England - The South Coast

Heading east along the south coast of England we stop in Dorset.  Accordion player Paul Hutchinson is a native of Dorset and he recently recorded an album with a new quartet he named The Maniacs together with Seona Pritchard on violin and viola, Gil Redmond on cello and Karin Wimhurst on clarinet.  Whilst the name The Maniacs suggests a heavy metal band the title of the album released in February is more explanatory: The Maniacs - De-composed 18th Century Dance Music.  The album was recorded in Shroton Church in Dorset.  Here's a song from that album called Roodulum:

Moving on to Southampton in Hampshire we meet folk punk band The Men They Couldn't Hang.  They've been going on since 1984.  Here's a song from their 2005 album Smugglers and Bounty Hunters called The Ghosts of Cable Street about an antifascist protest in London in 1936 in opposition to a march by the British Union of Fascists.  The antifascists clashed with the police and the events became known as the Battle of Cable Street.

Next stop is the popular seaside city of Brighton in East Sussex, where folk duo Hickory Signals hails from.  They consist of Laura Ward and Adam Ronchetti, their sound is based around Ward's powerful leading vocal and Ronchetti's vibrant acoustic guitar and pulsing cajon to which they add flute, percussion and shruti drones.  They released their debut album Turn to Fray in 2018 and this is an atmospheric number from it called Noise of the Waters:

The pair are also part of the Brighton-based folk music collective Bird in the Belly.  They go around collecting little known and forgotten lyrics, poems and stories and set them to their own hypnotically original compositions.  Here's a song from their 2018 debut album The Crowing called Horace in Brighton:

Virtuoso guitarist Richard Durrant was born in Hollingbury just outside  Brighton.  His music kind of defies categorisation incorporating elements of classical guitar, jazz, folk, prog rock and electronica.  In 2014 he released a minimalist album called Cycling Music, combining his guitar playing with mechanical bicycle noises and electronica.  He launched his album by cycling almost 1500 miles across England from venue to venue.  Here's the story of that ride.  It's 44 minutes long, but well worth a watch and of course full of music:

Folk singer Shirley Collins was born in Hastings in 1935 and was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960's and 70's.  She lived with American Folk Collector Alan Lomax for a while and went on a folk collecting trip across the southern United States with him in 1959, where she was credited with the discovery of Mississippi Fred McDowell.  She originally retired from music in 1979 after a painful divorce and the loss of her voice, but miraculously picked up singing again in 2014.  Here's a song from the latter part of her career from the 2016 album Lodestar.  Sorry it's a bit morbid, the song is called Death and the Lady:

Shirley Collins actually is going to have a new album out on the 24th July called Heart's Ease.  Not bad for an 85 year old!  This is a song from that album called Wondrous Love:

That's it today from the south coast of England, next we are heading into the big smoke that is London.  As usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on my tripline map

England - The West Country

After our trip around Wales we are back in England.  The area known generically as the West Country is home to some of the iconic sites such as Stonehenge in Wiltshire and the Tor of Glastonbury.  It is also the country of cider and traditional scones with clotted cream and the wild rugged coastline of Cornwall. 

Traditional English dance ensemble the Old Swan Band used to be known as the Cotswold Liberation Front, which tells me they are from this gentle and idyllic landscape in Gloucestershire, where they have played at barn dances since the 1970's.  Here's a tune from their 2014 album Fortyssimo called The Rose Tree / (The Bottom of) the Punchbowl

Moving south we come to Bristol, where this mysterious and short-lived band hailed from, Folkal Point.  This is from their website:

Bristol, England 1971

In 1971 four teenagers from Bristol, England decided to record an album of traditional and modern English and American folk songs. Only five hundred LPs were pressed, half of which were damaged and destroyed in a flood. The remaining copies then embarked on an amazing journey over the next forty five years to become the most sought after British traditional folk album ever produced.

 Here's a song from their one and only self-titled album, which these days is available digitally.  The song is called Sweet Joan:

Also from Bristol, but a bit more modern are original jumping European folk band Sheelanagig, named after figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva.  Their upbeat music is Celtic and European influenced, namely with gypsy and Balkan undertones, and very much invites the listener to swing a dance leg.  Their style can probably best defined as what Belgian band Jaunes Toujours coined as Europeana as opposed to Americana.  This is the title track from their 2016 album Beard Town:

Folk singer Rosie Hood is a native of Wiltshire and specialises in the traditional music of her home county.  She is known for her strong, pure voice and captivating performances with just minimal accompaniment.  Here's a song called Adrift, Adrift from her only album to date from 2017, The Beautiful & the Actual.  

Singer and concertina player Emily Portman grew up in Glastonbury, Somerset.  Here's a song from her 2010 album The Glamoury called Stick Stock.

Next we head to Cornwall, to the village of Port Isaac in particular, where male singing group Fisherman's Friends hail from.  The original members originally all grew up within half a mile of the village and all had some sea connection, being either actual fishermen or life boat crew or such like.  Therefore their theme is traditional and contemporary sea shanties, which are delivered with a great deal of humour.  Last year they shot to fame when a fictionalised romcom movie came out about them.  Watch it if you haven't seen it yet, it's quite good fun.  Here's the official trailer:

And here's the real thing, Fire Down Below from their 2018 album Sole Mates:

Moving even deeper into Cornwall to the village of Tregajorran where traditional Cornish band Dalla came from, who were active from the late 90's until 2017.  They sang both in English and Cornish, the Celtic language of Cornwall.  Dalla means both beginnings or to dazzle.  This a song by them called Dean Younk a Gernow, Young Man of Cornwall, which features on their bonus album to the Rough Guide to Celtic Music:

From the end of Cornwall there is only one way to go, turn around.  So we are heading into Devon.  Folk songer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Seth Lakeman was born in Yelverton,  He has collaborated with numerous acts including with his two brothers Sean and Sam and The Full English, but is mostly known for his solo efforts, playing fiddle, guitar, banjo and viola.  This the opening track of his 2006 album Freedom Fields called Lady of the Sea (Hear Her Calling):

Folk band Show of Hands were founded in 1987 by friends Steve Knightly and Phil Beer (of Exminster, Devon).  They are known for their songs with rousing choruses that address contemporary social issues.  Here's a song by them, which originally featured on their 2019 album Battlefield Dance Floor, but got a new video make-over in the time of Covid 19.  It's called You'll Get By:

If you find yourself with a lot of spare time, check out their feature length documentary:

That's it from the West Country, next up we'll explore the south coast of England.  As usual you can follow my virtual exploits on my tripline map.  

Wales - The Southeast

We conclude our journey around Wales with a visit to the most populous part of the country, the southeast.  Welsh folk band Fernhill were formed in Swansea in 1996 and have been described as "highly regarded, innovative cultural ambassadors for Wales and its folk music".  The use of the trumpet gives their tunes a distinct jazzy feel.  This is a song from their 2011 album Canu Rhydd called Glyn Tawe:

Singer/songwriter and harpist Georgia Ruth Williams, or just Georgia Ruth as she prefers to be called, was born in the small coastal village of Llantwit Major near Cardiff, but grew up in Aberystwyth.  She sings both in English and Welsh and her style is described as folk and indie pop.  Here's a live performance of her song Week of Pines from her 2013 album of the same name:

Carreg Lafar is a contemporary traditional folk band formed in 1993 in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.  They use a mix of traditional and original music to convey a contemporary and fresh approach, whilst staying firmly rooted in the language and tradition of Welsh song and dance music.  Carreg Lafar apparently means speaking stone or echo stone.  This lively number is the opening track of their 2016 album Aur called Aderyn bach:

Also based in Cardiff are duo Bragod, consisting of Welsh native Robert Evans and Trinidadian Mary-Anne Roberts.  They perform historically informed medieval Welsh music.  Evans plays the crwth, which is a type of bowed lyre, while Roberts sings and dances,  The result is quite mesmerizing!  This is their story:

They only recorded one album called Kaingk in 2005 and this is a fun live performance of a song off that album called Y March Glass:

And here a more formal performance of a song that does not feature on the album Yr Wylan (The Seagull)

Calan is considered an "M4 Corridor" band, after the motorway connecting the towns of Swansea, Cardiff and Cwmbran, where the 5 members of the band come from.  When they formed in 2006 the band members were only between 13 and 22 years of age.  They perform traditional Welsh folk, singing both in Welsh and English and have already gathered numerous awards.  This is the opening track of their 2017 album Solomon called Kân: 

And for something more traditional from the same album, #DeportationSelfie, which they composed after they were refused entry to the USA for looking dodgy and took a selfie of themselves whilst being driven in a police van directly to their plane.

That was it from Wales, next we'll head back into England and explore the south of the country.  As usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on my tripline map.