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Current InterviewsFolkWords 'Current Interviews' - here are thoughts and opinions from folk that write the music, sing the songs and help to make folk happen. A big 'thank you' to the people kind enough to talk to FolkWords, discuss folk music and offer their views. Thank you for your thoughts and your time, it's much appreciated. The most recent interviews are shown below, short extracts from previous interviews are also on the FolkWords Interviews page. To see the full text of each interview click the Read more ... links below. FolkWords talks to Simon McKechnie about the album ‘London ReBorn’
SM: The concept began a couple of years ago or so. I was flitting through some folk songbooks for enjoyment, some practice and a little bit of study. I just kept stumbling across songs about London – some were outstandingly beautiful and many I’d never heard of before. I began looking into those songs and started to play with a couple of them to see if I could put a seed of my own music into them and at the same time still retain the integrity of the original song. ‘Sadler’s Wells’ was the first one I played with. I could feel my music coming out of that song yet it still retained its historical perspective. Mind you, all the time I’m working on a different take on the tune there’s a cautious note playing in my mind: “This is a bit naughty. You’re messing with tradition. Will people like this approach?” But it fitted so well and I was hooked, so I carried on. ************************ FolkWords talks to Steve Austin and Pete White of Navaro
FW: Is there a force or ‘glue’ that holds the band together? PW: It’s the personalities. It’s also friendship and the music. It’s a connection that comes from taking pleasure in the same music. It was finding an immediate point of contact between the three of us. Beth’s an incredibly warm person and good at being the ‘front’ of the band. Steve has methodical, ordered edge; I’m more creative and much less disciplined but the amalgam of the three personalities and our musical approach that makes Navaro work. ************************ FolkWords talks to Chris Ricketts - English shanty singer
FW: So is an album of shanties your ‘homage’ to your own heritage or simply the appeal of the shanty? CR: There’s a bit of a mix between the two. At first, I didn’t have a clear idea of what lay in the shanty world it was just something that attracted me – a result of some deep-set roots I suppose. However, once I started learning more and began getting out there to sing shanties I found that people listened to shanties and enjoyed them. Interestingly, the shanty appears more popular throughout Europe than in the UK, which is strange considering we are an island race with a massive seafaring and naval heritage. ************************ FolkWords talks to Red Shoes – aka Carolyn and Mark Evans
FW: Were you surprised by the waves of positive media and audience reaction to ‘Ring Around the Land’? ME: To be honest, we had few expectations when we first put a few songs on My Space from a back catalogue of material that was never intended to see the light of day. Then those songs steadily picked up a few good reviews and we received an increasing number of calls asking where we played and were we planning an album. Then eventually Dave Pegg heard our songs and agreed to produce our album; the rest as they say, is history. Peggy was our first producer and it was an enlightening experience working with him. He helped us make some songs work in a way we hadn’t considered. It’s an amazing experience to have a skilled producer, trust his advice and hear the results. FW: Now your song Celtic Moon is on ‘Festival Bell’ the new Fairport Convention album, how do you feel about that? ME: Apart from the obvious honour it feels really odd listening to Fairport play our song. It makes me feel almost outside of the experience in a way. It’s as if you can’t believe it’s your work. It’s also a feeling of achievement that a band of Fairport’s calibre wants to record one of our songs. We’ve always had a confidence in our material but when someone like Peggy wants to get involved with your work it’s almost hard to believe. ************************ Interview with Nigel Spencer, founder of Manchester-based folk label Folk Police Recordings (FPR)
FW: So you founded FPR on what you don’t like as much as what you do? NS: Yes that’s true, I was constantly frustrated listening to folk music that left me cold and wanted to bring those few good albums to peoples’ attention. Folk rock has followed traditional folk in many ways in that much of it has become formulaic and everyone follows everyone else. Many of those bands make fine music but to my mind it’s stadium folk that doesn’t work for me. ************************
FW: What was the drive behind the solo album? RC:Well it’s been in the back of my mind for years. Like most musicians a solo project is something you think about but perhaps never get round to doing. Mind you, I think the question should be: “Why has it taken so long for me to get round to it?” I don’t have a ready answer but the songs, tunes and timing just felt right. FW: Is ‘Tales Love, War and Death by Hanging’ a folk album? RC: I was prompted to make a folk album after I was told that England has a fantastic treasure chest of folk music and culture. So I decided to look for it. I opened the chest to see what it contained. Oysterband have their own style of music that’s heavily influenced by folk – most of the band played a lot of folk music when they were younger. When I joined I came to a band that had folk as one of its sources but I’d never played with or delved into the source myself. ************************
FW: Can you answer the question ' How hard is music? TD: Music is hard! It’s one of the most difficult labours that humans can do, and yet it's one of the fields where hobbyists are most prevalent. Myself, if I had to hire an amateur, I'd rather hire a hobbyist plumber than a hobbyist musician, yet the reverse is common practise. Being a hobbyist plumber (lawyer, doctor, taxi-driver or gas fitter) is illegal. If you want good results you have to train and devote time. That means become a professional or vocational musician, just like any other demanding field. I prefer the word vocational to professional since plenty of amateurs get paid, and plenty of serious vocational musicians rely on benefits, other work, or a partner with a job to get by. There are a few good amateurs of course, although the better ones have often devoted so much time to their art they are borderline vocational anyway. ************************
FW: Can we discuss songwriting - are folk songs manufactured like most pop songs appear to be?: SH: Good question. People write songs for many complicated muddy messy reasons. I like to imagine that when songwriters write folk-type lyrics there is something deep going on. Folk songs are profound, meaningful, narrative songs, analytical, reflective and filled with social commentary. There’s a sense in which the writer has to do it. I’m told that sometimes with song writing it’s like having a shit – it’s there and you have to deal with it. FW: What comes first for you the lyric or the tune? SH: The lyrics force some people to write songs. Subjects present themselves and they feel strongly that they have to write about them. They feel that they have to address the topics, they want to say something about the subject matter even though the lyrics are hard to come by. ************************ FolkWords talks to Damien Barber - The Demon Barbers
FW: How would you describe your work? DB: Traditional folk played on a mixture of acoustic and amplified instruments. Not folk rock. Most folk-rock bands don’t do traditional music or songs, they just do punchy tunes not really traditional songs. Folk-rock has become a specific genre. The Demon Barbers are more electric folk – different to folk-rock - it’s a specific folk sound with folk rhythms. When you hear folk rock you know it’s folk rock. When you hear us you know we're not. ************************ Want to talk to FolkWords about folk ? Want to have your say in a telephone interview with FolkWords? Believe your views will interest other folk? Then go straight to our Contact page and get in touch or send us an email: folkwords@hotmail.co.uk © FolkWords - 2011
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FW: ‘London ReBorn’ intrigues from the start. The melding of old and new - ancient tunes and instruments, modern treatments and programming plus a variety of soundbite accents - and focus on London itself. Where did the inspirations come from?
FW: How did Navaro come into being? SA: Before met Beth she was already signed to Halo Records, a small north London independent label for a country album. She was due a follow up, and then we met and became immediate friends. Beth asked us to come to a rehearsal with her. Once the label boss heard our music and the three-part harmonies he offered to fund an album, and that was the beginning of Navaro and the result was ‘Under Diamond Skies’.
FW: What is the drive behind starting FPR? NS: There’s a certain amount of lunacy involved but this is something I’ve been planning for years. I’ve long been a fan of folk rock but I’m constantly disappointed by how crap most of it is. I loved the old Pentangle and Mr Fox albums – that sound is more interesting than the folk rock of traditional folk songs with plodding bass and drums crafted on. I wanted to include broad influences and wider tastes. That’s one of the drivers behind the Woodbine and Ivy Band, which is why we originally started the label, to release their album. And having set up the infrastructure I decided to release other recordings.
FolkWords talks to Ray Cooper (aka Chopper of Oysterband) - ‘Tales of Love, War and Death by Hanging’ 
FolkWords talks to Simon Hopper - lyricist and musician with The Simon Hopper Band 
FW: How do you define folk today? DB: