times but with the pioneering spirit of the Ladybird books. Creating stories and soundscapes that seem very current but are somehow timeless, this album is a significant artistic achievement.
Northern song and storytelling trio Harp & a Monkey have organised a special one-off show (26 March) to mark the centenary of a unique pilgrimage undertaken by grieving parents at the end of the First World War.
