Tag Archives: folk

Karine Polwart to release ‘Scottish Songbook’ album in August

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6 time BBC award-winning singer songwriter Karine Polwart releases her eighth album this coming August.   ‘Scottish Songbook’ does what it says on the tin, with Karine re-interpreting various pieces of Scottish pop spanning the last six decades.  Fans will experience her putting her own stamp on classics by Deacon Blue and The Waterboys, as well as revisiting Strawberry Switchblades huge 1985 hit ‘Since Yesterday’.

You can find out more in the press release below, which contains a link to the new single, a cover of Ivor Cutler’s ‘Women of The World’.

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Watch: ‘Swan’, a new live video from Lisa Hannigan

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Irish singer songwriter Lisa Hannigan has been recording for seventeen years.  She first came to fame via her appearances on Damien Rice’s early albums, but her own ‘Sea Sew’ album from 2008 propelled her to stardom and earnt her a Mercury Prize nomination for the song ‘Lille’.

Each of her subsequent albums have been critically acclaimed and her career has continued to thrill fans.  In May, Lisa will release her first full length live album, ‘Live In Dublin’, recorded with Stargaze.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Come Join My Orchestra: The British Baroque Pop Sound 1967-73

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Between 2016-2018, Grapefruit Records released three excellent box sets exploring the nooks and crannies of the British psychedelia movement. The three anthologies featured in excess of over two hundred tracks and even included items which even the more devoted psych obsessive hadn’t heard before. Having almost exhausted that particular avenue, the same label’s ‘Come Join My Orchestra: The British Baroque Pop Sound 1967-73′ from November 2018 provides an interesting side-step. In the wake of numbers like The Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘For No One’ and the Stones’ ‘Lady Jane’, baroque pop became in vogue and all manner of artists – obscure or otherwise – turned to applying strings and flutes a-plenty. Not quite straight pop, but never as ostentatious as prog rock would make the orchestra, the seven year stretch bridging the two decades turned up all kinds of treats. While often favouring the singer songwriter over the pop bands, ‘Come Join My Orchestra’ is a great celebration of these sometimes forgotten musical experiments – and with seventy eight tracks ranging from the cult classic to genuinely obscure, there’s a lot here to take in.

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Bert Jansch: First ever career spanning “best of” due in October

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For fans of folk music, the works of Bert Jansch have long held a fascination.  A “musician’s musician”, his approach to the acoustic guitar provided beautiful sounds and, like fellow English folkie Nick Drake, his best works remain ones people look up to and aspire to emulate.

Jimmy Page is a huge fan and, indeed, took inspiration from several cuts from Jansch’s 1966 LP ‘Jack Orion’ when recording acoustic works between 1969 and 1970.  In recent years, parts of Jansch’s catalogue of work has been reissued on CD in both individual album formats and three expansive box sets, but until now, there has never been a compilation that allows fans and new listeners the opportunity to explore his back catalogue in a well-curated set.

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REAL GONE GOES OUT: Levellers – Hall By The Sea, Dreamland, Margate, Kent 30/6/2018

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Since the second re-opening of the Dreamland complex in Margate in 2017, the theme park has gone from strength to strength. While the big draw for many visitors has been the selection of nostalgic fairground rides, others have applauded the decision to use the Hall By The Sea as a legitimate venue for live gigs. Dreamland has played host to shows by Gorillaz (a sell out in minutes), Bat For Lashes, psych band Snapped Ankles (with some memorable visuals), Super Furry Animals and more besides. In February 2018, a double headliner between ska legends The Selecter and The Beat (featuring Ranking Roger) resulted in a classic night at the seaside. The Hall By The Sea has provided a brilliant and cool alternative to the frankly past-it Winter Gardens – a venue that still thinks that The Stylistics, the racism of Jim Davidson and a carpet from 1983 is what people really want.

Tonight, Brighton’s favourite sons, Levellers are the visiting dignitaries. They’d previously visited Margate in 2001 and 2004 for shows at the aforementioned Winter Gardens, but this is their first visit since the slow rejuvenation of the town slowly began not long after. The Hall By The Sea is, naturally, a far better fit for them – the spacious area is perfect for dancing, bouncing – and sweating – and the sound quality is amazing. The crowd are naturally well up for a good night and especially so considering this show has already been postponed. …But what will they play tonight? Since the setlists from Utrecht on June 15th and Boston on June 18th differed greatly, seemingly, the gloves are off…

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