Offa Rex

Offa Rex On World Cafe

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Portland, Ore.’s The Decemberists and British singer-songwriter Olivia Chaney have teamed up to cover traditional English (and Irish and Scottish) folk songs under the name Offa Rex.

It’s a match made in harpsichord heaven. Colin Meloy of The Decemberists has always dreamed of recording an album of British folk songs, and found the perfect English collaborator in Chaney. For Chaney, Meloy’s slightly-less-reverent American perspective was the push she needed to cover the traditional songs she loves.

As you’ll hear in my chat with Chaney and Meloy, the collaboration was definitely a balancing act — and it kind of still is. We’ll also talk about how the idea for an old-timey album began with a tweet.

This episode also features a performance by Offa Rex of “The Queen of Hearts,” recorded live on stage at the XPoNential Music Festival in Philadelphia.

Click link to listen:
https://www.npr.org/player/embed/552590978/552606181″>

Source: Offa Rex On World Cafe : World Cafe : NPR

Offa Rex revives centuries-old folk songs with new sound

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Offa Rex — a transatlantic collaboration of the English singer Olivia Chaney and the American indie rock band The Decemberists — is putting a modern twist on traditional folk songs that were previously revived in the 1960s and ‘70s. Jeffrey Brown reports.

Source: Offa Rex revives centuries-old folk songs with new sound | PBS NewsHour

Offa Rex’s Olivia Chaney On Reimagining English Folk With The Decemberists : NPR

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For the last 15 years, English folk musician Olivia Chaney has done a little bit of everything. She performed as a vocalist with the electronic-pop group Zero 7, and alongside the acclaimed Kronos Quartet. She’s done a stint as an actress and multi-instrumentalist at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. And in 2015, Chaney toured the world with The Decemberists to promote her debut solo album, The Longest River. But Chaney’s involvement with the band didn’t end there, thanks to an enthusiastic tweet by frontman Colin Meloy.One thing led to another, and eventually Chaney joined forces with The Decemberists to form a new group: Offa Rex. On its new album, The Queen Of Hearts, [ . . . ]

Read Full Story: Offa Rex’s Olivia Chaney On Reimagining English Folk With The Decemberists : NPR