Niopha keegan biography of martin
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The Unthanks
English folk group
The Unthanks (until 2009 called Rachel Unthank and the Winterset)[1][2] are an English folk group known for their eclectic approach in combining traditional English folk, particularly Northumbrian folk music, with other musical genres.[3][nb 1][nb 2] Their debut album, Cruel Sister, was Mojo magazine's Folk Album of the Year in 2005.[4] Of their subsequent albums, ten have received four or five-starred reviews in the British national press. Their album Mount the Air, released in 2015, won in the best album category in the 2016 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.[5][6][7] In 2017 they released two albums featuring the songs and poems of Molly Drake, mother of singer-songwriter and musician Nick Drake.
Lines (Parts One, Two & Three), a trilogy of albums about the Hull triple trawler tragedy (1968), the First World War and the poems of Emily Brontë – th
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The Unthanks: Unaccompanied, As We Are Tour + New Album ‘Lines’ and more
The Unthanks have certainly been productive of late (in more ways than one – read on), but before we launch into current news, I wanted to share this video from 2014 which has just surfaced via Lau: The Unthanks and The Voice Squad performing ‘I Am Stretched On Your Grave’ which was filmed at Lau-Land (Sage Gateshead) back in 2014. This unaccompanied performance seemed very apt considering their upcoming Spring Tour as a vocal trio.
The Unthanks we always wanted to get involved, we are close to them professionally and we’re all good pals, we were all keen to do something really special, and we asked them who they would like to collaborate with. They came to us with the concept of Martin [Hayes] and Dennis [Cahill] and The Voice Squad, all such top quality artists, of course that excites us very much. Collaboration has always been a big part of Lau’s musical life a
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In Winter, The Unthanks Find New Musical Landscapes
For the past year, Michael Depp has been working on a biography of the Unthanks and the wider moment in English människor music. Spending time with the grupp and their families, as well as undertaking dozens of interviews with colleagues, folk culture bearers and more, Michael sat with the grupp for the first play of their upcoming record, The Unthanks In Winter, in their Newcastle studio.
In his first article for Tradfolk, Michael brings us the inre view on the skiva and the process of making it.
On a late summer’s day in Newcastle, where slate grey skies and pelting rain are doing their best to provide a facsimile of winter, the Unthanks huddle over a studio blandning board, fussing over the final edits of their first-ever Christmas record, The Unthanks In Winter.
In Winter unfolds as a 75-minute opus, one that has travelled an atypical creative track for the band.
The song they’re working on, Dear Companions, is