Brit Folk

The Watersons, Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, Kate Rusby, Jake Bugg, The Unthanks

Chaney Against The Machine 

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Formal and informal, traditional and offbeat, the juxtaposing aspects of Olivia Chaney’s music career make her a difficult artist to categorize or boil down into one niche. She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she was classically trained as a vocalist, pianist and cellist. She is also an […]

Read More at: Chaney Against The Machine – By alee – August 29, 2017 – SF Weekly

English folk singer Frank Turner talks about his music upsetting left wing Americans

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If that seems an unusual thing to say for an artist who shot to prominence with the anthem ‘Thatcher F***ed the Kids, it was and still is — but there are signs the Englishman has mellowed.Having shied away from political music in favour of ‘matters of the heart’ on his most recent records, his latest single Sand in the Gears jumps headfirst into that territory.Inevitably inspired by the political instability across much of the western world the past year, the released version of the track was recorded in ideal circumstances.Without planning, Turner and his band found themselves in Washington the night before Donald Trump’s inauguration – the perfect backdrop for an anthem that tears equal strips off the reactionary right and radical left.Turner told Something for the Weekend: “We spent most of the last year in the US, in particular over the summer when the presidential campaigns were in full swing.“I was toying with the song over Christmas and then in January we landed back in the States a couple of days before the inauguration [ . . . ] More: English folk singer Frank Turner talks about his music upsetting left wing Americans

This Is the Kit: Moonshine Freeze review – a fascinating take on alt-folk

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Paris-based Kate Stables returned to Bristol for her fourth album, with production duties undertaken by longtime PJ Harvey foil John Parish. There might be echoes of Dry-era Polly Jean on Hotter Colder (if Dry had featured wild sax solos), but for the most part this is a highly individual take on alt-folk. Musically, there’s a wealth of ideas, Parish’s minimalist arrangements allowing each instrument room to breathe and foregrounding Stables’s vocals – a wise move, as her lyrics are intriguing. Whether she’s singing about numerology or swimming off the Dorset coast, imaginative phrasing and vivid imagery abound. A fascinating album that only slowly gives up its secrets.

Source: This Is the Kit: Moonshine Freeze review – a fascinating take on alt-folk | Music | The Guardian