UKC

Just been told about The Bad Shepherds. What other folky stuff is out there to discover?

Thanks muchly

youtube.com/watch?v=__KtZNtuyn8&

In reply to The Lemming:
Scots, Irish, English, American, trad, contemporary, songs, instrumental ? - bit like asking for recommendations for pop or rock

But, look for Plantxy (Irish), Dick Gaughan or Shooglenifty (Scots), June Tabor & Nic Jones (English), Nick Drake (contemporary) as a start, maybe with Fairport Convention & Steeleye Span for something more folk-rock

In reply to The Lemming:

Watersons. Seminal.

In reply to The Lemming:
Listen to some Martin Simpson especially the more recent stuff, he also crosses over Atlantic to look at more folk/blues stuff from over there, often pulling out those ancient folk connections between us.

In reply to The Lemming:
I like Liam Clancy singing "I'm a freeborn man".

In reply to Mike Conlon:

I like the Johnstons singing it

In reply to The Lemming:

some of my favourites
Kate Rusby ( North England)
Karine Polwart
E2K (Also called Edward 11)
Levellers
The Men they Couldn't Hang
Show of Hands

also check out http://www.celticconnections.com/Pages/default.aspx
festival this week!
B

In reply to Mike Conlon:

Freeborn Man's one of my all time favourites, but I prefer the original Ewan MacColl myself

In reply to The Lemming:


Ok.

Hey everybody, this is The Lemming.

He likes to start lots of threads on here, but rarely takes much time to contribute anything to them after that. Nevertheless, if you wouldn't mind sparing him the effort of doing even the most cursory research of his own by providing thoughtful replies that will likely be ignored, that would be just peachy.

(You're welcome.)

In reply to The Lemming:

Try these for starters,

Throbbing Gristle
Napalm Death
Revolting C@cks
Electro Hippies

Enjoy!

In reply to The Lemming:
You might like to try the wonders of Radio. Mark Radcliffe introduces a great show at 7pm on Wednesdays on Radio 2 - good range of stuff from all areas of folk. On Radio Scotland at this time of year there is a lot of coverage of the Glasgow festival - Celtic Connections. This includes a huge range of music not all of it folk but all quality.
I love Radio because it introduces me to so much new stuff - its a bit like a Global iPod shuffle!
Currently listening to Jamie Cullum's Jazz programme on Radio 2.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

Hi

Radio 2 is a good idea with Mark Radcliffe on Wednesday nights and I do occasionally listen to it, but very occasionally.

I now have a Deezer account and want to spread my wings, so to speak.

Thank you, to yourself, and those kind people who advised me with what to check out over the next few weeks.

Cheers

In reply to The Lemming:

How about the Spinners?

In reply to marsbar:

Nowt wrong with the Spinners.

However I am after a modern sounding folk singer band. Would that be an oxymoron asking for a modern sounding folk band?

In reply to The Lemming:

Listen to this radio station. True Brilliance.
http://www.folkradio.co.uk/

In reply to The Lemming:
On Radio Scotland the flagship folk programme is Travelling Folk. Well worth a listen on iPlayer.

In reply to The Lemming:

You could give haysee dixy (spelling! !) a go

In reply to The Lemming:

For those about to folk, we disown you!

In reply to The Lemming:
It seemed worth a check so I Googled Folk Music. Here is an extract from the result.
A consistent definition of traditional folk music is elusive.
........despite the assembly of an enormous body of work over some two centuries, there is still no certain definition of what folk music .......... is.
Looks like it could be anything but I still hear stuff that immediately hits me as folk!
Any thoughts on what it is?

In reply to The Lemming:

These kids are good.

youtube.com/watch?v=f1Dp20CG6rw&

In reply to The Lemming:

More votes for Martin Simpson & show of Hands. Oh - and The Oysterband.

In reply to AdrianC:

Show of Hands - Boys of Summer recorded on RadMac's Jurrasic coast walk is just heavenly. But is it folk? ......Of course it is!

In reply to The Lemming:

The German volksmusikgruppen: Kraftwerk

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

My thoughts on folk music are, stories with a tail played in a stylised way crafted over a couple of hundred years. Almost timeless in its delivery. Take Fairport Convention as an example. A sixties band knocking out tunes from as far back as the battle of Cropredy to some closer to when I was born.

Though anything can be crafted to a folk styled tune such as renditions of, my newly discovered 'The Bad Shepherds', playing Ace of Spades or Billy Bragg's Between the wars.

However I also like Bluegrass, which to my simple mind is America's version of Folk music.

But you can't beat a good old bit of fiddle da dee

youtube.com/watch?v=tBAx4DpsWX8&

In reply to Maestro:


Duly added to my Sonos radio stations

And Deezer so I can subject work colleagues to it while driving.

Cheers

In reply to The Lemming:

Sun 0)))

In reply to The Lemming:

Cara Dillon.

In reply to The Lemming:

Alan Stivell, pioneer of Celtic folk-rock in the 70s.........

youtube.com/watch?v=OU4Puqu8V9M&

In reply to Tobes:



Everyone knows that if you play Napalm Death at a quarter speed and shift the pitch up a couple of octaves it is just old Spinners songs...

In reply to Clarence:


Best Napalm Death song I heard was one which literally only lasted one second! Just about summed them up really

In reply to The Lemming:
Nick Harper, best seen live for a great night out. Richard Thompson, obv.
For more hardcore contemp, try Eliza Carthy, Fay Heald.

In reply to The Lemming:

Chris Stout (esp First o' the darkening, but it's all good)
Lau (Arc Light; Lightweights & Gentlemen)
Kris Drever
John McCusker
Drever/ McCusker/ Woomble trio
Mike Vass

In reply to inboard:

Good call... I add Kan, Rough Island Band and Faustus for starters.

In reply to The Lemming: Shooglenifty is a good call; some top tunes from them. Have a listen to A Whisky Kiss or The Arms Dealer's Daughter. You might look at The Unthanks (cracking cover of Starless and Bible Black on one of their albums). And why not try The Book Of Invasions by The Horslips for a more progressive feel (bonkers concept, cracking album). There's some good stuff by Spiro too; try Kaleidophonica.

Lots to go at. Enjoy!

T.
Different style of music altogether but from what I've gathered about your tastes, you might like Regardless by Thea Gilmore too.

In reply to Skipinder:

And if you're going to listen to Kraftwerk, then you should also try Croftwork - album by Peatbog Faeries. Nothing like the source of the pun inspiration, but good celtic fusion folk-rock (I think is how you might describe it?)

In reply to Doug:

Nick Drake . . . . . . . . contemporary??

Didn't he die about 40 years ago?

In reply to coinneach:



well his songs are not 'trad', so ....

In reply to The Lemming:

The Staves are worth a listen. Beautiful sonorous harmonies.

In reply to inboard:


Thanks for that! I may have to purchase the album

In reply to inboard:


Many moons ago Fawksey put me onto The Peatbog Faeries, and a damn fine album it is too.

Also this site is the poorer for not having him around.

In reply to The Lemming:

Mighty Doohans
Martin Simpson (some of)
Levellers
Lucy Ward

In reply to The Lemming:

For slightly younger artistes than some of those mentioned above:

Gilmore and Roberts: youtube.com/watch?v=83jCYHYQDYs&

Carrivick Sisters: youtube.com/watch?v=Vud0bp3iY3g&

In reply to The Lemming:

Why has nobody mentioned Bob Dylan, Donovan, Steeleye Span, Joan Baez, Julie Felix, The Dubliners, etc etc etc? Too many greats to name.

In reply to The Lemming:

Try Ivor Cutler.

In reply to Al Evans:

Steeleye Span was in the first reply !

In reply to The Lemming:

For trad Scottish and Irish, I mostly end up listening to 70s stuff by Planxty (already mentioned), the Bothy Band and the Boys of the Lough.
Martin Carthy, Faustus and Spiers and Boden are great for English stuff.

In reply to Al Evans:


Well Steeleye was mentioned right up top, and the others are all what you could call "commercial old guard"...which is fine, but I'd have thought some of the more contemporary folky artistes would give a better indication of where the genre's at these days. There's loads more of the "old guard" missing (Martin Carthy, Pete Seeger, Ewan MacColl, Jacqui McShee, Bert Jansch to name just a few).

And there's very little mention of what you could call the "traddy end" of folk above: eg the Copper Family: youtube.com/watch?v=upNaAQer98I&

or Alan Day on the Anglo concertina: youtube.com/watch?v=PH6ozwU_dq8&

or Northumbrian smallpipes and Nyckelharpa: youtube.com/watch?v=FkJn-NLKH4E&

or me mates The Twagger Band: youtube.com/watch?v=Ah488x1cfOo&

who I sometimes have the immense pleasure of playing with on the last Sunday of the month at a pub in Ditchling.

All of which "folk purists" would consider as nearer to "real folk music" than Donovan or Dylan.

In reply to The Lemming:


Shooglenifty, Duncan Chisholm, Julie Fowlis. All part of a burgeoning trad scene in Scotland at the moment.

In reply to Rob Naylor:

Out of interest is ewan maccoll laurens dad?

In reply to thommi:

No, he was Kirsty MacColl's dad, though, who's mum was his second wife. His 3rd wife was Peggy Seeger, and their son Neill MacColl's David Gray's guitarist. His grandson Jamie MacColl is in Bombay Bicycle Club.

A lot of songs that seem to get listed on the web, and even in books and song collections, as "Trad Irish" were actually written by Ewan MacColl. Songs like:

Shoals of Herring (written about Yarmouth herring fisherman, and "back-tradded" to being supposed to be Irish, then further "back-tradded" when the song "Shores of Erin" was created from it and now often mistakenly thought to be the inspiration for "Shoals"!)

Dirty Old Town (about Salford but again aoften listed as Irish)

Moving On Song (often thought to be a trad Irish Traveller song)

Kilroy Was Here
Paddy West
Born In The Middle Of The Afternoon

Other songs he wrote that he hardly ever gets recognition for are:

The First Time Ever I saw Your Face (dictated over the phone from UK to USA by him to Peggy!)
Fourpence A Day (usually thought to be Trad Geordie)

And of specific interest to climbers and mountaineers:

The Manchester Rambler
Joy Of Living (which will be sung at my funeral)

In reply to Douglas Griffin:

Doug, I love Julie Fowlis. First encountered her at the Transatlantic Sessions: youtube.com/watch?v=MnBBQ-_D2Hc&

Their London gig about 3 years ago was probably one of the best gigs I've ever been to.

In reply to Rob Naylor:

She's wonderful. Not just the voice (which is out of this world), but she'd pretty handy on the bagpipes and the penny whistle too. Seen her in concert a few times, most recently at the Woodend Barn in Banchory, Aberdeenshire. Will be heading back there soon to see Duncan Chisholm (fiddler).
youtube.com/watch?v=UERkj1otNmY&

Forgot to mention Capercaillie - still going strong after 30+ years in the game; their last album (At the Heart of it All) as good as anything they've ever produced, I reckon.

In reply to Rob Naylor:

ps - I keep running into Cap'n Paranoia's brother at folk concerts in Aberdeen!

In reply to Douglas Griffin:
I'll be running into Captain Paranoia himself in Roy Bridge in March! Shame you can't make it.....we may have a little band going ourselves up there. Nat's a great singer, my friend Ellie sings well and plays guitar a bit and there are a couple of proper guitarists going as well as myself with my quite limited skills.

In reply to The Lemming:

Blackbeard's Tea Party do a good live show: youtube.com/watch?v=_4TGpqap1I0&

In reply to The Lemming:

Robin Williamson: youtube.com/watch?v=cBwBl6h8jhA& (including virtuoso playing of wine glasses)

In reply to The Lemming:




Dont bother, its not very good.

In reply to The Lemming:

bellowhead

In reply to Rob Naylor:

Was speaking to Julie today - she is playing at Celtic Connections tomorrow night and on several other nights through the festival!

In reply to The Lemming:

Some nice suggestions on the thread some of which I am a fan of and some which i need to note down. Rather than repeat some from a general intro viewpoint try the Mike Harding podcast. Covers a decent range although biased to the UK side of things.

In reply to dissonance:

BBC coverage of 2015 Celtic Connections: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0070b8l

In reply to dissonance:



I too would once again like to thank people for their recommendations.

It's going to take me quite a while to listen to all these suggestions, but I will take a punt with every one mentioned.