f40


“I’m sure there are trad folk musicians somewhere shaking their fingers at us all, but I like it being called ‘folk’… I think it’s the most appropriate way of describ- ing it. It gives it a more communal feel than ‘singer- songwriter’. It suggests it is something shared and open…” Laura Marling


“We don’t call ourselves ‘folk’ because we don’t feel qualified. Folk is steeped in tradition and incredible musicianship. We’re just four lads making the music we love…” Ben Lovett, Mumford & Sons


“It’s all bollocks, isn’t it? When people ask us to describe ourselves I’ve no idea what to say. I do feel, though, that while every musician in the world denies being a folk artist, there is a storytelling aspect to folk that is definitely an influence on us. I just can’t see why you can’t draw on that element and combine it with other things…” Charlie Fink, Noah & The Whale


I


warmed to her even more when they tried to parade her in front of the press for soundbites and happy snaps. She took one look at the banks of photographers pointing their lens- es at her face, turned on her (flat) heels and fled for the hills. In all the hoop-la of the next few months, she marked her territory as a determinedly strong individual, refusing to dance to the industry’s tune, eschewing make-up or posh/ sexy/ gimmicky frocks, steadfastly avoiding all the usual demeaning promotional opportunities. She did, however, impress at the Cam- bridge Folk Festival and flew to Delhi with Mumford & Sons to work with the Dharohar Project, a collection of Rajasthani musi- cians (who returned the favour and came to the UK for a repeat show at London’s Roundhouse in July).


I’ve watched her grow from rabbit-in-the-headlights teen to the supremely assured, accomplished performer cracking jokes who packed out the London Palladium earlier this year. With a sec- ond roundly acclaimed album I Speak Because I Can now under her belt, she remains admirably grounded and clear-eyed, with an unhealthy unease about modern technology. “There is an ele- gance in the sound of a fiddle, a banjo and guitar, a whole tone shaped by history and the physical way they are played,” she says. “There’s nothing elegant or romantic about Twitter…” It doesn’t make her a folk singer but it means she’s on the right wavelength.


A couple of hours in the pub with Alas, I Cannot Swim produc- er Charlie Fink is equally illuminating. Fink is also lead singer and songwriter with Noah & The Whale, responsible for the summer hit of 2008 with the joyous 5 Years Time (with Marling on backing vocals and, if we can believe the video, playing tin whistle and ukulele). While the record was soaring up the charts, Noah & The Whale also played Cambridge Folk Festival, an event Fink credits as the sanest experience of an insane period. I like Charlie Fink a lot. His songs are deceptively deep – even the ‘fun fun fun’ ones of hit parade fame – and in thought and deed he reminds me of Jon Boden, seemingly limitless in his artistic scope. Noah & The Whale are an outstanding stage act, treating audiences to projections and film shows and, with no previous experience, Fink directed a film to accompany the release of the band’s concept album The


Noah & The Whale


Photo: Philip Ryalls


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100