portrait of this blog's author - by Stephen Blackman 2008

Saturday, March 20, 2021

An Hour or So with Emily Barker at the Downend Folk Club

 EMILY BARKER at the 

Downend Folk Club


I thoroughly enjoyed 'going out' to the Folk Club and spending
AN HOUR OR SO WITH EMILY BARKER
Join us at 8.00pm every Friday during lockdown for an hour or so of chat and a few songs. Please post questions for our guest in the comments. Donations for the guest are welcome, link in the comments.
This week: An hour or so with Emily Barker.


She was featuring her new album which I have banged on about as being her best to date and yet she has a much more mercurial approach to songs and the interview with Ant shows quite how eclectic she was/is. From the soul music vibe of 'Sweet Kind of Blue' an almost techno electro pop vibe of her collaboration with Marry Waterson to the classic folk of her work with Vena Portae and the work with The Red Clay Halo which might be termed alt-folk or neo-folk. Me, I really most enjoy her solo work from her tv work with the theme to Kenneth Branagh's 'Wallander' to full blown movie soundtrack for Jake Gavin’s lauded debut feature 'Hector' starring Peter Mullan and Keith Allen' to her solo albums 'Dear River', 'Almanac' and the latest project which I think is staggering 'A Dark Murmuration of Words'

A Dark Murmuration of Words
“an album of spare, striking beauty” Mojo ★★★★
“…a kind of Australian equivalent of PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake UNCUT 8/10

“bold, direct, uncompromising – reaching new levels of lyrical literacy.” CLASH

On her new album, A Dark Murmuration of Words, Emily Barker examines our unconscious choices and unspoken prejudices, and essays the search for meaning in an increasingly loud, social media-driven world.

OUT NOW

Includes the singles ‘Machine’, ‘The Woman Who Planted Trees’ and ‘Where Have the Sparrows Gone?’



I even got a few questions in and a couple were mentioned by host Ant but it was an in depth interview over the hour interspersed with about five tracks sing from the new album (mostly) that really surprised me. Including being joined by her husband fellow musician Lukas Drinkwater. Really highly enjoyable! (despite some technical quality issues mostly visual rather than the audio)

Superb set and interview and a superb club and I will be revisiting.




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