Folk(?) From Here - cross-fertilisation between some of the world’s leading English, Celtic and Indian folk musicians

The idea behind the project was to see ‘cross-fertilisation’ between some of the world’s leading English, Celtic and Indian folk musicians (including legendary pipe-ist and fiddler Kathryn Tickell) who would perform pieces commissioned especially for the exclusive ensemble by SPNM shortlisted emerging composers. Right up my street, I thought. The performance began atmospherically with Kuljit Bhambra showcasing his improvisational flair on the wonderfully ping-y Tablas. When Kathryn Tickell ceremoniously processed on, intense, soulful sound exuding from the Northumbrian pipes she was playing that contrasted quirkily with the witty Tabla beats, it only whet my appetite further for what was to come.

Kuljit Bhamra

As the concert wore on however the feeling for the potential for this eclectic fusion of cultural traditions and world-class artists left me feeling frustrated but it took me until the moment Kathryn asked for the lights to be turned up because she couldn’t read her music for me to realise why:

The complexity of the compositions meant the musicians relied on notated scores where otherwise they would have been playing from memory, and it was these sheets of paper that were spoiling it for me. Like straitjackets that distanced the musicians from each other and the audience, the music stands suckied the embodied nature of folk from their performance, explaining the slightly tentative atmosphere.

It struck me as a massive self-contradiction and flaw in the concept of putting folk musicians in a concert hall, playing from notated music, when folk music, exclusively an aural tradition, is all about informal, communal frolicking. It seems to me a bit like the concept of serving builders-bum tea and cheeseburgers from a trailer in a posh restaurant. My suspicion was confirmed when ass-kicking fiddlers Marie Fielding and Kathryn Tickell along with Julian Sutton on the Melodeon stepped in front of their music stands and let their hair down, spinning-off a Reel that got the audience going as crazy... well, relatively. Ironically, it was in this short number that was probably just scheduled as a time-filler and whenever they were allowed to improvise that the performers and the music came to life.

It struck me as a massive self-contradiction in the concept of putting folk musicians in a concert hall playing from notated music, when folk music is all about informal, communal frolicking

The compositions in themselves were fantastic; evocative and sensitive to the individual characteristics of each instrument and their collective possibilities. Favourites of mine included Jonathan Booty’s Sankhara, a mournful, desperate piece with contrasts between the spare, angular emptiness and agitated sections in which the instruments seemed to be competing for space. Nick Redfern’s and on the breeze a song was dark and dreamlike with rippling Tabla and virtuosic Sitar solos. And Bhamra’s own composition (featuring a baby-sitar!) was bass-y and syncopated with a blues-y sitar solo, and best of all Kuljit Bhamran looked like he was absolutely loving it.

The musicians seemed to enjoy the project too. After the performance Sitar player Jonathan Mayer said he relished the opportunity to do something a bit more avant-garde, since Sitar-ists rarely get the oppotunity, adding that the collaboration just shows how many similarities there are between the different kinds of music.

All in all, the project seems to be born out of intentions that seem great on paper – bringing together musical traditions and emerging composers to create something vibrant and new, and in many ways it succeded - the concert wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. There was just something essentially counter intuitive about taking folk music out of its aural roots, and making it experimental and cutting edge. That just isn't Folk. I can’t help being left wishing they'd improvised for two delicious hours of spontaneous eclectic wonderfulness instead...

To judge for yourself, catch the touring project at Spitalfields Festival, London on 4th June or at the Cheltenham Music Festival on 10 July.

Artists: Kuljit Bhamra (Tabla and percussion), Kathryn Tickell (Northumbrian small pipes and fiddle), Jonathan Mayer (Sitar), Marie Fielding (Fiddle) and Julian Sutton (Melodeon).

Composers: Jonathan Booty, Adam Melvin, Nick Redfern, Lawrence Rose.

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