Brit Folk

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

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

INTERVIEW: THE UNTHANKS 

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The Unthanks have never been an act to shy away from a challenge, especially in their occasional Diversions releases, which so far have seen them work with a brass band, soundtrack a film about the shipyards and interpret the work of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons to singular and powerful effect. So it should come as no surprise that the latest Diversions volume, The Songs And Poems Of Molly Drake, is not only one of their most intriguing releases yet but also, according to their musical director and pianist Adrian McNally, might even be their best work

So can I first ask how the idea for the Molly Drake project arose? Was it on the back of the 2013 album or had it been on your minds beforehand?

“Our relationship with the Drakes goes back beyond the release of Molly’s work in 2013. The actress Gabrielle Drake, Molly’s daughter and Nick’s sister, had already been to see us perform years ago, having been made aware of our readings of Nick Drake songs, by the man known only as Cally, who runs the Drake musical estate on behalf of and alongside Gabrielle. They’re sweet, smart, brilliant people. Both of them. From time to time, Gabrielle tours around with Cally, talking generously to those of us still engaged with the enigma of her brother, who in his lifetime, she was at least if not more famous than. Cally sent us the Molly Drake record when it came out, but it wasn’t the first music he’d ever sent us. He’s sent us lots of bits and bobs. Had we known each other twenty five years ago, I’m sure we might have sent each other compilation tapes. We’re all music mad, and he is music madder. So whether he meant to plant a seed by sending us Molly, I don’t know, but I don’t think we got through our first listen without that feeling that would have to do something with these songs.” [ . . . ]

Continued at Source: INTERVIEW: THE UNTHANKS | NARC. | Reliably Informed | Music and Creative Arts News for Newcastle and the North East

Katell Keineg – Interview – Louder Than War

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Currently working alongside Gareth Bonello of The Gentle Good, Cardiff-based musician Katell Keineg is playing a one-off show in support of Joan Osborne at London’s Union Chapel.  Louder Than War’s Melz Durston caught up with Katell for a chat. 

Some stars shine the brightest when out of view, and this would be true of Katell Keineg, BretonWelsh musician who never quite embraced the glaring lights of fame and fortune, despite a voice that soars, and cuts you to the core, and a life lived fully and courageously. You can live your life in an endless wait, or build it high on the present tense, are the words Katell sang on One Hell of a Life, and she has surely lived up to that philosophy.

Born in Brittany, Katell spent the first eight years of her childhood travelling back and forth between there and Wales, where eventually she would settle with her family before leaving to study in London.  Propelled towards sonic adventures from an early age, aged 16, Katell and her friend made a pilgrimage to Bron Yr Aur, having identified where Led Zepellin wrote their third album [ . . . ]

Full Story at Source: Katell Keineg – interview – Louder Than War | Louder Than War