Tremendous. ‘Albert’s Place’ from Martyn Joseph is an example of three key elements: quality songwriting, absorbing performance and the power of music, both to connect people and to convey great feeling. His voice is full of character, perfect for telling stories, and his guitar is warm and brightly melodic. This song has been released as a commission from BBC’s ’21st Century Folk’ project, which aims to present life in the North East of England through folk songs. It’s an innovative concept that distils the local culture and shared life experiences into original songs about individual people, each written by an acclaimed songwriter. Joseph’s song is about Andrea Bell, who runs – along with other volunteers – The Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen, a soup kitchen and food bank, serving the homeless and anyone struggling financially. In recent times, they have seen a great increase in demand as the country experiences a cost of living crisis.
Joseph says: “I’ve always felt that music is a big conduit of empathy and hope, and should come alongside us and remind us that we’re not alone in the world. And if you want to tell the story of a big issue, it’s best to find one person within that issue and tell that one person’s story.” And Joseph manages to tell one person’s story so effectively here that it’s totally disarming and emotional to listen to. Add in the fact that this video performance is in front of the song’s tearful subject and this becomes utterly involving. As I said: tremendous. This is what music is for. Look here for pre-orders.
