Ian Anderson, Colin Irwin and Robin Denselow join Trevor Dann on the latest Propermusic.com Podcast to discuss the winning albums in the fRoots Critics Poll 2011, why physical still has the edge over digital in specialist music and what we can look forward to in 2012. Colin and Ian also give an interesting angle on the year, although they both agree it has been a solid year for traditional music there is a need for something new in folk music. They also look back at what was in the folk charts 30 years ago and how it has changed from a ‘celtic’ to a more English focus…an interesting listen with plenty of scope for discussion!
Propermusic.com Podcast: fRoots Critics Poll 2011
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The elephant in the room here is that everyone freely admits that there are plenty of young artists and young audience, but actually the thing holding the scene back now is a lack of young journalists and gig promoters and radio DJs and podcasters.
While new podcasts and blogs have begun to spring up they are (FRUK excluded of course
) largely still representing the old guard. Having four 50/60-something men who work in the traditional media sitting wondering why you don’t hear about new bands in the traditional media is patently ridiculous.
No, offence intended to any of them and they have all done sterling work to promote folk music, but until there is somebody younger with more up-to-date reference points reviewing folk records in the broadsheets, or a folk show on 6Music for example, the whole status quo is going to be maintained.
Hi Sam….I do spend time thinking about all this as I regularly see people debating about it. Our perspective is very broad and we still deal directly with a lot of artists rather than the PR machine which only feeds artists to you that can afford their services.
Personally I think the folk music scene is very vibrant and healthy. As for the change that is mentioned in the podcast…I don’t think it has ever stopped changing. It’s the nature of folk music which is always being progressed, re-interpreted etc. I just think some are more aware of it than others and some just cannot see the wood for the trees which is not helped by the numerous number of blogs that exist today, some good some terrible. Outside of the web those changes are maybe more obvious in some of the more adventurous folk clubs than others.
As for the magazines some just can’t survive on covering fringe artists as they don’t sell but fRoots are featuring more new artists who have sat on the fringe for a while now such as Mary Hampton and Sam Amidon and they are picking up on new talent: Rapunzel and Sedayne, Naomi Bedford…I think they’re getting better at what they do.
I don’t agree entirely with the podcast comments about festivals. There are many festivals that don’t call themselves ‘folk’ festivals but do cover it (Greenman) and some of the big established folk festivals are shifting which will hopefully encourage others to follow suit and have a broader selection of new up and coming young acts. Cambridge Folk Festival for example has a great young line-up for The Den stage next year: http://www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk/news/the-den-line-up-announced.html
The stage is run through a partnership that includes The Magpie’s Nest who are a great folk club (also winners of a BBC Folk Award for best Folk Club). I was on a music panel the other week with Sam Lee (a founding member of the Magie’s Nest) and it was great to share my enthusiasm with someone who also loves uncovering new emerging artists. Check them here:
http://www.themagpiesnest.co.uk/
The ElectroAcoustic Club is another great venue: http://www.pulluptheroots.co.uk/
I understand entirely where you’re coming from but I’m feeling quite positive about folk music right now…I think a lot of people get too bogged down in the annual BBC Folk Awards debate around this time of year and forget the bigger picture. It also helps to look back on how the scene has changed in the last 6 years. It is so different from when we first started this station. I don’t think it is as old school as people maybe think it is.The traditional music scene is as vibrant as it’s ever been and shades between trad and contemporary are not so defined as they used to be, at least not in my perception.
I think it’s all looking bright and colourful
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