Well, here we are, well into Autumn now and more than ready for another roundup of the happening sounds in the folk world that – hopefully – will appeal to you, the engaged readership of Americana UK. And it’s probably about time to mention that it’s just nine weeks until Christmas… which means it’s only three or four weeks until the ever-popular Jingle Bells Fridays feature will return. As you’ll recall, this covers the best in seasonal, solstice, winterval-type songs from both the americana and folk genres. So, if you’ve got a hammer dulcimer version of ‘Merry Christmas Everyone‘, then you know where to send it – new songs welcome as well, of course. That’s the future, though, what about today?
We start with Ethan Setiawan, pictured above, who has an excellent new album called “Encyclopedia Mandolinnica” on which he explores the varied possibilities of…yes, you’ve guessed it….the mandolin. On ‘Mount Holly’, the New York musician is assisted by Joe K Walsh, which allowed a multi-layered sound as Setiawan says: “This one’s for the Fogels, at whose cabin in Vermont I spent a couple of great New Year’s, and who smoke the most delicious meat at all hours at festivals in the Northeast. Started in Vermont and finished on the Green Line in Boston, I let my ear guide this one, rather than my fingers. A great exercise for the musician. Finished off by recording with the low mandolins – octave mandolin and mandola – thanks to Joe.”
Dekker has a new album, “Neither Up Nor Down“, recently released, from which ‘Change The Chord’ is taken. Raised in the Midwest of America, Brookln Dekker now resides in Nottingham, from where he toured Europe widely as one half of the indie-folk duo Rue Royale alongside his English wife Ruth. Their last album was in 2018, and Dekker has concentrated on solo releases in more recent years, with a series of indie-folk albums. He says of the latest release that ““With Neither Up Nor Down”, I was chasing a particular feeling—something hushed but steady, weighty but open. I wasn’t aiming for complexity or cleverness, just a kind of emotional clarity.”
He’s got a number of dates coming up next month:
4 November – Oporto, Leeds
5 November – Rough Trade, Bristol
6 November – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
7 November – The Lower Third, London
9 November – Rough Trade, Nottingham
10 November – Stereo, Glasgow
11 November – Night & Day, Manchester
Continuing along the indie-folk pathway, we find Florida’s The 502s, who actually self-identify as beach-folk with music that taps into the happiest vibes and upbeat feelings. Something clearly went wrong on ‘Quicksand‘, which finds love disappearing into a quagmire of regrets and false moves – and there’s no backing out. The whole mood is “you don’t want me at all“, and that’s not a great feeling (so we’re told).
Written solely by lead vocalist and banjo/guitar player Ed Isola, it’s a song that the band Joe Capati (saxophone, trumpet, harmony vocals), Sean Froelich (drums, percussion), Nick Dallas (bass, harmony vocals) and Graci Phillips (guitar) describe as: “a different mood from most of the album, but it felt important to recognize that we all go through hard times. We’ve all fallen out of love, and being able to open up about your pain is a huge part of getting to a better place.”
The album alluded to is “Easy Street“, which was released last month.
Ian North takes us into a more traditional (if that’s not an oxymoron) folk-rock sound on his song ‘Cliffs Of Portugal‘, which was inspired by North’s time spent on the south-western tip of Portugal, where he stood at the same vantage point said to have inspired King Henry the Navigator to send his fleet into the unknown. Other, more personal, influences came to bear as well, with Ian North explaining, “I had some experiences while traveling that ended up in the lyrics, but in the back of my mind was always the idea of sailing over the edge of the known world. Especially after my dad died, it became about what we leave behind and what we find when we cross into the next part of the journey.”
And we’re back into experimental folk territory with Clara Cloud, whose ‘Rabbit King‘ brings in elements of Alice in Wonderland as well as an insistent pace which just sweeps the listener along on this tale of the perils of being made monarch. It’s taken from the Canadian singer-songwriter’s sophomore album “As Above.” Clara Cloud was raised in the mountain town of Kimberley, BC, and has been weaving music, film, and theatre into her work since 2018, all while mentoring the next generation of artists through her role as a music educator.
And, here we are at the end of another column – just time for a classic folk track choice. And this is driven by the turn of the seasons – it’s a wonderful thing for a songwriter to come up with a song that remains memorable and appropriate year after year, and that’s something Sandy Denny certainly did on more than one occasion. As every Autumn rolls around, though, and flocks of geese sweep across the sky, there is an inevitability to the recollection of the line “across the purple sky…all the birds are leaving.” So, with no further ado, Sandy with The Strawbs for ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes.‘
