Posted
Andy Cutting is one of those truly great musicians who is content for his music to speak for itself. Quietly spoken and deeply modest he is a pleasure to talk to, not least for his depth of knowledge of the history, tunes and personalities within the English Folk Tradition. This modesty is part of his… Read more »
Posted
Paul Hutchinson was persuaded by his father to take up the accordion at the age of 17, the young Paul formed a ceilidh band and never looked back. His father never had the heart to tell him that it was a practical joke. Then one day in a field Paul formed Belshazzar’s feast with Paul,… Read more »
Posted
Paul Sartin is a prolific musical marvel, he is the the brains behind Faustus, the brawn behind Bellowhead and the beauty at the heart of Belshazzar’s Feast. A man for whom the very idea of only having one pot on the boil is a sign of weakness. Rumour has it that he travels everywhere with piano,… Read more »
Posted
An exclusive interview with Ashley Hutchings about his new album by Simon Jones. In September 1987 Ashley Hutchings released a truly remarkable and strikingly personal album, By Gloucester Docks I Sat Down & Wept. Detailing a love affair with painstaking references to his own feelings and the ensuing fallout it was the last thing you’d expect… Read more »
Posted
Categories: Features
English luthier NK Forster announced a major professional milestone today, celebrating 30 years of guitar making in Newcastle upon Tyne. His business, NK Forster Guitars, makes a variety of guitars and other stringed instruments for both amateur and professional clients. “It’s hard to believe 30 years have passed since I started in this business,” said Forster…. Read more »
Posted
Award-winning festival Bearded Theory celebrates its ten year anniversary at the end of this month, we caught up for a pre festival interview with Rich Bryan, Festival Organiser….. For a festival that started life as a private party in a pub, you’ve come a long way, how does it feel to be celebrating the tenth… Read more »
Posted
Categories: Features
Wardruna have just released the final part of their Runaljod trilogy, an epic musical journey through the Norse runic alphabet known as the Elder Futhark. The final album is called Ragnarok and we caught up with main man Einar Selvik to discuss his approach to the runes and the incredible success of his project that… Read more »
Posted
Categories: Features
We grabbed a quick chat with Kate Rusby to find out a little more about her new release Life in a Paper Boat What comes first when writing your own songs, the words or the melody? Nearly always its a tune that comes first, tune, riff, passage of chords, any of these will be present… Read more »
Posted
Categories: Features
Angus R Grant is dancing round the kitchen along with all the rest of Shooglenifty; not physically of course, but as a reaction to the unexpected and sad news of his passing, I’m sequencing all of the Shooglenifty releases from Venus In Tweeds to The Untied Knot in chronological order. What’s coming out just now is one of those… Read more »
Posted
Quite frankly it feels that Wardruna have tapped into some very ancient powers with their trilogy of albums exploring the deeper esoteric meanings of the ancient Norse runic alphabet. They use some of the oldest Nordic musical instruments , self-made frame drums and ceremonial drums, mouth harp, tagelharpe (‘viking fiddle’), flutes, goat horns, tongue horns and… Read more »
