#4314: New Approaches to Folk Music
Hear new takes on old folk traditions - whether from the British Isles or Appalachia - including music by Lankum, Windborne, Bonny Light Horseman, and Irish singer Dàibhidh Stiùbhard.
Listen to music by Dublin-based four-piece Lankum, made up of brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat. They aren’t shy about using darkness and drone in their originals and when they rework traditional folk songs into immersive sonic landscapes. Also, hear fellow Dubliners, Varo, whose members, Lucie Azconaga and Consuelo Breschi, are from France and Italy respectively. Varo is named after the river that, centuries ago, used to represent the border between France and Italy, yet theirs is traditional Irish music with hints of baroque, medieval and folk influences. Plus, listen to traditional singer and & Gaelic culture enthusiast Dàibhidh Stiùbhard, whose debut album An Sionnach Dubh — the black fox — places songs from the Ulster, Irish language and Scots Gaidhlig traditions alongside his own songwriting and learning.
Then, listen to "électrotrad" by Mélisande, who have arranged traditional Quebecois folk song for electronics, clogging, and jaw harp. Sample a delicate chamber pop song from the English trio The Staves, together with NYC-based ensemble yMusic. Also, England’s The House Band plays "Bonnie Light Horseman," the song of a woman whose man has been killed in retreat during the Boer War in South Africa.
“The Lyke-Wake Dirge,” a dark and brooding funeral song from northernmost England, is known to singers of traditional songs through its resurrection by folk trio The Young Tradition in the 1960s. We’ll hear their version, along with a 2014 reworking of the same tune by violinist/whistler/polymath Andrew Bird, and the mournful baritone of Matt Berninger of the National.
Listen to music from Vermont-based harmony singers Windborne, as well as the eerie and mesmerizing sounds of siblings and folk revivalists Lal & Mike Waterson, from their landmark record, Bright Phoebus. That, and more.
Program #4314: New Approaches to Folk Music (First aired 1/07/2020)
ARTIST: The House Band
WORK: Bonnie Light Horseman [1:00]
RECORDING: WNYC, 1987
SOURCE/INFO: This performance not commercially available.
ARTIST: Bonny Light Horseman
WORK: Bonny Light Horseman [1:00]
RECORDING: Bonny Light Horseman
SOURCE: 37d03d Records | Due out Jan. 24, 2020
INFO: 37d03d.com
ARTIST: Lankum
WORK: Hunting the Wren [7:12]
RECORDING: The Livelong Day
SOURCE: Rough Trade
INFO: lankum.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Varo
WORK: Sovay (The Female Highwaymen) [4:21]
RECORDING: Soundcloud
SOURCE: https://soundcloud.com/varo-dublin
INFO: facebook.com/pg/Varo.Dublin
ARTIST: Lankum
WORK: Ode To Lullaby [4:52]
RECORDING: The Livelong Day
SOURCE: Rough Trade
INFO: lankum.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Mélisande [électrotrad]
WORK: Tapetipetap [3:27]
RECORDING: Les myriades
SOURCE: Borealis Records
INFO: borealisrecords.com
ARTIST: Bonny Light Horseman
WORK: Bonny Light Horseman [4:26]
RECORDING: Bonny Light Horseman
SOURCE: 37d03d Records | Due out Jan. 24, 2020
INFO: 37d03d.com
ARTIST: The Staves & yMusic
WORK: Sprig of Thyme [2:29]
RECORDING: The Way is Read
SOURCE: Nonesuch 564053
INFO: nonesuch.com
ARTIST: Dàibhidh Stiùbhard
WORK: Úirchill An Chreagáin (The Churchyard Of Kilcreggan) [3:36]
RECORDING: An Sionnach Dubh
SOURCE: Wildtune
INFO: wildtune.org
ARTIST: The Young Tradition
WORK: A Lyke Wake Dirge [2:49]
RECORDING: Anthems in Eden
SOURCE: Sanctuary Records Group / Castle Music
INFO: mainlynorfolk.info
ARTIST: Lal & Mike Waterson
WORK: Bright Phoebus [2:52]
RECORDING: Bright Phoebus
SOURCE: Trailer Records 2076 / Reissued Domino
INFO: mainlynorfolk.info
ARTIST: Windborne
WORK: Darlin' Corey [3:05]
RECORDING: Recollections/Revolutions
SOURCE: Wand'ring Feet Records
INFO: sott.backerkit.com
ARTIST: Andrew Bird & Matt Berninger
WORK: A Lyke Wake Dirge [4:00]
RECORDING: A Lyke Wake Dirge single
SOURCE: Michigan Sun Productions / Republic Records
INFO: Available at Apple Music, Spotify or on Youtube
