The Unthanks

BBC Radio 6 Music – Lauren Laverne, With The Unthanks

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With The UnthanksLauren LaverneLauren welcomes The Unthanks to the Live Room.

The Northumbrian folk five piece’s latest album Diversions Vol – The Songs And Poems Of Molly Drake is due out on the 26th of May on the Rabble Rouser label.

The project seeks to understand, connect with and share the great writing of Molly Drake, mother of Nick who was a wonderful, yet unknown poet and songwriter. She made a number of home recordings with her husband in the 1950s and now, some 60 years later, her work is being loving brought to new audiences.With the help of Molly’s daughter Gabrielle, The Unthanks have created an extraordinary album, which sets Molly’s poetry to music.

The draw of creating such a record was simple, with the band saying “Hearing a woman, a mother, from that time, expressing the struggle between darkness and light, so beautifully, with such artistry, confidently, and yet kind of from behind closed doors, is as compelling a listen as we’ve ever experienced”.All this plus Lauren has this week’s Memory Tapes, a celebration of a listeners beloved mixtape, Just Added, a Headphones Moment and as much music as we can pack in.

Listen at: BBC Radio 6 Music – Lauren Laverne, With The Unthanks

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

The Unthanks “Shipbuilding”

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From The Unthanks’ fifth album The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & the Johnsons. “Shipbuilding” was written by Elvis Costello, and also covered by Robert Wyatt, June Tabor, and Costello himself on 1983’s Punch the Clock. Becky and Rachel Unthanks’ lovely chamber folk vocals are a perfect fit for Costello’s anti-war lyric. “Is it worth it?” the song begins. Listen.