Beau - Palace Of Light

 

Consistently inspired singer songwriter returns with a satirical 15-song set. Modern life may well be rubbish but at least we have Beau to survey it with gentle humour and poetic barbs.

I've always admired artists that are in it for the long haul. There are certain songwriters who stick to their principles and stylistic choices, riding out the changes in fashion, sensibilities and taste that affect the wider musical world. Beau, AKA Trevor Midgley is one of these artists. His latest album is his nineteenth for Cherry Red Records and confirms his status as one of the sharpest satirical songwriters this country has produced. He won't be appearing at Radio One's Big Weekend, neither will he grace the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury this year. But at 79 years of age Beau still has the drive and talent that was evident on his eponymous 1969 debut album (which was the first release on John Peel's Dandelion label don't ya know!)

Palace Of Light is, like Beau's previous albums, a simply recorded affair - just one voice and one guitar (a vintage 1968 Harmony 12-string no less!) It's a contemporary look at modern life and its strange political and cultural climate. The accompanying sense of dissatisfaction and occasional bafflement is best encapsulated in songs such as 'Twenty-Twenty Vision' and 'Cuckoo Land'. Serious subject matter for sure but Beau lays into it all with delicate humour. Similarly smile-raising is opening track 'I Plagiarise Beethoven' where we get an insight into Beau's wide-ranging melodic influences. Other subjects/targets include cultural appropriation, social media, cancel culture, Brexit, identity politics, society's obsession with celebrity, rigid adherence to ideology and more. Also worth looking out for are references to Adele, along with one to Paul McCartney's sheepdog Martha on 'Celebrity Memorabilia'.

He's a pretty decent guitar player too, perhaps no surprise given that he's spent a good 60 years at folk music's coal face. You can take a listen to Palace Of Light via the Spotify player below. It's a good place to start before working your way through his extensive and highly-recommended back catalogue.

http://beausrecordings.blogspot.com/ 

http://www.trevormidgley.com/

 

Interview with Shana Cleveland

 

(This feature first appeared in issue #137 of Shindig! magazine. For the full unpublished interview click over the jump below.)

 

The creation of Shana Cleveland's new album was bookended by life-changing experiences. “It's been a wild ride” she tells Duncan Fletcher

“I was into old blues pickers like Geeshie Wiley, Skip James and Lightnin' Hopkins. I’ve always been a big Fahey fan. There’s a guy who played open mics in Seattle when I lived there named Rick Sabo. I never knew when he would show up, but I would go to places I thought he might and wait. Then when he did stumble in, always in an old trench coat and a bit drunk, and he began playing it felt like I had won the night.” So says Shana Cleveland when asked about early influences. Traces of all these players can be heard on Shana's new album Manzanita, but its dominant shaping forces are her life experiences.

“I wrote all the songs on this album while I was pregnant and in the early months of my son’s life. It was such a psychedelic time! My head was in such a weird place, all flooded with hormones and wonder at the mystery of life. I liked where the songs were going so, I figured it would be cool to see what a whole album written in that surreal state would sound like.” With her husband Will and several musician friends from Seattle, Shana recorded Manzanita in less than a week. The unrehearsed, intuitive arrangements blend with Shana's open-tuned guitar to give the songs an otherworldly watercolour-like quality. It reveals a different side to Shana, who readers may know as vocalist/guitarist in surf band La Luz.

Shortly after completing the album Shana received shock news. “It’s been a wild ride. Around this time last year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and for a few months following that shocker I really couldn’t create much of anything” she says. Thankfully her treatment proved successful. “This album was done before I got the diagnosis, but I’ve written two albums since then. The intensity and horror of that time led to a lot of contemplation which, in turn, led to a lot of songs.”

While we wait to hear those songs, Manzanita yields an abundance of riches, all imbued with early parenthood's peculiar sense of wonder, and an appreciation of the natural world, inspired in part by Shana and Will moving to rural California. “I write outside most of the time” she says. “I like being immersed in all the little noises - insects, birds, cars, wind, chainsaws ... I feel like I’m able to tap into my subconscious mind without the judgment I might fall into if I was alone with my thoughts in a quiet room. It feels like a collaboration in a way.”

Manzanita is out on March 10 on Hardly Art

Stick In The Wheel - Against The Loathsome Beyond

Ancient and modern forces meet for a richly elegiac take on English folk.

As usual over winter I've ended up with a backlog of music to write about. Christmas, the usual bouts of family illness, work commitments and the shorter hours of daylight and resulting tiredness always seem to conspire against me. The result is less time and energy to devote to writing. So first an apology to the amazing musicians and labels that have sent me music recently. I have however had lots of great albums to listen to and absorb, this release by Stick In The Wheel being one brilliant example.

It's the band's second mixtape release, following on from 2018's This and The Memory of This. These mixtape releases are an opportunity for the core duo of Nicola Kearey and Ian Carter (EAN) to collaborate with guest players, either using their own material as a starting point, or remixing and adding to music created by the guest musicians. The duo also have two studio albums to their name – From Here (2018), and Follow Them True (2018). I confess to being unfamiliar with their previous work so this record marks my first encounter with Stick In The Wheel.

Their music is rooted in the melodies of traditional English folk music, but this is no backward yearning for car-less yesterday. Each track has a seam of of modern electronic music. Drones, strange beat-less pulses push each track into strange new territories. A strong melancholy permeates the album, which features appearances and collaborations with artists such as experimental folk guitarist C Joynes, Jack Sharp (Wolf People), and folk-punk outfit Cinder Well. Using mostly traditional material as their staring point the album contains versions 'Nine Herbs Charm', a 10^th century spell translated from Old English, the 14^th century alliterative poem 'Swarte Smiths, Smateryd With Smoke', and an improvised take on Child ballad 'Georgie'. Also highly recommended are the two bookending versions of 'Down In Yon Forest', which set the medieval pagan theme that permeates the whole album.

One thing about music is that it can compliment other things going on in your life, and chime perfectly with landscape, seasons, weather, and even the moods accompanied by your current reading habits. While enjoying the album over mid-winter I was simultaneously reading Laurie Lee's As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, his account of leaving his Gloucestershire village in the 1930s, working as a labourer in London, then walking through Spain, earning a living playing violin as he goes, at the outset of the Spanish Civil War. While the traditional music of Spain and Old England may not have too much in common there are parallels to be drawn and highlighted here. Ditto the respective mood of the nations. The sense of foreboding in Lee's book chimes with the timeless melancholy found throughout Against The Loathsome Beyond. Spain in the 1930s, along with contemporary Britain found themselves divided and with dark forces emboldened. Both countries possess a proud and stirring musical heritage, each infused with a passion that's celebratory yet full of warning. Against The Loathsome Beyond has been a strangely fitting accompaniment to Lee's book and one I highly recommend to readers of this humble blog.

Click here for Stick In The Wheel's website.

Click here for Stick In The Wheel on Twitter.

Click here for Stick In The Wheel on Facebook.

Click here for Stick In The Wheel on Instagram.

Click here for From Here Records.

Boa Morte – Before There Was Air

Less is very often more. Cork band release their long-awaited third LP of sublime alt-folk.

There's much to admire about bands who are into making music for the long haul, neither swayed by fashions or bandwagons, and not into changing their vision in the hope of “making it”. It's especially admirable when those bands live and work in places at a distance from where the music industry is traditionally based. Boa Morte are one such band with a singular vision, one based on making quality music that stands the test of time, however long that might take. They formed in 1999 in the beautiful city Cork in the Republic of Ireland and have just released their third full length album Before There Was Air, following 2009's The Dial Waltz. OK, so three albums in 20 years is not the most impressive rate of productivity, but great music can't be subject to time and motion studies, we're talking art here, not factory-produced goods.

Before There Was Air is full of intimate, cliche-free folk, parsimonious but with an ambience and mood that when listened to in a solitary setting, imbues what I can only describe as an optimistic melancholy. Plaintive piano, softly plucked guitars and understated vocals are enhanced with unobtrusive synth drones, violin, viola, cello and even close-mic'ed floor creaks. You can literally hear the room and the atmosphere within. The lyrics have a poetic timeless beauty, referencing nature, landscape and bodies of water. It's welcome contrast to listen to a record that drenches itself in the eternal given how most of us are drained by by the constant noise of news and political debate. (OK, it could just be me that's drained but you take the point.)

As we head towards the year's shortest days and we search for the peace, stillness and contemplation that mid-winter brings I can think of no better elegant set of songs to accompany those moments of much-needed quiet reflection. Peace, goodwill, and happy listening to you all. x

Click here for Boa Morte's website.
Click here for Boa Morte on Facebook.
Click here for Boa Morte on Twitter.
Click here for Boa Morte on Instagram.
Click here for Gare du Nord Records.

James McArthur and the Head Gardeners - Intergalactic Sailor

Welsh born songwriter McArthur has forged out a singular musical path over the last decade. This is his fourth album, following 2016's Burnt Moth. It's folk record for sure but one that's focused on the here and now of the 21st century and its inherent conundrums. Lyrically its a curious blend of the ethereal and the everyday, finding poetry in the provincial. Fans of Nick Drake's Bryter Layter or Michael Head's more introspective moments will find this very much to their liking, not least the intoxicating hazy mood conjured up 'Wait For The Letter' or 'Clearing Up'.

Recorded at East Wickham Farm, Kate Bush's childhood home, the album features longtime Head Gardeners Jim Willis (violin) and Johnny 'O (pedal steel), as well brothers Liam and Joe Magill from neo-prog rock band Syd Arthur. Between them they've created a sound that perfectly soundtracks the setting sun of a pleasingly lazy day.


Click here for James McArthur's website.

Katherine Priddy - Wolf

(This review first appeared in issue #86 of Shindig! magazine.)

Self Release CD

This young Birmingham-based singer-songwriter has one of the finest voices on the current folk scene, plays neat fingerstyle guitar and on the evidence here possesses a songwriting ability beyond her tender years. 'Wolf' tells the tale of falling romantically for the wrong person. 'Ring o' Roses' leans away from trad-folk towards a darker, more acidic style. The nursery rhyme of the same name is its lyrical starting point before going on to become a remembrance to war's fallen.

On 'Fragile' we find a wistful longing for summers past. Similarly 'The Old Tree' is a masterclass in pastoral loveliness, opening over a backdrop of birdsong and though embellished with ambient electronica still honours British folk's rich heritage. It all adds up to an accomplished and promising debut with Priddy's pure voice closely mic'ed throughout. Fans of Nick Drake, Shirley Collins and Sandy Denny can be assured that British folk has a bright future.

Kacy & Clayton - The Siren's Song

(This review first appeared in issue #78 of Shindig! magazine.)

New West CD / LP

It's a brave move to reference the enticing voices of Greek mythology in an album title, though more than justified here. This follow-up to 2016's Strange Country finds Canadian cousins Kacy Anderson and Clayton Linthicum reach new heights in terms of songwriting, performance and sound. With eight original songs, all of which could be taken for old or future folk/country standards, plus a version of traditional British folk tune 'Go And Leave Me', you're unlikely to hear a stronger collection of songs this year.

Produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy at his Loft Studio in Chicago, the addition of drums and bass is a masterstroke, lending some buckskin-clad country drive to the pair's folk stylings. The songs still take centre stage, full of characters, stories and emotion. There are countless sublime moments – not least the stacked harmonies of the title track, Kacy's pure voice, and Clayton's tasteful guitar adornments throughout. Irresistible.

Richie Havens - Richard P. Havens, 1983

(This review first appeared in issue #76 of Shindig! magazine.)

Retroworld CD

1969 was a defining year for this Greenwich Village folkie. The opening appearance at Woodstock and the release of this sprawling 17-song collection, which originally came out as a double vinyl set. The Orwellian title taps into the paranoia of the age, the songs half utopian ideals, half the dawning of dystopian realities, all rendered in the production values of the time - heavy stereo, loose jams with subtle exotic touches of tabla, sitar, congas and even an Ondioline.

An underrated writer mixing poetry and protest in his self-penned songs, Havens' was also a skilled interpreter, unearthing nuances here in songs by Dylan, Donovan and Cohen, along with four Beatles tracks. Most poignant is the final run of songs (side four of the original vinyl), recorded live at a Santa Monica gig where his rich soulful voice, warm rapport and willingness to improvise remind us what an original talent he was.

Beau - Rattle The Asylum Bars

HD's favourite folkie returns with more wry, satirical, protest, commentary and observation.

It's a standing joke among music journalists that there's always a folk revival going on. It's kind of a truth but looked at from another angle it means that folk music never actually goes away, an eternal touchstone and deep well of inspiration for each new generation of musicians. As a genre it occasionally provides the mainstream with crossover stars but for each of those there are countless other artists, often more unique and talented, mining away at the coalface of folk music and adhering to its core principles; giving voice to the marginalised, highlighting injustice, celebrating cooperation and community while also entertaining and actually having fun.

Which bring me to Beau, who is back with a brand new set of songs that does all those things and more. For those unfamiliar with Beau here's a little back story – Beau (AKA Trevor Midgley) was the first artist to record for John Peel's Dandelion label back in the late '60s. He's continued to write, record and play live ever since, amassing an impressive back catalogue of material. His is a stripped down sound, one voice, one Harmony 12-string acoustic guitar, which lets the lyrics take centre stage.

On his new album Rattle The Asylum Bars, Beau shows he's as astute with those lyrics now as he was back on his 1969 debut. The subject matter ranges from historical lessons society has yet to learn, observations on modern foibles, calls for increased compassion and as you'd expect in these strange times, a little political commentary. As ever with Beau's work you come away feeling informed, entertained and aware that the world is more nuanced than “moral absolutists and polemicists” would have us believe.

Click here for more on Beau.

Marvin Powell

(This first appeared in issue #68 of Shindig! magazine.)

Duncan Fletcher finds magic on Merseyside with fragile folk's rising new star.

“I always think songwriting is like getting rid of noise in my head, I never write a physical song, I won't write it down... it's just in my head and I get it out there” explains Marvin Powell when asked about 'Salt', the title track of his debut EP. In person Powell is down to earth and affable, his personality seemingly at odds with the mysterious music he makes. It's pitched somewhere between Vashti Bunyan, Devendra Banhart, Nick Drake and his formative influences of Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, but with a sensitivity that's all Powell's own.

Take his song 'China Town' - “Four of us used to live in a big panoramic penthouse flat... from every view, every window there was an iconic Liverpool building - the bombed-out church, the Chinese arch, Paddy's Wigwam. That's where that song comes from, I'm looking down on this changing landscape of the city.” It's sublime songwriting, with Powell drawing parallels between the changing skyline, his inner emotions and the human condition in general.

Alongside the strong lyrics and ethereal vocals, he's also a skilled finger-style guitarist, albeit one to whom the guitar is a means to an end - “It was just something to do. I learnt by watching people. Kinesthetic, is that the word? ...I started writing songs when I learnt three chords... To me it's about the songs. I don't care about the guitar, well I do, but as long you can get your message across in the tunes. It's more about the lyrics and the poetry.”

Powell has honed his artistry playing Liverpool's coffee shops and open mic nights, along with being the “sacrificial folkie” at the city's venues, opening for local and touring bands. With a full length LP already recorded it may not be long before that running order is reversed.

The Salt EP is out now on Skeleton Key.

In Gowan Ring - B'ee's Pent Pouch

Fragile mystic folk surfaces on a variety of limited releases!

An artist new to me but very welcome is In Gowan Ring, the artistic vehicle for the mysteriously named B'ee who's been making low-key but intoxicating folk-based music for the last 20 years. In 2012 B'ee spent several months constructing a five-sided tent as a recording/living space in a forest behind a chateau in a sparsely occupied area of the Massif Central in France. (I know, right!)

The recordings he made in that time, known as the Pent Pouch album were released as a limited edition of 55 copies given away to people who helped finance the project. Five years later these recordings are getting a public release digitally as well as in a variety of limited physical formats. There are five copies on both pentagonal vinyl (yes really!) and CD released in a five sided box format but 150 copies on both pentagonal vinyl and CDin a five-sided corduroy pouch. Nice! So top marks for the packaging but how about the music?

B'ee describes his music as symbolist folk, and that's pretty accurate. Infused with a sense of something bigger – a spirituality maybe, or affinity with nature, the seasons, and eternal truths. It's music for the dusk of late evenings or the mist of early mornings. Echoes of Nick Drake, the Incredible String Band, early and rennaissance music all fuse into something unique

If you miss out on the limited versions head over to the In Gown Ring Bandcamp page for a a digital copy along with a plethora of other releases of a similar high quality available via the Moonlit Missives subscription service.

Links

Click here for In Gowan Ring's website.

Click here for Moonlit Missives.

David McWilliams - Lord Offaly

(This review first appeared in issue 59 of Shindig! magazine)

Esoteric Recordings CD

He's best known for his 1967 song 'The Days of Pearly Spencer', but David McWilliams' later recordings reveal a songwriter whose deep talents should have been more widely recognized. This is perhaps the best of his '70s albums, revered most for the progressive folk and Irish history lesson of the title track. With his knack for folk-based storytelling songs the “Irish Bob Dylan” tag was well deserved, though on the evidence here he could also have given James Taylor and Elton John a run for their money.

A shy, thoughtful man away from the stage, qualities which are reflected in the sensitive songs on this newly re-mastered CD. Lack of promotion in an era crowded with singer-songwriters meant he was overlooked by the record buying public, but this reissue shows him as the real deal - a compassionate songwriter whose eye and pen turned towards those in society who others shunned.

Trimdon Grange Explosion - Trimdon Grange Explosion

North-east London folk collective releases full-length debut LP. And it's very good!

One album I've been listening to a lot recently is the self-titled debut by Trimdon Grange Explosion. It's the first release on their own Borley Rectory imprint. The London-based quartet make English folk-rock in the style of Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Pentangle et al. And they do it very well, mixing their own compositions alongside well known traditional songs such as 'Poor Wayfaring Stranger'. The band's use of rock dynamics, swells and repetition owe much to the work of Velvet Underground. Plenty of I-IV chord shifts and John Cale-style viola drone.

It comes as no surprise to learn then that despite this being their debut long-player, the band members have a history and a pedigree. All four were previously members of The Eighteenth Day Of May, and viola player Alison and bassist Mark also perform as a duo (The Left Outsides). The album is available as a CDR with A5 booklet and a limited edition cassette. Don't hang about though as according to their social media it's selling pretty quick!

Trimdon Grange Explosion are -

Alison Cotton (viola/vocals)
Ben Phillipson (guitar/vocals)
Mark Nicholas (bass)
Karl Sabino (drums)

Click here for Trimdon Grange Explosion on Twitter.

Click here for Trimdon Grange Explosion on Facebook.

Ryley Walker & Danny Thompson, Meg Baird - Ropery Hall 21/2/16

(This review first appeared in issue #55 of Shindig! magazine)

RYLEY WALKER & DANNY THOMPSON / MEG BAIRD

Ropery Hall, Barton-upon-Humber

SUNDAY 21^st FEBRUARY

Tonight's venue sits a stones throw from the Humber Bridge, formerly the world's longest single span suspension bridge. Inside the hall it's continental and generational gaps that are being spanned, not rivers. Despite the 50-year age difference, the Walker/Thompson pairing is for many a dream billing.

Completing tonight's constellation is Meg Baird, whose opening set holds the audience in rapt awe. A drizzly night outside, “I love the rain... don't take your water for granted” she tells the audience before a stunning version of 'Don't Weigh Down the Light', a song written during California's recent droughts. Bless the weather indeed!

Though it's Sunday evening Walker takes a Saturday-sized swig of whisky before an hour-long set of mostly new material. At 76, Danny Thompson's hard drinking days may be over but his playing is as masterful and fluid as ever, his treasured Victoria bass as majestic live as on those classic recordings. His playing proves the perfect foil for Walker's fervent freewheeling. There are familiar tracks – 'Primrose Green', a reworked 'Summer Dress' and an encore of 'On the Banks of the Old Kishwaukee', but it's the new songs that impress most; whether exploring a young man's blues on 'Sullen Mind', the dark side of bar room life on 'Roundabout', or reflecting on relationships on 'Funny Thing She Said', signs look good for that third album.

Walker is visibly thrilled to be accompanied by the legendary double bassist, with Thompson equally happy to be back out on the road. “Beats watching Flog It!” he deadpans. Amen to that!

Us and Them - When I Was Walking / Green Couch (Ltd. 7")

Ultra rare 7” of modern day acid-folk!

Hot on the heels of their recent Sandy Denny tribute EP on Fruits de Mer, Us and Them release this brand new 7” on the equally fab label Mega Dodo Records. This time round they've featured two of their own songs – 'When I Was Walking' and 'Green Couch'. The Swedish duo don't disappoint. Soft, beautiful and timeless. Two tracks that could melt the iciest of hearts. As the world heads into the unknowable and unpredictable future it's comforting to have such stellar music. Check out the video for 'When I Was Walking' and lose yourself in its beguiling power.

It's a very limited release so if you want to get a copy don't hang about! Available as a limited edition of 150 green vinyl copies for Mega Dodo Singles Club members with another 150 copies on black vinyl for everyone else.

Click here for more on Us and Them.

Click here for Us and Them on Facebook.

Click here for Mega Dodo Records.

TRACKLISTING

When I Was Walking

Green Couch

Us and Them - Fading Within The Dwindling Sun (10")

Swedish duo's tribute to Sandy Denny!

This coloured 10” vinyl is out now on Fruits de Mer Records. It's a five-track tribute to Sandy Denny featuring three Denny-penned tracks and two more songs she made her own. Anyone doubting that Us and Them can due justice to the music of Sandy Denny need only check out the 7” they released a couple of years back which contained a sterling cover of 'By The Time It Gets Dark'.

As we approach the solstice, the sun is dwindling it does indeed get dark early. I can't think of a better soundtrack for to accompany the midwinter stillness. My advice – avoid the High Street madness, do your shoppong online (from Fruits de Mer reputable mail order service), find a quiet spot and let this music take its effect. It's a perfect piece of wintry folk, and another jewel in the Fruits de Mer catalogue. Just right for those moments of quiet reflection, when you take stock of the preceeding year and charge your batteries for the next 12 months. Have a great solstice everyone.

TRACKLISTING

Winter Winds

Farewell, Farewell

Next Time Around

Banks Of The Nile

Take Away The Load

Click here for more on Us and Them.
Click here for Us and Them on Facebook.

Click here for Fruits de Mer Records.

Beau – An Original Thought

Peel favourite Beau marks his 70th birthday with a brand new studio LP.

Almost a year to the day since Beau's previous album Shoeless In The Desert, the ever prolific Norfolk-based songster has a brand new 13-tracker released digitally by the good folks at Cherry Red Records. An Original Thought has all the hallmarks of a classic Beau album; the every present Harmony twelve-string guitar backing, lyrics that veer from the wry, to comic, and to poignant, along with the astute and compassionate commentary on society's foibles.

This time round the subject matter is, if anything, even more varied. There are the big themes of religion, patriotism, war and peace (The Thinking Of God, A Peace That's Bad). Politicians and tabloid journalism are also subject to Beau's critical eye (Skeleton's Dance), but there's light relief and celebration of the good in humanity too, our ingenuity and ability to invent (Everything's Possible), showbiz comebacks (The Trotter Sisters). It's all done in a manner we've come to expect from such a talented songwriter, the songs are funny but never frivolous, playful but never without a point. Amazingly the album was written in just 2 weeks, in what Beau describes as “... my most intense writing phase ever, even going back to my twenties!

Famously championed by John Peel, Beau featured on the DJ's Dandelion label back in the Perfumed Garden era. Of course the musical climate has changed massively in the intervening decades. Admirably Beau has stuck to the basic principles of what makes his music truthful and honest, rather than indulging in fads and fashions. His songs are recorded without unnecessary studio trickery or technology led instrumentation. All the songs are based on having something to say rather than filling out an album to push “the single”. This might make him something of an anomaly in the current climate but it's something that should be applauded. More power to his elbow!

If you're unfamiliar with Beau's work and want to find out more, check out his previous albums ShoelessIn The Desert, Fly The Bluebird and Twelve Strings To The Beau.

Clickhere for more on Beau.

Tir na nOg – Ricochet (Ltd7”)

Tir na nOg's newest mystical masterpiece! A taster from their first studio LP in over 40 years!

Tir na nOg were and are trailblazers of genre defying acoustic music. The duo formed in 1970, released a string of critically acclaimed albums. and achieved a sizeable cult following before splitting in 1974. The pair re-united in 1985 for sporadic live shows and have recently stepped their touring up a gear, much to the delight of fans old and new.

Their reputation as acid-folk luminaries is now further cemented by the release of new track 'Ricochet' on a coloured vinyl 7”. Taken from the forthcoming album The Dark Dance, (their first in over 40 years), it resembles a devotional Sufi song more than it does Irish or English folk, with echoes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, acoustic Zep and even The Sisters Of Mercy. Drone, Arabic scales and percussion are the order of the day, lending the song an air of urgent mysticism.

The flipside features a previously unreleased live version 'Tir na nOg'. It's a cracking take on their signature song and proof that the pairs' talents and enthusiasm show no signs of diminishing just yet. Land of eternal youth indeed!

Click here for Tir na nOg's website

Click here for the Fruits De Mer website.

Various - Electric Eden (Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music)

Excellent 2CD compilation to accompany Rob Young's book. Documents folk rock's high watermark, and more arcane tributaries.

In 2010 Faber & Faber published Rob Young's book Electric Eden, a beautifully hefty brick of a book that authoritatively examines the British Isles' love of folk music and how it has mutated through the years, seemingly with one foot in an often idealised past, and one eye looking towards a more visionary, exploratory future. It's the sort of book that can have you seriously denting your bank balance as you head over to Amazon to purchase albums by the artists he covers. The book's main thrust deals with the folk rock boom of the late 1960s and early 1970s, when folk moved away from its purest roots and moved towards something more in keeping with the boundary pushing mood of the times. Cue sitars, communes, drugs and the plugging in of electric guitars. Brit-folk's very own “Judas” moment as it were.

It's music from this period that makes up the bulk of Universal's new 2CD compilation released as a companion piece for the book. All of folk rock's big hitters are here – Sandy Denny (both solo and with Fairport Convention and Fotheringay), Bert Jansch (solo and with Pentangle), John Martyn, Nick Drake, Steeleye Span, The Incredible String Band et al, along with lesser celebrated names such as Shelagh McDonald, COB, Comus and Trees. This music has its shoots in the present day via American artists such as Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, and Fleet Foxes which is testament to its enduring resonance.

There have been other similar compilations, notably the Bob Stanley curated Gather In The Mushrooms and Early Morning Hush, Rough Trade's psych-folk collection, and Andy Votel's Folk Is Not A Four Letter Word. What marks this compilation out is its more scholarly take on the music with informative sleeve notes by Rob Young himself, and the fact it's divided up into two CD's, the first entitled Acoustic Eden being more innocent and trad (though still packed with fresh ideas), whereas the second, Electric Albion points to progression and possibilities.

If anything this collection has a slightly more mainstream slant than those previously mentioned, though there are plenty of pleasant surprises too. I'd been unfamiliar with Welshman Meic Stevens yet his sitar-infused track Yorric is one of the stand-out tracks. Comus' Diana sounds like it could have been recorded last week, and wouldn't be out of place on some modern bespoke festival stage. There's even room for a pre-fame David Bowie imitating Marc Bolan's folk warble on Black Country Rock.

The book has a broader sweep than the CD's, taking in folk-song collectors such as Cecil Sharp, classical composer Vaughan Williams and artists that Young considers to be later keepers of the flame such as Kate Bush, Julian Cope and Talk Talk, all of whom are absent from this collection. I'm not sure why that would be, perhaps it wouldn't have flowed as coherently. It is however an excellent starting point for anyone wanting to investigate this particularly fascinating era of music. It's the sort of collection that can open up many musical avenues and once heard you probably will end up heading to the Amazon website, at the very least to buy the book.