WHAT THE FOLK…
January 31st, 2006 by rui
In 2006, Folk music is attracting a lot of attention. The Folk Britannia festival at The Barbican, and the coinciding BBC4 season focusing on Folk music, have raised the profile of this hitherto low-key genre. The Big Chill’s Pete Lawrence has a long-standing love of folk music in many of its forms. Here, he talks us through the hows, whens and whys…
What’s your history with folk music?
My earliest interest probably started when I was two or three with my Gran singing ‘Three Blind Mice’ to me, whilst feeding me sticks of rhubarb from her garden. When I was very young, there seemed to be a lot of folk-influenced songs in the charts, from The Seekers through to The Sandpipers and Nina and Frederick. Then there was Bob Dylan, who prompted a legion of imitators such as Donovan, as well as a whole wave of artists in the late 60s and 70s coming from the singer-songwriter direction, writing more personal narrative – a few examples being Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, Judy Collins, James Taylor, Neil Young, Nick Drake, John Martyn and Richard Thompson.
I remember Fairport Convention being in the singles chart with ‘Si Tu Dois Partir’ – a Cajun cover of a Bob Dylan tune, sung in French with rolling accordion, a woody fiddle and a washboard. To my impressionable ears, it sounded so homespun, so organic and so fresh and different from the rest of the charts, as if it had been recorded around the fireside. So that led me on to buying the album it was from, ‘Unhalfbricking’ around 1970, and from there, the Island, CBS and Harvest label compilations, which took me off on a voyage of discovery to King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Shirley and Dolly Collins and Nick Drake, and many others on the prog fringes, such as Fotheringay, Dr Strangely Strange, Al Stewart, Steeleye Span, Gryphon and so on. In the mid 70s Mike Oldfield was heading in a folky direction and John Peel was playing a lot of The Chieftains, The High Level Ranters from Northumberland and some of his own Dandelion label releases.
It was well into the 80s before I had a more direct involvement with folk music, when I set up my first record label Cooking Vinyl. At the time, folk was probably as untrendy as you could get, but for me the whole scene had an integrity and an honesty about it that shone out alongside the pop and rock worlds. For several years, I’d been going to Cambridge, Trowbridge and Cropredy festivals, and listening to some of the folk based talent coming out of the UK – artists such as The Oyster Band, Blowzabella, Home Service, The Battlefield Band as well great Irish music from Planxty, Christy Moore, Moving Hearts, De Danann and The Chieftains. I decided that the label was going to tackle these media and public pre-conceptions head on, so I launched into it all with a gusto that surprised many of my friends (and myself!). The second album release on the label was ‘The Texas Campfire Tapes’ by a hitherto unknown singer called Michelle Shocked who I met at the three week long Kerrville Festival in East Texas. I recorded it on a Sony Corder (pre Walkman) with a single microphone resting on a log as she played her entire repertoire for me alone while I lay listening in a hammock. It cost £1 to record (cost of batteries and cassette), topped the Independent charts and went on to sell nearly half a million copies. I stayed with the label for five years before a bankruptcy at Rough Trade, who were distributing our records, almost put the company under. At that point, I went off to start On magazine and then The Big Chill.
My interest and involvement in folk has continued to this day, and I’m happy to be able to programme artists such as Kate Rusby, Eva Abraham, The Lost Music Of Celtarabia, Knights Of The Occasional Table, Tunng, Memory Band, Adem, Emiliana Torrini, Dlhe Diely and James Yorkston at The Big Chill.
Various stages at Eastnor 2005 saw English, Celtic and even Scandinavian and Slovakian folk traditions represented. Given its’ current popularity, do you see folk playing a role in the programming of The Big Chill Festival 2006?
Yes, absolutely. Given the positive feedback we’ve had, I can see it expanding. In 2006, we’re giving over three entire afternoons of it on the Village Green stage. On this stage in particular, and through some judicious programming on the other live stages, folk music, in its many guises, will certainly be a prominent feature of The Big Chill for as long as there are exciting things happening within it. Of course, in addition to the festival’s programming, we have a regular Folk to Future event at The Big Chill Bar.
Is there anything that unites or identifies contemporary British folk artists? Do you think the folk ‘explosion’ is happening internationally, or is it a UK phenomenon?
I’d like to see artists such as Sufjan Stevens heralding a new wave of US folk, which is a very real possibility. As for the fertile scene that is the UK, we seem to have a very rich tradition to draw on, and if anything, these artists are united in their sense and understanding of the importance of this country’s folk heritage, and identified by their unique vision for its future direction. That’s not to say that we won’t feature folk influenced artists from Hungary, Portugal or India, though these are slightly less practical in terms of logistics.
Reviews of some Big Chill Recordings artists (Alucidnation, Eva Abraham) have mentioned the f-word. How do you feel about them being branded as ‘folk’ artists?
Clearly, an artist such as Alucidnation has many reference points, so it isn’t necessarily wise to brand in this way, but then the term ‘folk’ can be interpreted in many ways, and I think it’s certainly more pertinent to acknowledge this aspect than to assume that there’s automatically a stigma attached – as there may be in the implication that it’s an f-word. In an ideal world, a folk heritage is something to be proud of.
I’ve never heard any folk. I’m not sure i like it. what artists should i listen to give me an idea of what it’s all about?
Where to start? For more traditional, Ewan MacColl, Woody Guthrie, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, then in the first era of rock early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Pete Seeger and Peter Paul and Mary. from Ireland, The Chieftains, Bothy Band, Planxty, Davy Spillane, De Danann, The Pogues. For British folk over the last 30 years or so – June Tabor, Dick Gaughan, Martin Carthy, The Watersons, Swan Arcade, Martin Simpson, Andrew Cronshaw, Billy Bragg, The Barely Works, Edward II, Martyn Bennett, Sheila Mac Donald. On the fringes of progressive rock, Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, Decameron, The Johnstons and Eclection.
Fast forward to now. For a range of British styles – Kathryn Tickell, Chris Wood, Bellowhead, Shooglenifty, Kate Rusby, Tunng, Adem, The Memory Band, Nancy Wallace, Vashti Bunyan, Louise Rhodes, Seth Lakeman, Alice McLaughlin, James Yorkston, John Spiers and Jon Boden, Spiro, Teddy Thompson, to name a few, and from the States, historically Kate and Anna McGarrigle and early Ry Cooder are well worth checking out. For present day, I’d class Sufjan Stevens essentially as a folk artist (a very important one at that) and probably Lambchop too.
That’s a lot of leads to follow. Make it easy for me – you’ve got to play 3 songs to turn me onto folk music. Which songs do you play and why?
I’d prefer to name ten or more to give a rounded selection, but if I had to pick only three, then….
Adem’s vocal interpretation of Lunz’s ‘Lunz’ for a great example of an effective marriage of folk and electronica in the modern age.
Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Decatur’, for a modern take on the American travelogue song, using vivid contemporary imagery in his lyrics against a musical backdrop steeped in traditional Americana. Some real banjo dexterity in there too.
June Tabor and The Oyster Band ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ This late 80s cover of the velvet Underground classic demonstrates the original folk diva at her best, backed by with suitable sensitivity by the Oyster Band at their best.
If your interest has been roused and you want to find out more about Folk music, try the following links…
Lots of info about traditional folk music from around the world at Contemplator.com.
A fantastic range of links to a variety of online folk resources at The University of Washington Library.
Nygel Knight and Day’s review of Pete and AJ’s ‘Garden of Delights’ compilation.
