Oka Vanga -Dance of the Copper Trail – An Album Review
Hot on the heels of their previous entry “Tales from Eyam” the latest album from the acoustic duo, Oka Vanga, has arrived. In fact it arrived 31 March but let us not dwell on the time that has passed. As Spring has undoubtedly turned to Autumn with the hints of amber leaves blowing in delightful […]
Better Late Than Never: The Dovetail Trio at Village Folk, Chellaston, Derbyshire – May 2017
Ahoy! Circumstances all over the place and a packed schedule of festivals has meant that I am on the folk treadmill to returning to writing about the music I love. I am not very far along it yet, but one event I wanted to talk about prior to the last festival I attended is the […]
Elfin Bow – A Debut Album Review
Elfin Bow – (Elfin Bow) Elfin Bow Music Recorded at: Hound Dog Studios, Liverpool www.elfinbow.co.uk Released 18th March 2017 Elfin Bow is very much the ringmaster in this positively creative and interesting debut that takes the best elements of her musical inspirations and fuses them with the mysteries and wonders of folk music. […]
Roving Crows – “Bury Me Naked” Album Review
It was a few years ago I saw the Roving Crows now. I remember in Bromsgrove. Not far from Ledbury (their home turf) andalso not far from where I spent my youngest years (in Kidderminster); it was an interesting experience when I was relatively new to folk. It was not just an introduction to the […]
Steamchicken @ The Bury Met – 11 Mar – Album Launch
Steamchicken is a universally fun and energetic band boasting shamelessly soulful vocals and a catchy, booming brass-line. Chocks away! Somewhere between a smoky jazz outfit and a blues brass extravaganza, “Steamchicken” are a group who set out to entertain, and do so in spades. Much like the wise, old traveller from a Western or the […]
Harp and a Monkey @ Village Folk – 25th February
Once again I was released from the steel gates of Sheffield and able to descend the long-winding roads to Derbyshire. There I went to see the latest artist “Harp and a Monkey” to perform for a throng of rapt Derbyshire people at the “Village Folk” session in the The Lawns Hotel, Chellaston. Continuing to draw crowds […]
Kate Dimbleby- Songbirds
Dimbleby successfully reflects a range of feelings and emotions in a decent and also unconventional album that has captured her mind’s eye. Introduction Armed without folk instruments as such but with the creative sense of the oldest instrument there is, the voice, Kate Dimbleby explores a musical sound that is more akin to a hawk flying through […]
Daria Kulesh “Long Lost Home” – An Album Review
An album of resistance to oppression in armed and peaceful forms. Articulate and personal, it is peppered with tragedy but is in essence celebratory of family and the personalities whose stories are within. Sound Recording: Jason Emberton, Jonny Dyer Additional Recording: Timur Dzeytov Produced: Jason Emberton, Jonny Dyer, Daria Kulesh Introduction Daria Kulesh […]
Almond&Olive – Standing at the Precipice (Album Review)
Almond&Olive deliver an earnest and lyrically intriguing debut with a strong character and rapport in voice Having released this debut last Friday (27th January 2017), artists Almond&Olive that consists of Natalie Alms (Almond) and Ollie Davidson (Olive) are no longer standing at the precipice but have taken a good look and lept over […]
The Transports – 2017 – 27th Jan – Buxton Opera House
A hallmark example of a revival done well, “The Transports” brings stalwarts of the folk world to tell affecting stories through song and history. Introduction Peter Bellamy’s folk ballad opera about migration, “The Transports” is back. Having it’s 40th Anniversary it does not so much ask the crowd to continue dancing, but rather teaches a […]