The night of 30th April is known as Walpurgisnacht in Northern Europe & Valborgsmässoafton in Sweden. It’s a common folk belief that on this night witches flew from all quarters on broomsticks & on billygoats to eat, drink & dance until the Queen of the May appeared at midnight to mark the driving away of winter.

Throughout Europe & Scandinavia, songs are sung around bonfires to celebrate the arrival of spring.

It’s a lovely way to celebrate our transition from the dark half to the light half of the year.

I’m going to host an online ritual & celebration this year so we can enjoy Walpurgisnacht wherever we are. I will premiere a pre-recorded live performance of songs celebrating the old ways on YouTube at 10pm on Thursday 30th April followed by a Facebook Live candle ritual which you can take part in from your home to welcome in the light half of the year & to welcome good fortune in.

If you want to take part in the celebration email cunningfolkmusic@gmail.com & I will provide you with all the details you need.

This is the corner of my room. You can see a load of books, a ton of CDs & miscellaneous musical equipment & ephemera.

The books are vital to my writing process. I read every day. Sometimes I read for research for the folklore & popular culture talks I give, sometimes I read specifically for subject matter for lyric writing, mostly I read for fun. Whenever I am reading I always have a notebook to hand in case there is an idea or a turn of phrase that inspires me.

I listen to a lot of music. I think that if you want to be the best musician you can be you need become the best listener you can be. I mostly listen to instrumental music when I am reading for fun; Popol Vuh, Messiaen, Glass, Ives, Boards Of Canada, however I do enjoy Sonic Youth & Pavement when I’m reading too. When I’m researching, I read in silence.

I listen to lyrical music mostly in the car. Currently it’s Willie Nelson, Stick In The Wheel, REM & Flaming Lips. Next week it may be Blind Blake, Kraftwerk, Black Sabbath & The Copper Family. As I age I realise that I don’t differentiate between musical genre as much as whether it’s got a heart behind it & is well done. Great electronic music can be very close to modern classical to my ears. Likewise the spirit of a great punk or grunge performance & a traditional singer.

I can’t describe how much I love music, but I suppose the music I make & record is my way of demonstrating it.

All of this preamble is part of a creative process. Creativity is creating something new where there wasn’t something before. It’s sometimes a flash of inspiration, other times it’s a meander, other times a combination of the two.

Creativity thrives on inspiration. Find stuff that inspires you. Enjoy being a fan & liking stuff. Look at the artistic practices of the artists you admire & try them.

If you want to make an album where there wasn’t one before you need a place to be creative in. A place where you can meander & preamble as much as you like with no-one to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. The early stages of writing a song, a tune, an album can be delicate, fragile. Sometimes before you know what you want to do you have to try a bunch of ideas which don’t work. You need to ‘Dare to suck’ as the old song-writer’s adage goes. A successful creation is based on multiple iterations of failure. Best do that out of earshot, for the sake of family & friends.

When creating, ‘yes’ is a very helpful word in the early stages. Give yourself permission to experiment with words, melodies, progressions. Make & record stuff, leave it for a day or two, then see if you like it. If you like it, see if you can make it better. Take your creation apart & see if you can re-assemble it better. If you can’t reassemble it, it wasn’t good enough. When it’s more developed it can be very helpful to play new material to audiences; they will tell you what they like.

Hope you found this interesting. More next week.

 

 

Seeing as I have an album coming out this year I thought I would do a series of blogs about the process of making albums.

So I have been making albums professionally since 1997 &, as the years have tumbled over each other like so many autumn leaves, I’ve learnt a lot about the making & recording music.

The album itself is a throwback to music as an owned commodity. There used to be a time when people would habitually buy music on vinyl, tape or CD to listen to at home. In fact the 20th century music industry was initially driven by the phonograph makers’ need to have things to play on the players they were selling! Nowadays many folk listen to music on Spotify & other such clouds & the physical objects of CDs, Vinyl records & tapes are the preserve of more specialist lovers of musical objects.

I like ‘owning’ the music I listen to, perhaps this makes me feel like more of a patron of the artists I love. It’s a subtly different way of relating to music to listening on a cloud or on the radio; not better, just different.

I like the change in relationship with music that the internet & it’s clouds has brought. I enjoy playlists & compilations, however I love listening to albums. Albums are long-form collections of songs to listen to. In order. From start to finish.

This is an album you ought to listen to from start to finish. Bowie was both a singles artist & an album artist. I bought Low on vinyl from a second hand shop in Balham in 1995 & for years thought side B was side A. (I spent a lot of the 90s heavily intoxicated)

Anyway, the act of recording music can be deeply rewarding. It can almost be an end in itself. I habitually record music & write songs & it’s part of what I am. If you want to make music then that’s as good a place as any to start.

What you can see here is my recording set up. The cheapest MacBook Air you can get. This has the recording software on it. It’s the ‘tape-recorder’. It does not have to be expensive. Behind the computer is the in-out box, the blue box. This converts audio signal to digital signal. This cost me £700 12 years ago. When I need to replace it I expect to spend £1200. The signal convertor is one of the bits of the recording chain you shouldn’t scrimp on. I record at 96k. It sounds better.

The speakers are good too. When you are recording music you need to accurately hear what you are making. I’m not a mix engineer so the speakers are mid-level. My ears simply don’t hear in the way that sound engineers’ ears do. I hear compass, dynamic, vibe, tempo, emotion, magic. I hear delay & reverb.

These are my main microphones. I need a good one for vocals & a good pair for acoustic instruments.

I’m a guitarist. This is my quiver of guitars. I keep them in their cases; they are happier in their safety until they are let out to play. They are my brushes.

I used these two a lot on my upcoming album. The acoustic is a Gibson J200 I bought from a builder in Canvey Island who was scared of how good it was. It is good, actually.

The bass is a 1973 Precision Bass. It’s the same age as I am & about as beaten up. The tone is deadly, especially when picked. I spent the summer of 1990 working at ‘Pizza Perfection’ in Wimborne, Dorset to save up the £350 it cost to buy it. Best purchase of my life. I was a bass player before I became a guitarist & I’m still a bass player in my heart.

My recording studio for the new album was my living room. I had to switch off the washing machine, radiators, oven & extractor fans before doing vocal & acoustic guitar takes & only record when my family was out of the house & the flight path wasn’t on the day when it was over my house.

I’ll go into more detail next week

Busy busy busy. When intensively rehearsing songs, learning stories & researching for upcoming events & presentations it can be hard to find the quiet moments. I enjoy a night walk to clear the head. I leave the mobile phone at home but take a camera just in case I see something. This is a picture I took of a waxing gibbous moon reflected in the waters of Burgess Park Lake, in between the Walworth & Old Kent Roads.

It appears to be a drop of fire called down from the sky.

Some folk plant their crops according to the wax & wane of the moon. Root crop on the wane, cereal on the wax. Some folk do love divination on the new moon or full moon. I prefer to have my hair cut on the waxing.

We are presently on the waning crescent. Roll on Monday 9th of March when we have a Super Full Moon & a Worm Moon to boot.

The Full Moon in March is the Worm Moon, and it is usually considered the last Full Moon of winter. It is also called Lenten Moon, Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Chaste Moon, Sugar Moon, and Sap Moon.

For ten years or so I have been running a monthly folklore society, the South East London Folklore Society, hosting talks on all manner of magical, folkloric & cryptic subjects. It’s really enriching to put on interesting events, & has provided much inspiration for my artistic practice. In order to run these meetings I have a projector & laptop. At home I use the projector to screen films. The experience of watching film does not wear thin.

I have a few friends, Paul, Simon & Martha, who pop over once a month for a screening. We tend to watch experimental or arthouse films. One of the films we watched last year was ‘Requiem for a Village’, which Simon suggested.

It’s a fascinating piece & when  Balham Bowls Club approached me to organise some events I decided I wanted to share the film experiences I have enjoyed. So the Cunning Folk Film Club begins. The 2020 season will be a series of monthly screenings on the first Thursday of each month in the ballroom of the Balham Bowls Club at 8pm. The 2020 season will be films about the British relationship with the the countryside. I am in the process of licensing films & archive TV shows from the BFI & the BFI TV archive. It’s really good fun choosing the films. I hope to announce the full program in the next month or so.

Last Halloween myself & my associates performed a live soundtrack to the Swedish silent classic, Haxan. I am in the process of putting together a few live soundtracks into the film club program.

The cinema experience can be magical. If you want to come to the Cunning Folk Film Club it’s on the first Thursday of the month in the ballroom of the Balham Bowls Club. Doors are 7.30 & screening is at 8pm. Food can be ordered, drinks can be drunk, quiet words can be spoken. The screenings are informal & relaxed but I will be enforcing a ‘no phone conversation’ rule & making sure we are considerate of each other.

So; there is a new Cunning Folk album being mixed at the moment. It’s good.

It’s called ‘Songs of Low & High Magic’. The process of making it has been much like this photo I took the other week; an attempt to catch the Moon in a lake. You are never going to get it but the attempt can bring some beauty into your life. Making music has been part of my life since I was 6 & I have been making albums all of my adult life. It’s got to a point where they feel like diaries. Snapshots of who I was at different times. When I listen back with distance to these records I can remember what my life was about, who I was trying to be, who I was trying to please. Some albums are better than others.

It’s very normal to think that your new collection of music is the best work you have done. I think my new album is the most magical work I have done. I got obsessed with something Robert Fripp said; ‘I’m not interested in music, I’m interested in the magical state music can create’. I’m all about that on this record.

You can’t hear it yet. But you will be able to soon. You can come to a gig too if you like.

I am organising a couple of folk festivals in 2020 which makes me happy. Traditional music helps us understand our shared stories & when done right it’s really good.

I’m also starting a film club. Film is magical when done right. I’ve got a killer season of films.

 

& I will be giving loads of folklore talks. They are interesting.

Music Folklore Magic. That’s what I’m all about.

 

Come to The Atlantis Bookshop on Friday 13th December for a free evening of music, folklore & magic. There will be mulled wine, gingerbread beer, mince pies in one of the most magical places in London. Pagan carols will be sung, Yule tales told as we tread softly towards Midwinter. This event is festive, free, fun & inclusive. It starts at 6.30 & finishes at about 8.30.

I love second hand bookshops. Last year I was ferreting around in one in Brockley & found this tome. I perused it over a coffee & was delighted to find some material I could work with.

Newgate’s Garland is a Murder Ballad about an 18th century villain called Jonathan Wild. Jonathan Wild was the Thief-Taker General of London & would retrieve stolen goods for the nobility & capture thieves for bounty. He was respected by the upper classes for doing a good job. He was, however, an underworld boss. He ran the gangs of robbers so was often able to retrieve goods because he had stolen it!

Rumour had it that he kept a ledger of the robbers in his employ & would mark a cross by the side of those he did not favour. If he marked a second cross against a name that robber would be turned into the authories. This is supposedly how the term ‘double-cross’ came about.

This song is about how the shine came off Jonathan’s reputation. The book said it should be sung to the tune of The Cut Purse but I made up a tune on the drive home in the car which I made an arrangement to.

There are many twists & turns to Jonathan Wild & I would recommend this excellent book if you want to find out more. The wikipedia on him is a pretty good digest.

Many moons ago I wrote this song about Jonathan Wild too

 

Here I am strolling on Martin Down, enjoying the song of the Yellowhammers. Martin Down is on Cranborne Chase & is one of my favourite places to go. It’s got Saxon boundary ditches, ancient tumuli & great wildlife.

Here I am on a heath on the Arne Peninsula near the Isle of Purbeck. It’s quiet here: not as quiet as Bodmin Moor when the air is still but quiet enough to spend a while in peace.

Here I am climbing Gold Hill in Shaftsbury. I love Wessex. I enjoy being outdoors in old places & drifting through histories.

I enjoy the indoors too.

Here I am with my friends Olly & Rocco performing an improvised soundtrack to the 1928 Swedish classic silent movie Haxan. That’s a typical Halloween evening for me. The picture was taken by Claire Donovan & captures the vibe perfectly. I read the Mackay translation of Malleus Maleficum several years back & this film is in keeping with the source persecution. I am currently arranging to perform more live soundtracks of silent films. Murnau, Lester & Bunuel are in the crosshairs with more pending.

I’m currently cooking up all manner of fun events, inside & outside & have made some new recordings which will be released in 2020. If you like Music Folklore & Magic I think you will enjoy…

I’m quite delighted that the event that I am doing next Wednesday with my good friend Chris Roberts, More Fright By Rail,  was in the Evening Standard what’s on column yesterday. It’s nearly sold out but if you hurry you can book from this page link.

I make my living by singing songs & playing my guitar & also by storytelling.

Next Wednesday I will be telling the Dickens classic tale ‘The Signalman’

I first became aware of the story through the classic 1976 BBC adaptation starring Denholm Elliott. I thoroughly recommend the BBC ‘Ghost Story for Christmas’ series; mostly M.R. James adaptations but with a few exceptions like this chilling tale.

The Dickens short story was published in 1876 & comes in at about 15 pages. It is brilliant. If you like ghost stories, treat yourself.

The process of taking a piece of literature & bringing into the more informal craft of storytelling has been an interesting one. I started in June by reading the tale 3 times a week for a month to get a feel for the story. I also read around the subject. The BFI DVD release of Signalman had a great essay by Matthew Sweet which gives excellent background to the tale. It gives a context to Dickens’ work at the time & some sensitive analysis. Having a context to tell into, a deeper understanding of the world of the story gives me confidence when working with material like this.

The story of the Signalman has a lot of dialogue in it. Over July & August, in between jobs, I transcribed the dialogue from the tale & then in September I filleted out the key exchanges to work with & the nailed the key plot points. I also had a good idea of the underlying implicit feelings & meanings I wanted to communicate.

When preparing stories to tell I have a short attention span & can only work in bursts of an hour or so per day before I lose momentum so starting well in advance of the date is key.

In October I started rehearsing; speaking into a recorder. I need some kind of audience to work to even if it is just a microphone. The first few performances are rubbish, but that’s really useful. I like mistakes; if you can find them all out in rehearsal  you won’t make them in performance. Once all the iterations of failure have been identified I stand a good chance of telling a good tale.

Now with a few days to go I have found a few trusted folk to tell the tale to. The notes I get back are really useful.

I’m really looking forward to telling The Signalman next week. Working with such great subject matter makes me realize afresh quite how brilliant Dickens was & quite how fresh his work still is. Go read him.