This week we finished recording our new album, Blossom & Fruit, at XYZ Studios in Hackney Wick with Ian Carter from Stick in the Wheel. I’ve been obsessively listening to the rough mixes today and fucking hell it’s sounding amazing! I’m not sure how excited I should be getting right now since it’s not going … More Recording Our New Album

The Mari Lwyd has escaped from Wales and was stalking the streets of London on Friday night! Good times seeing how much we could freak out Kings Cross pub clientele with Welsh songs and a horse’s skull (they dealt with it well!), then dancing at London Welsh Centre with the Spring Heeled Jacks.

Let’s do this! 1. Ryley Walker – Golden Sings That Have Been Sung. This is the album that’s had the most play by far, it’s dense and unpredictable and has a bonus 45 minute version of one of the songs, and is somehow different in every situation you play it. Great for cruising along the … More Top 5 Albums of 2016

I found this song at the very back of the Oxford Book of Ballads (1969), unattributed, as ‘Stratton Water’ and have spent the last few weeks arranging it – and trying to learn all the words! Although very traditional in form, and with some typical motifs like the white swan for a drowning woman and the castle … More A Pre-Raphaelite Ballad

I quite like Bob Dylan*, and him winning the Nobel Prize is good reason to go listen to him again – it’s been a while actually! Here’s 5 lesser known songs for you – yes, I know they are maybe not as good as Visions of Johanna or Desolation Row, but you’ve heard those before… *understatement … More Top 5 Bob Dylan Songs (Willfully Obscure Edition)

The time has come to say goodbye to my lyrics book (or rather to put it away in a safe place). There are lots of songs in here from the past year and a bit, some which still haven’t been performed yet, and some which have been properly recorded… If you’re interested in my terrible … More Lyrics Book

So here’s the new studio control room I’ve built into the back of my boat… Focusrite 8 input interface & preamp, SE2200a, AT3035 and Oktavia MK 012-01 condensers, and drum mic set. Probs need to get me an SM57 too, and battery power means only 3-4 hrs at a time, but still looking good! Plenty of … More New studio setup

At Standon Calling last weekend with the Grand Union Shanty Crew. We did two sets on the Octopia Stage, with a repertoire ranging from the Mingulay Boat Song to Chicken on a Raft, to a very special version of Sing John Ball collected earlier this year at the Sark Folk Festival volunteers campsite…. Videos to … More Standon Calling

Our next gig will be at Bermondsey Folk Festival in September. Nice to be sharing a bill again with two of our favorite London bands, Stick in the Wheel and The Bara Bara Band.