Album: From Here: English Folk Field Recordings

Release date: 17 March 2017

Label: From Here Records

Live: Cafe Oto, 18-19 March

In 2016, following their ground-breaking debut album release, radical folk band Stick In The Wheel began a field recording project with some of the best loved names in folk music. The collaborative album, ‘From Here: English Folk Field Recordings’ will be released on 17 March 2017, with a weekend of shows at London’s Café Oto on 18 & 19 March.

Recorded on location, produced and curated by Nicola Kearey and Ian Carter, these brand new recordings offer a different way to hear some distinguished folk names alongside lesser known artists.

Renowned for music that’s true and unadorned, Stick In The Wheel invited the musicians to think about what ‘From Here’ means to them – by way of place or geography, or as a way of exploring their musical origins – ‘here’s what I am, this is where I’m from’. An investigation not only of the past, but also of cultural identity; what it means to be making folk music now.

“We set out to make a collection of live recordings that get to the very heart of what folk music is about. We wanted to capture performances that were immediate and intimate. You feel like you’re in the room with the artists, witnessing a living, evolving tradition.”

In locations including a stone cottage in Edale, a London bank vault, a Bristol back room, a Robin’s Hood Bay garden at dusk and a Bedford kitchen – each track was recorded live, two stereo mics, no overdubs. Exactly as if you were right there.

“Our aim is to connect folk music to a wider audience whilst challenging the perception of what it is – here are some important artists from the scene, performing in the most traditional way possible – raw and powerful.”

This carefully curated collection is a snapshot of English Folk music right now, connecting the old to the new, the past to the present. Reflecting SITW’s unique sound aesthetic of stark beauty, this album unites a multiplicity of performers and material, resulting in an intense, intimate experience for both artist and listener.