The ‘token’ jazz, folk and avant garde nominees for the UK’s most prestigious music prize are the ones who stand to gain the most from it – but they are being ignored
Jude Rogers
The question posed most often, and most crabbily, in the history of the Mercury prize is: what’s the point of the “token” acts on the shortlist? Jazz, folk and classical nominees are only ever there to make the judges of the UK’s most prestigious music award look clever; they certainly never win.Talk to the acts themselves, however, and a different story emerges. “I don’t care if we’re called a token jazz act if we sell 3,000 more records,” says Shabaka Hutchings, whose jazz group, Sons of Kemet, are among the favourites to win. “And it might be a coincidence, but I’ve noticed things happening since we were nominated this year.” Their gigs are selling out more consistently and the band are getting better stages at events. They’re getting support they don’t get from the Mobos, Hutchings argues, as he has before, and don’t start him on the Brits. “That side of the industry doesn’t care. But this is like a little stamp: you are given a level of validation that reverberates. And if it sells more albums or tickets, it helps subsidise our music and push our scene as far as it can go.”
They say a change is as good as a rest but for Tracyanne Campbell, working on her latest album was more than that. Recently she’s had a bit of a busman’s holiday, up in the Highlands to record an album with Bristol songwriter Danny Coughlan, and taking inspiration from the surroundings – something she learned …
Recently she’s had a bit of a busman’s holiday, up in the Highlands to record an album with Bristol songwriter Danny Coughlan, and taking inspiration from the surroundings – something she learned when working with her band Camera Obscura.
“Getting away from home, free from distractions, going to another country or city, inspires you in all sorts of ways – the people or the weather or how the place looks,” says the singer from her Glasgow home.
The location on this occasion was Helmsdale, not far from John o’Groats. “That drive up the A9 to the Highlands is pretty special”, she enthuses, “it’s such a beautiful spot.”
At the suggestion of Camera Obscura’s manager (and Teenage Fanclub’s drummer) Francis Macdonald, the pair found their inspiration at the studio of Edwyn Collins – the former Orange Juice frontman, who recuperated there following his life-threatening stroke in 2005. And indeed, he ended up producing the record too.
As well as lending the duo his vintage gear – including the guitar pedal used on his biggest hit ‘A Girl Like You’ – Collins also contributes backing vocals, his dulcet tones to be heard on the lead single ‘Alabama’. That song tells of a place and a time far away from the Scottish Highlands – recounting a trip to the southern state during a Camera Obscura US tour.
TRIBUTE
It also pays tribute to Carey Lander – the band’s keyboard player who sadly passed away in 2015 following a battle with bone cancer.
“We’d only been once to Alabama,” Campbell remembers of her time touring with her band, “The song’s pointing out the… unusualness of it – God, we’ve been to Alabama together, that’s mad!”
That’s the only tune on the record that concerns her friend, but may not be the last.
“I’ve written a lot about Carey since she passed away,” Campbell reveals. “She had a massive effect on all of our lives. But ‘Alabama’ is the only one I want to share for now.”
Despite being responsible for Camera Obscura’s songs, she now has Danny – who usually works under the name Crybaby – working alongside her. “In 2013 he asked me to sent me a song,” she recounts. “But it was finished so there was nothing for me to do with it, but I really liked it and liked his voice.”
Crybaby ended up supporting Camera Obscura and the two ended up writing – “two songs became three” – and we have the album, a real mix of styles ranging from Americana-tinged ballads via country to Coughlan’s classic songwriting.
That’s not the end of it – already there are a few songs left that didn’t make it onto the album, and the pair will work together again.
“Unless no-one buys the record or turns up to the gigs,” the self-effacing Campbell says brightly. “We’re having a bash!”
Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around / I’m gonna keep on walking, talking, singing, hoping, praying, saying, voting, voting, voting / marching to the freedom land”, sang Rhiannon Giddens in the closing minutes of the 54th Cambridge Folk Festival, accompanied by a stage filled with her curated acts and an audience which heaved at the seams of the Club Tent. This chorale was not only conclusive testament to the sparkling success of Giddens’ role as Guest Curator for this year’s Festival, but also to the sure-footed stride forward this weekend was; for the Festival and for the future of folk music. Setting the pace for other festivals to follow suit, the line-up offered a 60:40 split of female:male acts, the Festival already excelling their pledge alongside the PRS Foundation’s goal of a 50:50 ratio in festival line-ups by 2022. Giddens’ own main stage set on the Saturday night, and the acts she curated – the legendary Peggy Seeger, Amythyst Kiah, Bristol’s own Yola Carter, Kaia Kater and Birds of Chicago – raised up to a whole new level the values of diversity and commonality between audience and artist; values which have been beating steadily at the heart of the Festival for years.
Friday
On stage 2, home of the up-and-comers and a safe bet for stumbling across your new favourite band, Norwich-based Morganway delivered an energetic and promising alt-country opener with stunning vocals. Over on the main stage New Zealander Marlon Williams, a contemporary hybrid of Roy Orbison and Jeff Buckley, crooned through a set of songs from his latest album Make Way For Love with such ease and distinction that even the moody layers of electric guitar couldn’t stop the audience from swooning[ . . . ]
Earlier this month I received a press release containing the nominations for a well-established UK-based Independent Music Awards which claimed to span the full spectrum of genres. Disappointingly, although the list of names was impressive there was a distinct absence of folk music.Then, along came the Scottish Album of the Year Award Longlist…a completely different story…With previous Longlist titles featuring hip-hop, rock, alternative, traditional, folk, classical, dubstep, reggae, pop and jazz, The SAY Award accommodates Scottish music in all its influential, inspiring and idiosyncratic glory. From mainstream platinum sellers to self-released left-field outriders, The SAY Award illuminates Scotland’s music scene with the ambition, credibility and commitment it so richly deserves.
The longlist includes 20 albums of which nearly a quarter are by artists that were covered here on Folk Radio. A sign that folk music is not only thriving well in Scotland but that Scottish Music Industry Association which produces the award is actively supporting the scene – how it should be. It’s a shame other similar awards can’t follow suit and broaden their music coverage.
The SAY Award is now in its seventh year and is Scotland’s most popular and prestigious music prize. The winning artist will pick up a £20,000 prize – provided by long-term Award partner Creative Scotland – with the nine runners-up each receiving £1,000.
Karine Polwart with Pippa Murphy — A Pocket of Wind Resistance (Hudson Records)
A previous Artist of the Month (Review | Interview). “A Pocket Of Wind Resistance isn’t so much a collection of songs, it’s theatre for the ears, but it surpasses radio drama. All the tension, the joy, the craft that’s part of the immersive experience of going to the theatre is achieved without the visual elements. Karine Polwart‘s music and poetry, with Pippa Murphy‘s exquisite settings, haven’t replicated the theatre production; it has brought Wind Resistance to a wider [ . . . ]
