TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

So what floats your boat Simon? What is 'it' that makes you sit up and go, 'blimey'.

I'll get back to you on this, it's a big question.

Various boat floating musical moments:

1: “The small yellow and green toy barge I used to play with in the bath”

I was a notoriously absent minded kid, forgetful and unfocused, when I eventually got to school and started failing all my exams I was diagnosed as Dyslexic. I do however have a vivid photographic, synesthetic memory that my father picked up on at a really early age. When I was 6 we were driving in his car, it was a uneventful warm summers day some where in Southern England, ‘In an English Country Garden” was playing on the radio, we were approaching a farm down a small lane with massive hedge rows on either side. We were joking about how I always forgot things so he made a bet with me that I would remember that exact particular moment framed in time for the rest of my life. Even now I can recall the minute detail of that memory snap like a clip on You Tube: the colours, sounds, shapes, the humidity in the air, the calls of the swallows swooping into the rafters of the barn, the suspension air bags of my dads sports green Citerons DS 19 exhaling as it lowered itself into the soft mud of the yard. The car looked like this:

http://www.motorbase.com/profiles/vehicle/picture.ehtml?i=512;p=1885262852

And this is the music that helps me remember. Any band that sites it influences as “flotsam, jetsam, swallows, swifts, the monument the pool” gets my vote:

North Sea Radio Orchestra
Try: ‘End of chimes’, check out the YouTube clip on the my space site
http://www.myspace.com/northsearadioorchestra

2:“The boat everyone wants to get on after it’s left the harbour”

Fleet Foxes are destined for greatness and an interesting example of how the whole folk/alternative, americana/indie pop thing is going to become a global phenomena in the next few years. The band also quote the Fairport’s and Steely Span as big influences so it’ll be interesting to see what you guys make of them.
To me it’s sounds more influenced by Beech Boys/Buffalo Springfield. Still nice to hear old school west coast close hippie harmonies resurfacing after the savages of tuneless Punk and Techno (irony intended).

Try 'White Winter Hymnal'
http://www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes

3: “The Small Rowing Boat moored under a huge Willow on a back water tributary of the Dorset Stour, fishing for Perch and the occasional Chub”

One of my all time fav tracks ever is “Stars Fall out of Paper Cups” by
Sweet Billy Pilgrim. Try and track it down. It’s a hidden gem swimming in the backwaters of inspiration.
http://www.myspace.com/sweetbillypilgrim

And one of the many un sung genius producers emerging from the folk electronica scene is Tim Elsenberg from the same band.
http://www.myspace.com/williampilgrim
Try ‘soundtrack piece’, post sigor ros epic filmscape that goes for the big emotional shoom. As yet only had 162 plays on his my space site, I was 163. Which is almost my magic number. If Sweet Billy Pilgrim are the Perch than Tim Elsenberg must be the Chub.

4: “ ‘As Ships Go Sailing By’ through the urban landscape of the Thames and out to sea”

John Metcalf. Inspired young composer who has been working with Andy G the IV drummer on live orchestral Drum and Bass and beautiful English sound scapes.


http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=102189143

Try ‘Otama’ plus orchestral drum and bass ‘A Whole Day Nearer’
Just get the album!


5: “The Master Schooner”

'Knock John' by Chris Wood Andy Cutting. This album was responsible for the epiphany that made me do the Imagined Village. So it’s all their fault!
Try ‘Spencer the Rover’

Another boat floating moment was watching the audience held in rapture during Chris Woods support spot on last years IV tour as the story line to ‘One in a Million’ unfolded.

6: “The Mighty Indestructible Indie Titanic They Will Never Sink”
This band have been getting a huge amount of well deserved publicity after being together for 15 years. For me Guy Garvey from Elbow is one of our greatest living songwriters and lyricist, check out one of the best love songs ever written by a musician to their partner ‘The Everthere’ from the album ‘Leaders of the Free World’.
Try: “Station Approach” a brilliant song about the joys of returning home after being away on tour from same album.

nice to see North Sea Radio Orchestra mentioned there Simon......saw them end of last year and got both singles and album,superb album......got into them as they are kinda related to Cardiacs....good shout sir.  ;D

Cardiacs??? tell me more

Cardiacs are totally different to NSRO! but i love um, Cardiacs are a very mad/unusual pop/prog/punk alternative band which started in about '77...and make the odd appearance everynow and then and all their music is either really fast crazy time signature all over the shop but working.....or really mellow and unusual,seen them 20 times over the past 15 years over the years there's been off shoots......like The Sea Nymphs which is like floaty weird vocals that also sounds sea shantyish at times......and william d drake- a former keyboard player-now does solo stuff which is different to Cardiacs...and, like Cardiacs guitarist Kavus,is also one of the backing singers in NSRO.....
there's loads of stuff on youtube of Cardiacs...if you type in Cardiacs Rehersal there's  2 video's that come up- watch them they're excellent....and there's some sea nymphs stuff too.....  :)

oh THAT Cardiacs, I had no idea they were still going, seem to remember them back in....1978? May have even done a gig with them as support?

http://www.cardiacs.com/

Pronk, they used to call themselves didn't they? Prog Punk.... Out on the road again in November I think...

'Knock John' is a wonderful album. Chris Wood is a very special person.
And we were one of the privileged few who were at the first airing of 'One in a Million' in the church at Towersey festival for the album launch of 'Ghosts' almost a year before the song became available on Chris's solo  CD, The Lark Descendng. You could have heard a pin drop in there.

And at the moment I'm writing this, Verity Sharp is on the Culture Show talking about The Lark Ascending. Isn't life magical.

Totally agree Simon

I just love Elbow - first became aware of them some years ago when the BBC showed them on their coverage of Glastonbury.    Didn't get any cd's at the time though.     We then went to the Electric Picnic in Ireland a few years ago and saw them there.     They were fantastic.    I've then got all the cd's.    Didn't get to see them live again until earlier this year.

Glastonbury this year was difficult - Elbow were playing - but I was at the front of the Jazz World watching Imagined Village at the time ;D

Also remember being amazed at 'One in a million' last year.

God are they still going? I used to share a house with their bass player in the 80's. Don't think he was with them very long but I was dead envious of his Ricky 4001.  

Hardly "New Music", then.

Definitely not. I saw them in a pub in Hammersmith in 1987 - they were dreadful.

nah the bass player- Jim  is alive and well and still going strong- in fact( i can tell from your comment above tony that you love um) they have an album out in october...

i know alot of people think they're awful....but hey i guess thats up to people's opinions(like i can't understand why people like Richard Thompson......nowt special there)


and Elbow are fantastic too- new albums great and seen them live a couple of times.....superb live.

Cheers for such a thorough answer Simon.