Encompassing folk, rock, glam, prog and much more besides – probably no-one better captures the diverse range of artists I try to cover at Darren’s Music Blog than Joshua Burnell.
I reviewed his last album, Flowers Where The Horses Sleep, noting that “for all the quirky left-field musical influences, these freshly-composed songs still manage to retain a strong folk sensibility.” This time, however, Burnell has thrown away the genre rule-book entirely. Glass Knight is a stunningly impressive album and I was privileged to witness him formally launch it at this year’s Cropredy where I described it as “Hunky Dory-era Bowie meets folk rock meets prog”.
Burnell effortlessly plays around with all of these musical strands to come up with something that’s unique, original and utterly compelling. And, importantly – whatever the genre – it’s jam-packed full of damned good, instantly hummable tunes. He’s a wonderfully inventive songwriter and a talented multi-instrumentalist and, once again, demonstrates an instinctive ear for a catchy melody and a poetic turn of phrase.
A concept-album of sorts, with a central character appearing across its ten tracks, Glass Knight encompasses everything from ecological destruction and sci-fi apocalypse to a reworking of an ancient folk tale. From the epic ‘Where Planets Collide’ which introduces the album’s central character, to the delicately poignant ‘Out Of These Worlds, to the retro glammy-sounding ‘Last Rain’ to the impossibly catchy ‘Don’t Lose Your Faith’ to the Ziggy-esque swagger of ‘Lucy’ this is an album I just cannot stop playing. In Glass Knight Joshua Burnell has turned out a bona fide twenty-first century masterpiece.
“Vibrant, inventive and joyful” is how I summed up The Light Of The Moon, the second album from Gnoss, when it was released back in 2021. Now they are back with a follow-up, Stretching Skyward. Always vibrant and joyful, the inventiveness, too, certainly continues on this, their third album. Containing all original material, save for a cover of Gillian Welch’s ‘Hard Times’, the album fizzes with virtuoso musicianship, enticing melodies and rich sound textures. And in ‘Hamnavoe’ the second track on the album that celebrates Orkney’s Viking heritage and mythology (written, like the other original songs on the album, by vocalist Aidan Moodie), they have turned out a genuine, bona fide folk anthem.
Aidan Moodie:“Each track is centred around a story that has change at its heart. Those stories gave us pause to look at the change that’s taken place in our own lives over the past few years. We wanted to reflect this idea within the sounds we used to construct the album.”
Once more with the established line-up of Aidan Moodie, Graham Rorie, Connor Sinclair and Craig Baxter, this album again features Braebach’s James Lindsey on electric and double bass. In keeping with the theme of change though, the band embrace less traditional sounds, too, including synths, electronic samples and state-of-the-art production techniques.
A stunning album from a band demonstrating they are still very much at the top of their game and passionate about their rightful place at the cutting edge of Scottish folk.
Both highly sought-after musicians on the Scottish traditional scene, harpist, Rachel Hair, and guitarist, Ron Jappy, first came together to record as a duo back in 2019 with the album Sparks. Élan is the pair’s long-awaited follow-up comprising Hair’s original compositions alongside a number of traditional tunes and a handful by other contemporary writers.
Rachel Hair:“Élan is more closely related to who we are as musicians and people, than my previous releases. There are nods to my Highland background, with tunes from the Captain Simon Fraser collection, tunes I’ve written to do with Ullapool and Lochbroom, as well as pipe tunes. There are also sets of Irish tunes as a nod to the Glasgow-Irish music scene, and from the Isle of Man where my husband is from.”
A delightful album, the distinctive combination of acoustic guitar and harp brings a fresh perspective to traditional Celtic music and the duo’s treatment of tunes, both new and old, is invigorating and rather moreish. An album I’ll definitely want to return to.
Gavin Marwick & Wendy Stewart – Quarterdays: Whitsun
Whitsun is the second release in a series of EPs released by fiddle-player, Gavin Marwick, under the banner of the Quarterdays series of EPs being released across 2023. On this release, featuring new contemporary tunes composed by Marwick in a traditional style, he is joined by the renowned Galloway harpist, Wendy Stewart, with whom he also works in the alternative/folk string quintet, the Galloway Agreement.
Gavin Marwick & Wendy Stewart:“This second EP is a voyage of discovery into the lore and history of Whitsun. It’s a celebration of May and the beginning of the summer – the beasts are now all out in the fields, the primroses are still blooming – and in religious/spiritual terms it is mixed in with Pentecost and Beltane, holy wells and weddings. There are balmy warm days yet still the chance of bitter cold.”
While I’m late coming to this, the beautiful melodies and gentle interplay between Gavin Marwick’s fiddle and Wendy Stewart’s harp perfectly capture the atmosphere of a warm late-spring and come next May I’ll definitely be celebrating my favourite time of the year with a few spins of the Quarterdays: Whitsun EP.
An album of traditional songs and tunes from the Galloway area of south-west Scotland, singer and fiddler, Jo Miller, is joined by several musicians with close connections to the area. Miller is well-known for her work in community-based traditional music, formal education, and academic research. This recording draws on her research in the uplands of the Glenkens where she grew up, interviewing local residents and investigating historical sources.
Jo Miller:“I’m delighted to be sharing these songs and tunes which all have a personal association for me. You will also hear the spoken word, birdsong and singing for dancing – an aural landscape which not only evokes the former life of the Glenkens and its people, but also points toward its lively music culture in the present.”
Both poignant and entertaining, not to mention being a wonderful piece of living social history (with the performances on the album seeking to recreate the intimate atmosphere of performances at rural schools, individual homes and small schoolhouses where these songs were traditionally performed), A’ The Wat To Galloway is a wonderful celebration of the music and cultural life of this particular corner of Scotland.
With a blend of traditional Scottish and Irish folk, fused from a melting pot of gypsy melodies, bluegrass, Spanish, and Balkan influences (and much more besides!) Dallahan are Jack Badcock (guitar), Ciaran Ryan (banjo and mandolin), Andrew Waite (accordion and Benedict Morris (fiddle). Formed a decade ago, Speak of the Devil is the band’s fourth album.
Jack Badcock:“We believe it’s the band’s most accomplished and assured album to date. It’s been a while in the melting pot because each member of the band was incredibly busy with commitments as Covid eased off and the music world opened up again – not least Ciaran who was still working at a job he picked up during the pandemic as a fine dining chef!”
Featuring ten tracks of original material (four songs and six tunes) Speak of the Devil showcases a band that exudes confidence and creativity and is never afraid to be that bit different. The plethora of different influences and traditions that the band pull into their music, from the nifty banjo-playing to the jazz-like licks to the Spanish and Latin-American themes in the song lyrics, means that this album will appeal far beyond the confines of traditional folk, with much to enjoy here for devotees of bluegrass, world music and more.
Following an enforced two-year break due to Covid, going to last year’s Cropredyfestival almost felt like a novelty. This year, though, it very much felt like being part of an annual fixture once more, the two-year gap now but a distant memory. With various combinations of friends and family over the years, I’ve been going to Fairport Convention’s annual bash in rural Oxfordshire since 2010 so it’s been part of my summer for a good chunk of my life now.
Day One – Thursday
As usual, Fairport Convention opened the festival with a short acoustic set, Dave Mattacks now returning to the band he’s been in and out of since 1969 in order to take the place of Gerry Conway (who departed last year). As is now traditional, the band opened with Chris Leslie’s ‘Festival Bell’ timed to coincide with the ringing of the church bells over in the village (although even after all these years I’ve never actually managed to hear the ringing from the festival arena).
Chris Leslie up on the big screen for Fairport’s acoustic set (Photo: Simon Putman)
It was then straight into a blistering set from Merry Hell. The Wigan-based folk rockers have been frequent performers at the ‘Festival Fringe’ in the village of Cropredy but until now had never actually performed on the main stage. Formed back in 2010 out of the ashes of ‘folk-punk’ band, the Tansads, they’ve now put out six studio albums and released a double-disc best-of compilation earlier this year, a number of the songs from which they performed as part of their Cropredy set here. The band certainly know how to turn out a rousing anthem and many of the songs have a theme of communal togetherness (‘We Are Different We Are One’, ‘Lean On Me Love’, ‘Come On England’, ‘We Need Each Other Now’). More recently there’s been an additional (and very welcome) focus on environmental themes, represented today by ‘Leave It In The Ground’ and Greta Thunberg tribute, ‘Sister Atlas’. I suspect many Cropredy-goers will already have been very familiar with the band but they are sure to have won over many new fans this weekend.
Merry Hell’s John Kettle (Photo: Simon Putman)
Damian Wilson & Adam Wakeman were an entertaining duo, largely performing the latter’s songs rather than material from the more proggy or heavy metal-oriented parts of Wakeman’s past CV. However, by far the standout moment for me was their rendition of Bowie’s ‘Life on Mars’ which Wakeman’s father so memorably played piano on. Maybe it was just that I’d reached that time of the evening where I just wanted a succession of sing-along-to-every-word rock covers. Which was very fortunate indeed as soon it would be time for Toyah and Robert…
Fresh from the success of their Sunday lunchtime YouTube performances which became an unexpected lockdown hit, Toyah Wilcox and Robert Fripp made a surprise guest appearance last year as part of Trevor Horn’s set. This year they are back in their own right. Who could have guessed that an ’80s pop icon and her prog-rock-royalty husband would make such a fantastically entertaining duo. Blasting out one rock classic after another (‘Paranoid’, ‘Kashmir’, ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’, Sharped Dressed Man’…) as well as Toyah’s own ‘I Wanna Be Free’ and ‘It’s A Mystery’ it was utterly, utterly joyful.
Welcome to Cropredy festival (Photo: Simon Putman)
From being a young teenage heavy metal fan my musical tastes have certainly broadened over the years to incorporate so many additional genres: from folk to blues to country to prog to reggae to punk and much. much more besides. Would Nile Rodgers & Chic be a step too far, however? When the disco craze was in full swing at the end of the ’70s I absolutely loathed the music with a passion but I tried my hardest to approach the Thursday night headline slot with an open mind. What can I say? Engaging showmanship, consummate musicianship and hugely talented vocalists but to my ears it turned out to be little more than a compendium of some of the most irritating hit songs of my entire lifetime. I didn’t get it back then and it looks like I’m never going get it now. It was nice to see others clearly enjoying it, however.
Day Two – Friday
The Joshua Burnell Band kicked off Friday’s music on the main stage. While I’d never seen Joshua or his band live before, I’d previously reviewed his extremely impressive Flowers Where The Horses Sleepalbum back in 2020. He’s since recorded another album, Glass Knight, which he was actually releasing this very weekend at Cropredy. It’s a stunningly good set, best described as Hunky Dory-era Bowie meets folk rock meets prog, and the band are extremely well-received by the Cropredy crowd. The decision to time the release of the new album to coincide with their Cropredy slot was a smart one as they are bound to have shifted a sizeable number of copies based on that performance.
Joshua Burnell and bandmates (Photo: Simon Putman)
Next up was Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri. I’d already made arrangements to spend Friday afternoon at Cream Of The Crop, the boutique festival that takes place on an adjacent field (but where ticket-holders for the main festival are very much welcomed). It meant I wouldn’t have time to see much of Kiki Dee but I was rather hoping she’d do ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ very early on before I headed over to the other festival – and I’m pleased to say she did! Her musical partner explained that since he began working with Kiki Dee he was never going to attempt to pass himself off as Elton John, so that most famous pop-rock duet has been reinvented as a tender, laid-back solo ballad with some neat guitar work from Carmelo Luggeri.
Over at Cream of the Crop I was looking forward to seeing Parkbridge, but as a small festival with a couple of a hundred attendees maximum at any one time it has also proved to be the perfect location for catching up with old friends, a succession of whom I bump into before Parkbridge come on stage. Hailing (unsurprisingly) from Park Bridge in Greater Manchester, the band combine a love of folk rock, 70s-era classic rock and blues to come up with their own unique formula. Seasoned musicians all, the band have their debut album coming out in October, which would provide the bulk of their set today, albeit with a couple of well-chosen covers thrown in, too, courtesy of the Stray Cats and Free.
Parkbridge on stage at Cream of the Crop (Photo: Simon Putman)
We made it back to the main stage well in time for Strawbs, for what would be the last ever public performance by Dave Cousins, following medical advice. I must confess that the only Strawbs album I ever listen to with any regularity is the one they recorded with Sandy Denny before she joined Fairport but it was an emotional experience witnessing Cousins making his swansong performance. He was visibly moved by the warm response he got from the crowd. Just as I was secretly hoping all the way through, they even threw in ‘Part Of The Union’, too. It’s not one of Cousins’ own songs but it was definitely a defining Cropredy moment this year as we all bellowed out the words to that famous pop-folk novelty workers’ anthem of the early ’70s.
Dave Cousins gives an emotional final performance (Photo: Simon Putman)
The crowd-singalongs did not stop with ‘Part Of The Union’ because before too long we were on to a rip-roaring set from Fisherman’s Friends. I’ve seen the film, bought their top-selling ‘major label’ album and even saw them live when they came to Hastings a few years ago. I always knew they’d be a stonking festival band though and they did not disappoint. With raucous sing-alongs, tongue-in-cheek banter and shanties galore, for sheer unadulterated fun it actually turned out to be one of my highlights of the entire weekend.
Jon Cleave of Fisherman’s Friends (Photo: Simon Putman)
A combination of age, beer, cider and waking up at the crack of dawn this year due to our tent being right next to the busy railway line meant we decided to call it an early night and give 10cc a miss. Plus I didn’t want to miss out on a certain midnight rendezvous with Fairport the following evening. If I was going to be a party pooper better it be for ‘I’m Not In Love’ than ‘Meet On The Ledge’.
Day Three – Saturday
If Friday afternoon was all about bunking off from the main festival to spend time at Cream of the Crop, Saturday afternoon was all about spending time in Cropredy village. It’s an adorably picturesque Oxfordshire village, steeped in history – both of the English Civil War variety and of the folk rock variety, with a number of Fairport members having lived there (or in neighbouring villages) over the decades; an iconic shot for the band’s Nine album being taken outside one of the village pubs and, of course, the annual festival taking place following the band’s self-proclaimed ‘farewell concert’ here in 1979.
Welcome to Cropredy village (Photo: Simon Putman)
This year there was an extra special reason to be visiting the village, however, and that same pub The Brasenose. The late Sandy Denny’s daughter, Georgia, was hosting an exhibition at the pub, celebrating Sandy’s life. Featuring dresses and jewellery worn by Sandy, together with other personal effects and notebooks of song lyrics, it’s a lovingly put-together tribute to one of England’s greatest ever singer-songwriters. I also had the opportunity of to meet and chat with Georgia who kindly signed my exhibition programme.
Souvenir book from the Sandy Denny Exhibition (Photo: Darren Johnson)
The village of Cropredy really throws itself into the festival weekend and local residents make the most of thousands of people descending on them for a few days each year. The village hall, village school and sundry other buildings are repurposed as temporary dining establishments and every spare bit of space seems to have a pop-up stall of one sort or another. I got waylaid at the CD stall where the stallholder cheerfully told me that he was now selling everything off for a pound. It was good stuff, too. I ended up coming away with 40 CDs. Passing by half an hour or so later I could hear I’d even been enlisted as part of his sales pitch: “It’s all quality stuff. See that bloke over there in the orange shirt. He’s just spent forty quid here. ”
Forty more CDs for the collection (Photo: Simon Putman)
After depositing my second-hand CDs back at the campsite I was back at the main festival in time for Solstice. They were one of the bands that materialised as part of the prog renaissance in the early 80s, along with Marillion, Pallas, Twelfth Night and Pendragon who were all on the bill for the 1983 Reading Festival which I attended as a 17year-old. I can’t remember whether I saw Solstice then or not but I certainly remember walking around with the band’s name on the back of my festival t-shirt for a couple of years afterwards. At least I will know for sure that I saw them this time. Probably the most out-there and proggiest band of the weekend, at first I thought it was all a tad self-indulgent but after starting on another four-pint jug of cider I began to think it was all rather glorious. I would definitely go and see them again.
Stocking up on cider (photo: Kevin Smith)
The Young ‘uns I’d seen many times before and was confident the Cropredy crowd would immediately warm to them – which they did. When the trio first started out it was very much with a focus on traditional songs but as the songwriting of Sean Cooney developed, the Young ‘Uns carved out a niche for themselves singing songs about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Whether the stories are historical or contemporary (from the Spanish Civil War to the London Bridge terror attacks to one young woman’s uniquely heartfelt approach to suicide prevention) they sing with gusto, passion and strong regional accents. It’s always a delight to see them and they end their triumphant set with a suitably folked-up cover of ‘Sit Down’ by James. Fantastic stuff.
Gilbert O’Sullivan I remember from my childhood as my step-mum played his albums a lot when I was a young kid. In other circumstances I would have happily stayed, being both familiar with many of his big hits and mildly curious about what he’s been up to in the intervening decades. But it was time for a break from the cider, some chill-time at the tent and a strong cup of tea – ready to be rested and reinvigorated for the festival’s perennial headliners themselves.
Dusk over Cropredy festival (Photo: Simon Putman)
As Fairport Convention were not celebrating any major milestones at Cropredy this year (albeit that 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of both the Rosie and the Nine albums) we didn’t get any reunited line-ups of surviving former members or albums played in full – although Fairport founder member Ashley Hutchings was one of the guests invited on stage this year and, of course, long-time member Dave Mattacks is now back playing with the band following the departure of Gerry Conway. As such, Fairport’s set perhaps lacked some of the dramatic “pinch me” moments of previous Cropredy appearances. But it was still a very fine two-and-a-half-hour set with a plethora of classic Fairport songs from the band’s early days and a heavy sprinkling of songs from their most recent studio album, Shuffle & Go. Indeed, there were perhaps rather too many of the latter since it is now three years old and the band have made far better albums in the past decade or so in my view, such as the truly excellent Festival Bell.
Fairport Convention’s Dave Pegg up on the big screen (Photo: Simon Putman)
No matter, it was an enjoyable set with guest appearances from the aforementioned Ashley Hutchings along with Vikki Clayton, Becky Mills (who is one of the very best interpreters of Sandy Denny material around today in my view) and Hannah Saunders & Ben Savage. At least having a fairly minimal number of guests this year and no logistics to juggle with that come through performing an entire album in full, it meant they could avoid cutting the set short this year – unlike last year where ‘Matty Groves’ had to be unceremoniously dumped to make sure they still had time for ‘Meet On The Ledge’. Once again, an emotional and triumphant end to a highly enjoyable weekend. It all came round again.
Lucas Pasley is an old-time fiddler/banjo-player and singer-songwriter from Sparta, North Carolina in the heart of the southern Appalachian mountains. Pasley has spent most of his musical life performing traditional Appalachian music and formed the band, Gap Civil, in 2018 with a motto to “honour and innovate” traditional mountain music. In recent years, however, he has also moved into singer-songwriter territory.
Ponies Back Home is his second solo album and follows Souls Living On, released in 2020.
Still very much rooted in traditional Appalachian music, Pasley is heavily influenced by his grandmother’s songwriting, while also bringing in wider country influences together with his own sense of originality. The result is an album packed full of appealing melodies, heartfelt lyrics and authentic playing.
A number of additional guest vocalists, together with a stellar line-up of musicians complementing Pasley on vocals, guitar and fiddle, makes for a strong album. Ponies Back Home will certainly appeal to those with a love for the Appalachian traditions but there’s plenty here to tempt anyone who enjoys some fine Country/Americana-flavoured singer-songwriting.
Coming together through a shared love of classic rock, folk rock and blues – bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention and Free – Parkbridge is a four-piece from Greater Manchester. The band’s debut album Rivets For The Eiffel Tower comes out in the Autumn. I catch up with lead singer, lyricist and guitarist, Robert Carter.
Firstly, what got you into performing?
It was really my cousin, Steve. He was in bands from being a teenager. He’s five years older than me and I used to go round to his house and he’d be playing the piano and he’d try and teach me how to play ‘Chopsticks’. His fingers would just go up and down the keys and I was just so impressed. And then as he got older he started being in bands. And then when I started writing songs, he was the first person that I contacted to see if he was interested in playing around with them. In the early ‘80s we got together once a week for about a year and wrote songs together. In those days it was usually his music and my lyrics. But then we both had young kids and we kind of let it drift. He’s in Whitby now but we still get together at least once a year. And we just get the guitars out and start playing. It’s great fun.
What prompted you to start writing? You said you started off writing songs with your cousin.
It was probably about 1980 when I was 20 years old. Believe it or not there was a Paul Gambaccini series about various bands and he did one on the Doors. He was talking about how Jim Morrisson had written a load of poetry and he took them to Ray Manzarek, who was obviously an accomplished musician, and Ray Manzarek said something along the lines of, “These are the greatest lyrics I’ve ever seen. Let’s form a band and make a million dollars.” And I thought it was going to be that easy. So just find a really great musician – my cousin – and we’ll make a million dollars. But it didn’t quite work like that!
So you’re still waiting for the million dollars?
Yes, although that doesn’t go quite as far these days, does it? But it did 40 years ago!
And now you’re the singer and guitarist with Parkbridge. Tell us how this project first came about.
There’s an area of Ashton-under-Lyne called Park Bridge – two words. And it’s a famous old area that I’ll come back to in a minute. But it’s got an institute which is basically like a co-operative pub and about three years ago they had what they called an acoustic night. So I trundled up with my guitar and played a few songs and our bass player, Ian Turford, was in another band at the time. Their band played a few songs and Ian then said to me, “Let’s get together and do something.” But Ian works full time and he’s playing in bands almost every night of the week. And he’s married and he’s got grand-kids and kids and all that stuff. So fitting it in was difficult. And then a couple of years later, I was introduced to Sean Dyer by one of the members who said, “You play guitar. You play guitar. Talk to each other!” So, we started chatting and even though he’s considerably younger than me, he has very similar music tastes. We talked about Paul Kossoff and Free. We talked about Peter Green and David Gilmour and Led Zeppelin. And then we started talking about folk and Fairport and Cropredy Convention and he said, ‘Oh, I’ve just got into Fairport.” And he likes a bit of Bert Jansch and Richard Thompson and the more we talked, the more we kind of clicked. I just invited him round. I said, “I’ll play you some of the songs I’ve written and see what you think.”
So we did and it worked out quite well. He started noodling – that’s a technical term for playing arpeggios and licks! – around the songs I was singing to him. So I said, “We’ve got to do this again.” So we met again the next week, did the same songs and played around with them and I said, “Do you know Ian?” – who also lived in Park Bridge at the time and he said, “Yes, of course I do – great bass player.” And I said, “Well, he and I have been talking about doing something and we’ve just never got around to it.” So, I phoned him up and the next week when we got together, Ian came, too, just with his acoustic bass. And we sat in my kitchen and started just formulating arrangements for the songs that I’d written. Ian then got us a gig supporting another band he was in and it went really well. But his band had a drummer. And Sean and I were watching this second band and we said, “Oh, we need a drummer don’t we?” Anyway, a couple of months later a drummer that Ian had played with, Dave Johnson, had his drums set up at the back of the hall in a rehearsal room. So we went and met Dave and it all started to click together. We said let’s work on some original songs, let’s play around with some covers just to get the feel and get tight as a band and that’s kind of it. So by about May last year, we’d become the four-piece that we are today.
As a band you’re upfront about bringing that mix of rock, blues and folk influences into your music. Was that a conscious decision or did that just evolve from those first few jam sessions together?
I think it’s evolved. When Sean and I first got together we were talking about folk and folk rock – in an acoustic environment. And then there was one particular song called ‘Hired To Kill’ which is on the first album, and I said, “This isn’t working.” When I wrote the song, I wrote it as a rock song and it needed a riff. So Sean started playing around with an electric riff and we bounced it around and it evolved into a rock song. As did another one called ‘Alright Jack’ which is the opening track on the album. And, again, once we put an electric riff to it, it just took on a whole new dimension. But we’ve not done that with everything. The album is a mix of rock, acoustic rock, folk rock and blues. A couple of songs I wrote were definitely written as blues songs in the twelve-bar format. So it’s evolved really. It started out as a folk rock duo and has now become either a folky blues-rock band or a bluesy folk-rock band.
What are your favourite artists and who has been a big influence on you?
After I graduated from the pop-rock bands of the early ‘70s like Slade and Sweet, I was at a neighbours. They were all a few years older than me. And one day one of the guys put on Led Zeppelin 2 and it changed my life! I heard Led Zeppelin as an 11 or 12-year-old and I just thought wow! So then I started to discover new things and started listening to the Alan Freeman show was on the radio on a Saturday afternoon. So the bands that I really got into: Led Zeppelin I’ve mentioned, of course. I love Free, Family, Pink Floyd. The heavier stuff, like Black Sabbath. I got into Uriah Heep as well. It was all of those kind of bands. A friend had Wishbone Ash’s Argus which is a sublime album. So it was really what we now call classic rock that influenced me. But, I always had a soft spot for Fairport Convention. And I got into Fairport, as many people did, because of Sandy Denny doing the duet with Robert Plant on ‘The Battle of Evermore’. And I thought, “I’ve got to hear more of her.” So I went and discovered Fairport and I’ve been a Fairport fan ever since. I go to their Cropredy festival every year – as you do! I’m also a big Neil Young fan. And the Byrds. And I just love Bob Dylan, as a song-writer, and against popular perception, I do also actually like Bob Dylan’s singing voice, too. I think he pus his songs across really, really well.
You must be excited to have the band’s debut album coming out – Rivets For The Eiffel Tower. Firstly, tell us where that title comes from.
I mentioned Park Bridge earlier. Park Bridge was formed as a village during the industrial revolution. There was a big iron foundry in Park Bridge and a mill. If you ever go to Paris, in the museum at the Eiffel Tower there is an inscription that says “Rivets made by the Park Bridge Iron Foundry, Ashton-under-Lyne.” And so Rivets For The Eiffel Tower became the obvious name for our first album. They also, we believe, made the rivets for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, too – so there might be a second album title there. And as third album’s often sink – ours won’t of course – they also made the rivets for the Titanic but we don’t talk about that one too much!
So what can people can expect from the album?
They’re all original songs. There are eight songs on the album. There’s a couple of what you would call folk rock. There’s a couple that are classic rock in style. There’s a couple that could be classed as indie rock and there’s a couple of blues songs. And they are all words written by me and music and arrangements by the band. And if you’re into the kind of bands that we’ve been talking about, maybe you’ll like what you hear. I have to say that I’m working with three fantastic musicians. Sean’s two big influences are David Gilmour and Peter Green and I think that comes out in the album. Ian, the bass-player, loves a bit of Black Sabbath and you can hear a bit of Geezer Butler’s influence in there. He plays a melodic bass quite regularly, not just a thump-thump bass, and Ian’s style kind of captures that. And Dave is quite eclectic. He loves a bit of John Bonham but he loves quite a few modern drummers as well. And they’re all great musicians and it’s a privilege for me to work with them. We’re probably a little different to most of the newish rock bands you hear these days. We try and be melodic. We try and tell a story in the lyrics. We try and offer something different. So if you’re into that classic rock sound with style, have a listen and tell us what you think!
You also present your own music show on Real Rock Radio. Can you also say a bit about that?
It started last year at the Tameside Beer Festival. Immediately after Parkbridge played, Tony Charles, the managing director of Real Rock Radio did a set of classic rock songs and we got chatting and he said, “I could really do with someone on the station who could do country rock.” And I said, “What about folk rock and acoustic rock, with a little bit of country rock thrown in?” He said, “I love it!” So I now present every Friday at 7 O’clock ‘The Acoustic & Folk Rock Show’ on Real Rock Radio. It’s repeated on Tuesdays at 2pm for those people who have better things to do on a Friday. And it’s great fun. It’s a lot more work than I expected but it’s introduced me to a lot of bands that I wasn’t aware of. And on this week’s show I’ve actually sneaked in ‘Why Do You?’ from our album but don’t tell anyone!
Rivets For The Eiffel Tower by Parkbridge goes on general release on 6th October with a limited-edition CD available from 18th August 2023.
Awakening is the third album from Glasgow-based folk aces, Ímar – their first in five years. Featuring Mohsen Amini (concertina), Tomas Callister (fiddle), Adam Rhodes (bouzouki), Ryan Murphy (pipes, flute and whistle) and Adam Brown (bodhran, guitar), the album (featuring cover art of the 9th century king from which the band takes its name) offers up ten tracks of mainly original tunes.
Mohsen Amini:“The idea behind this album was to take it back to where we came in with all the vibes of our debut album, Afterlight. As the band progressed, the music became more produced. We loved it but we never had more enjoyment that those original days at the inception of Ímar.”
Fresh, exhilarating and inventive, Awakening sees Ímar take us on a breathtaking ride through a stunning new collection of tunes that both showcase their virtuosity while giving every impression of a band having a huge load of fun during the making of it.
Westward The Light are Charlie Grey, Sally Simpson, Owen Sinclair and Joseph Peach. Formed in 2018, the band have won acclaim on the folk scene for their innovative arrangements of Scottish traditional tunes on fiddle, viola, piano and guitar. Flow Country, named after the region of rolling peatland between Caithness and Sutherland, is their second album.
Joseph Peach:“Flow Country is a record on which the tune takes precedence. There are no gimmicks, there’s jus straight up traditional music which we feel really captures the essence of our Scottish culture and heritage.”
A lovely collection of tunes that instantly transport the listener to the rugged landscapes and long-cherished musical heritage of the north of Scotland and which showcase some stunning interactions between these highly-skilled instrumentalists, Flow Country leaves its mark from the very first listen.
Still only in his mid-20s, melodeon-player and composer, James Kerry, has been a noted presence on the UK folk scene, playing at festivals such as Warwick Folk Festival and Broadstairs Folk Week and establishing a reputation for passionate, rhythmic playing rooted in the folk dance tradition. Source is Kerry’s first solo project and features mainly traditional English tunes with a handful of original compositions and a couple of contemporary pieces by other writers thrown in as well.
“Source is a true representation of James’ style and passions and reflects his huge respect for traditional music and his desire to pass it on,” we are told in the album sleeve-notes.
A fine showcase for James Kerry’s skilful playing, supporters of traditional English dance tunes will simply love this album – which also boasts a stunning line-up supporting musicians in Tom Kitching, James Delarre and Danny Tonks.
Neil Pearlman is best known for his ground-breaking approach to the piano in Celtic music. In that capacity he tours regularly with Kevin Henderson, Katie McNally, The Pine Tree Flyers, and as a solo pianist, while playing more irregularly with a wide variety of side projects featuring top Celtic, Americana and Jazz musicians. His latest project, Refractions, is a collection of traditional Scottish and Gaelic tunes, arranged especially for solo performance on the piano.
Neil Pearlman: “The choice to focus on traditional Scottish melodies is my way of paying respect to my roots. Traditional Scottish tunes are some of the very first music I ever heard or played, so going into that repertoire and having a conversation with it as the artist I am today was a powerful experience, and a good way to explore both who I am now and where I come from.”
Some of the tunes on Refractions are familiar, others less so, but what Pearlman does throughout the whole album is find the inherent beauty in each individual tune and present them in an entirely new light. It makes for a poignant and highly intimate album with some exceptional playing.
And finally, while there’s been a heavy focus on instrumental albums in this latest round-up, the ever industrious Irish-born, Dorset-based singer songwriter Owen Moore also has a new album out, another compilation – this one with an Irish theme.
Owen Moore:“My new album is called Songs From The Shamrock Bar and is an anthology of recordings that have all appeared on previous Owen Moore albums and singles over the past ten years or so. All of the songs have a link of some sort with Ireland, which is where I was born (70 plus years ago) and many of them take a nostalgic look at days gone by.”
Always entertaining, with a penchant for engaging storytelling, catchy melodies and gentle guitar picking, Owen Moore’s own brand of Americana-infused singer-songwriting with that special touch of Celtic magic is very much on display here.
Always Seeking is the eagerly-anticipated second album from guitarist and singer songwriter, Jake Aaron. It follows his highly-acclaimed 2019 debut, Fag Ash and Beer, which drew many enthusiastic reviews. Always Seeking was released on digital formats on 17th May 2023 and is also available on CD from 7th June. Having interviewed Jake back in 2019 following the release of his debut album, I catch up with him again to find out more about the latest one.
It’s been four years since your debut album Fag Ash & Beer which attracted some extremely favourable reviews. When did you begin working on the follow-up?
Some of the music goes back a long time, a few years in some cases. I had chords without a melody, words without songs, songs without words, but an Americana album of some sort seemed to be taking shape for a while. The actual process of bringing it all together and finishing it off probably spanned two or three years.
Was this a different process to writing the previous album?
It was pretty different, yes. With the first album, only three tracks were recorded live. I started mainly with solo acoustic pieces and the players coloured some of them in with overdubs. With Always Seeking eight of the tracks were recorded live so it probably has more band energy.
How would you describe Always Seeking as an album?
I loosely imagined a noir Western, and something with a moving landscape, scenes and moods. As far as the theme goes, I suppose like a lot of people, I’m prone to follow mirages and over romanticise the future and the past.
Like its predecessor the album crosses a number of genres and takes in a range of influences. It’s obviously important to you not to be boxed in, musically?
I’ve absorbed a lot of music over the years and like lots of different music so it would be hard to stick with just one sound. As I’m an independent artist too and not very commercial, I’m pretty free to record what interests me. It’s not like a major label is locking me up till I’ve written my next hit.
Some genres probably aren’t that far removed from each other anyway especially folk, rock, and blues. John Renbourn and Davy Graham were often crossing over naturally to classical and jazzy sounds. Or, thinking of George Harrison and Robby Basho who played some sitar, into Indian Raga. Maybe it’s partly due to the instrument – guitarists can pick up a classical guitar, an electric guitar, sitar or banjo, or use different tunings and sound very different. I mean if I played the bagpipes I’d be a bit more stuck stylistically.
The album features a number of the musicians who played on your first album. Clearly, you enjoyed working with them, first time around?
Totally! Steve Lodder on keyboards again, Davide Mantovani on bass, Marc Parnell drums, Steve Waterman on trumpet and Kenny Jones engineering. They’re fantastic to work with. I think they’re a good choice too because some of my music is off-beat and, as jazzers, they’re completely unfazed.
The only track I was unsure about asking them to play, was the rockier track ‘Gotta Believe’ and they were free to opt out of that one if they wanted. Marc’s response was: “Jazz players are fine playing rock, it’s rock players who won’t play jazz!” It’s true, listen to them!
You’ve also got a couple of other guests on the album, John Etheridge on several tracks and Kate Kurdyak on a couple of tracks. How did they get involved?
The character in the album artwork and music turned out to be female so it seemed to call out for a female singer. It took a long time to find the right singer till I remembered a song I really liked in 2021 – ‘Dose Me Up’ by a Canadian band Vox Rea. Kate has a beautiful voice. I had to wait a while till she got back from touring but it was worth it and I’m really glad she got involved in the album. Vox Rea recently made it onto BBC Radio 2 with their track “Julia”, so very possibly we’ll be hearing more of them.
Lupe – Always Seeking, Jake Aaron
I’ve known John a little for a few years ever since bumping into him on the tube and sharing a tube journey with him. I’d just seen him playing with John Williams at Ronnie Scott’s, and in Nottingham too, so had quite a bit to chat about the music and the shows. It so happens John also plays with Steve and were working together on some jazz versions of The Kinks which I heard when I was working on the album. It had some stunning lead guitar. Three of the tracks on “Always Seeking” needed some lead guitar and I wasn’t about to follow Steve’s solo in The Revenant – so one thing led to another and John seemed to like the pieces. John’s two solos on The Revenant are just brilliant which is partly why the track is so long! I couldn’t find anywhere to fade it. It’s a very joyous listen, very melodic, very unrushed.
The artist Anthony Macbain produced a very striking image for the album cover, full of old-style western film imagery. Did you have a clear idea of what you wanted from the outset?
Anthony’s art is fantastic and adds a whole new dimension to the music. We had some shared musical interests too which probably helped including – you’ll be very pleased to know – Iron Maiden. I sent Anthony a rough, badly drawn sketch of a rider on a ridge looking over clouds, with a guitar and rifle. Anthony took the idea and transformed it. His first sketch was of a female rider looking at the viewer. It was so good I asked him to finish it though we felt the image of the rider in the distance worked better for the album cover. The original image is now in the CD as a fold-out poster and looks terrific. It was a real surprise when I received the first copy.
What next for Jake Aaron?
I’m looking into pressing some vinyl for Always Seeking, depending on the level of interest. The feedback about the artwork and line up is so good it would be good to see it on vinyl – it might be something someone picks up in a second hand shop one day and asks what the hell was that? I had that experience a lot when I used to trawl second hand record shops. I’ve emailed a record shop in London who haven’t got back yet, so if there are any vinyl shops reading give us a shout!
Vinyl seems to be making a huge resurgence. One of my tracks was picked up by a vinyl “mixtape” club in the US, Vinyl Moon, who produce really beautiful vinyl each month with original music and artwork that piqued my interest too. Jared Sylvia designed the volume that my track’s on.
(Update: since the interview Jake has now achieved his ambition of releasing the album on vinyl – you can order it here!)
Musically I’ve got quite a lot of stuff simmering in the pot, some lyrics, chords, a few melodies, song titles. So I guess there could be a single or two, an EP and another album at some point. I’m more interested than I used to be in reworking earlier tracks these days. Sometimes you can only take a track so far at the time and then run out of time, skill or imagination and then a few years later pick it up again – you might have evolved a bit musically and can do more with it.
I did think the other day if I write more material I can do a Best Of some day which would be a great thing – it would immediately improve the overall standard of the album with a massive edit!
When I first started Darren’s music blog back in 2014, The Young ‘uns were among the first set of artists I wrote about, when I reviewed a performance of theirs at Cecil Sharp House. Since then, I’ve seen them at a whole range of venues, from big festivals, to medium-sized theatres to small folk clubs and I’ve followed their career with interest. They had already been going a decade by the time I first saw them and this year the not-quite-so-young ‘uns celebrate twenty years together. Tiny Notes is their latest album.
“Taking its name from messages tied to the Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland by Paige Hunter, Tiny Notes is a collection of songs that find hope and humanity in grief and despair,” the group write in the album’s sleeve notes.
Poignancy abounds, with powerful songwriting from Sean Cooney, trademark harmony vocals from the trio of Cooney, Michael Hughes and David Eagle and evocative musical accompaniment in the form of piano from Eagle and a string quartet who guest on the album with arrangements by Jon Boden.
Writing songs about real, everyday heroes has become Cooney’s “personal passion”. Tackling subjects such as the London Bridge terror attacks, the Lockerbie bombing and one young woman’s heartfelt and very personal contribution to suicide prevention (the title track) the album very much showcases the trio’s more sensitive side – and Cooney is clearly in his stride writing songs of this nature.
What it does mean is that there’s no space on the album for the rousing covers and traditional songs that were often a feature of the trio’s earlier albums but perhaps that can safely be left to others these days? The Young ‘uns have certainly carved out an impressive niche for themselves and have proved to be a valuable and highly unique asset to the UK folk scene these past twenty years. Here’s to the next twenty.
Amelia Hogan is a San Francisco-based Celtic folk singer who performs both traditional and contemporary folk. She sings in the Irish music tradition of Sean-Nós, or “old style” as well as accompanied. Amelia also plays bodhran and a small 22-string Welsh lap harp, and has toured internationally to popular acclaim. Her latest album Taking Flight features sixteen tracks of which the title track is an original composition and the remainder are a mixture of traditional numbers and Hogan’s own interpretations of songs by contemporary songwriters.
Amelia Hogan:“Birds are featured in a number of songs on the album. Often seen as a symbol of loss and sorrow, birds also represent healing and the ability to find healing in the midst of hardship. The intent of this work is to take the listener on a journey through grief and out the other side, as a bird taking flight might.”
Some well-chosen songs from a diverse range of sources and Hogan’s distinctive vocal style along with some beautiful musical accompaniment and a fine cast of supporting musicians all serve to make Taking Flight an extremely cohesive album, and a deeply immersive experience for the listener. Highly recommended.
The Scottish instrumental folk band RURA (Jack Smedley, Steven Blake, Adam Brown, and David Foley) celebrated their tenth anniversary back in 2020 with a live album – Live At The Old Fruit Market. Now they are back with a new full-length studio album – Dusk Moon. While the previous album fizzed with energy from a barnstorming live performance, Dusk Moon sees the foursome in a mellower and more contemplative mode.
Jack Smedley:“Much of the music has been inspired by a deep sense of reflection, hope and the people and places we’ve been so fortunate to meet and experience over the years. We’ve tried to focus on what we enjoyed most about our last studio album In Praise of Home and build on that sound.”
The nine-track album sees RURA come up with a stunning set of new compositions and there is some wonderful interplay between the foursome as they deliver their trademark sound of pipes, guitar, bodhran, flute and fiddle. All four members have contributed compositions and while they may have slowed down the tempo, there is no sign yet of RURA slowing down on the creative front. Another fine album.
Following their ecologically-themed debut album, Temperature’s Rising, two years ago, husband-and-wife acoustic duo Milton Hide are back with a follow-up. While their debut was something of a departure for the duo with its host of guest musicians and extensive, multi-layered production, the follow-up captures more of the essence of what Milton Hide are all about on stage: stripped-back acoustic playing, engaging melodies and thought-provoking, observational songwriting.
There’s a couple of beautifully poignant instrumentals on the album, too, including the title track.
Jim Tipler:“We got the idea for the album name, The Holloway, from a beautiful place we walk the dog. The path has got lower and lower over the centuries and the trees have grown overhead to form a kind of tunnel. You can’t help but imagine the thousands of feet that have trodden it. We didn’t have a title track, so I said Josie should write a tune on the clarinet to finish the album. It’s one of my favourite bits.”
All in all, a very fine album from this charmingly inventive East Sussex folk duo.
Caoir (pronounced Koor and meaning a blaze of fire) is the third solo album from Scottish traditional singer and Gaelic language champion, Joy Dunlop. It’s appropriately named, the infectious beats and catchy melodies definitely make for a fiery combination and a very contemporary take on Gaelic folk.
Joy Dunlop:“I’ve always loved music that pushed the boundaries of what was considered ‘trad’, without losing the soul of the songs. As a Gaelic singer, I’m always trying to make my music accessible to those who don’t speak the language. With this recording I wanted to capture the sentiment of the songs, whether the listener understands Gaelic or not, while adding new engaging elements to the music.”
With Caoir, Dunlop certainly pulls off what she set out to achieve. The vibrant instrumentation of Ron Jappy, Mhairi Marwick, Gus Stirrat, Ifedade Thomas and Euan Malloch provides the perfect backdrop for Dunlop’s beautiful vocals makes for a captivating album from start to finish.
Husband-and-wife duo, Stu and Debbie Hanna, have been a fixture on the folk scene for almost twenty years now. What Are We Trying To Say? is the duo’s thirteenth album and their first studio album in four years. Featuring eight original songs, one traditional number (Cannie Old Blind Willie’) and the words of another (‘The Barbers News’) set to newly-composed music. The central theme of the album is about how we, the public, absorb news and information in the modern age.
Debbie Hanna:“We spent so much time during the pandemic watching the news and endlessly scrolling – social media became a vital source if information but it also became clear there were so many different takes on what was happening it became hard to figure out the real truth. We began to think about the different ways news can be used – to inform, entertain us or even control us and these are the themes we have touched on in songs on the album.”
Don’t worry though – the album not a conspiracy theorist’s charter and the duo’s song ‘The Conspiracy Trap’ tackles that unfortunate modern-day obsession head on. What the album does do, however, is offer intelligent writing, sharp social commentary and heartfelt lyrics, all delivered in those rich Teeside voices and the trademark Megson sound, with captivating melodies and stacks of beautiful fiddle and mandolin.
Eve Simpson is a singer-songwriter, storyteller, and collaborative community artist from South Shields and now based in Edinburgh. Written between the two places, her four-track EP All Her Strange was inspired by the playfulness of Woodstock-era Joni Mitchell and that captivating combination of honesty and vulnerability from great songwriters like Laura Marling and Carole King.
Eve Simpson:“It is a piece of work about trying to understand myself at 21, processing grief, health, heartbreak, joy and loss, and becoming a person that had two places that felt like home now.”
Combining wit, feistiness and vulnerability, one of the stand-out tracks on the EP is ‘His Euphoria’, a coming-of-age commentary on misogyny where Eve playfully narrates the trials and tribulations of being a young woman dating, dancing, and debating her way through her early 20s.
Eve told Darren’s Music Blog: “His Euphoria is a complete mick-take of the very male-dominated spaces I found myself within the music industry and university in my early-20s. Written during the first lockdown, when I completely removed myself from those spaces, it was a sarcastic reflection of how much I had to play myself down to exist within those spaces. It is a really fun song, about some very awkward and damaging environments.“
“The EP more broadly, continues along this lens of reflection, with each track honouring some very important coming-of-age moments: heartbreak, grief, and empowerment. All Her Strange as a whole is an acknowledgment of experiencing self-love, and acceptance for the first time. Of acknowledging my shortcomings, and areas of growth, whilst recognizing those integral parts of myself that I can’t change.”
The EP was produced with support from Youth Music’s NextGen Fund. A short tour in support of the EP commences on 17th April in Edinburgh.
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