For Folk's Sake » Elena Tonra

Interview: Jamie Ley

For Folk's Sake — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:58:59 +0000

Emerging from London’s seemingly never-ending and ever-talented pool of wonderful folksy-types, Jamie Ley has been packing out a variety of the capital’s venues with people, all eager to hear his soulful and timeless tunes. Emma Barlow caught up with him to talk about the rise and rise of folk, his inspirations, and what the future holds.

FFS: Do you describe your music as folk? Or is it a label that has been somewhat thrust on you?

JL: I guess it is folk, but I don’t really think we are this or we are that. We usually get described as folk or nu-folk, it’s always got some folk in there somewhere. I don’t consider it anything I just consider it my songs played as best as we can play them!

London has become something of a haven for up-and-coming folk acts, who do you most admire?

Most admire…I dunno. I like what’s happening with folk and it’s exciting to be in anyway involved in it. I admire how massive and how mainstream Mumford & Sons are now. Like I still cant really believe it. Usually bands takes like 5 years to get that big. I’ve played with them in Cardiff and I know them. That gig in Cardiff – about 2 years ago, there were about 20 people in a room and now they’re headlining Reading or whatever. So I admire what they’ve done for folk – the fact that they’ve made people more aware and bought this kind of music to people’s attention. And they’re great musicians, really great.

I think that’s what people like because it’s less of the kind of manufactured pop music and more people on stage with cool instruments like the banjo and the mandolin making honest music and that’s what appeals, that’s what appealed to me about it forever and that’s what I think people are starting to see. And I’ve always admired Johnny Flynn, he was one of my favourite artists while I was at uni and now I’ve had the privilege to like play with him. Bands like that – I always thought they were cool are suddenly much cooler, which is good for me, so I’m a bit cooler now too!

So that’s you’re more recent influences what are some of your older ones?

Bloody hell! Well, obviously The Beatles, so boring! Have you heard of the band Love? Arthur Lee, he’s a bit of a legend, Bob Dylan. But my true greatest hero of all time is Johnny Cash. Yeah I love Johnny Cash. And also songwriters like him, I kind of aspire to be like Leonard Cohen. As a lyricist he’s incredible and his poetry… even the way he sings them…he sings them as the poems they are, which really appeals.

Okay, so what about the poets that inspire you?

Well I used to be into the Romantics, you know the Shelley’s of this world and the Dylan Thomas’s but I’ve recently kind of moved away from that, just because, you know, it’s healthy! I’m into a few German poets and writers – they have a theory about pure imagery and it’s less about words and more about telling things like straight to the point. It’s all about writing in a purist way rather than using fanciful words so yeah: I’m trying to do that with my songs.

Is songwriting something that comes easily to you then or is it really hard work?

Um…sometimes I can sit there for like a week and nothing will come out! Or even a month! And I’ll just be banging my head against the wall. But other times I can write three in a day so it just depends. It’s cliché but if you’re sitting there with your guitar and you just feel you’re in the zone, you’ve got your music mojo or whatever so it just comes out. That’s the time you’ve got to sit there and make yourself keep working at it because that’s the time that’s going to be the most fruitful.

Are you more at home with a band behind you on stage these days or do you miss going it alone?

Yeah at the moment we are doing kind of a mix. So we play three songs as a band and then I’ll do a few. Because there’s something really special and intimate when you’re on your own on stage with an audience. But personally I prefer having my pals around me on stage and I get more into it. Now I feel a bit naked when they leave!

And how did the current band line-up come to be?

I played some gigs in Steeles in North London because my friend Rodney Fisher, who is an amazing musician, he runs a folk night there. We used to have lock-ins and things and I got chatting with one of the barmen, Matt. We just got playing some stuff together and he ended up becoming my bass player and then he knows Jack our drummer from a former band. So we pinched Jack from his old band. Elena Tonra – we had played a lot of gigs together and got on well so she started singing and then we’ve got Bobby on piano, who is our newest sort of musical hero. So basically we just went pilfering from other people’s bands. But in a really charming way so no one seems to mind…yeah so, don’t tell anyone that!

So what can we expect from Jamie Ley, what are the big plans?

Well expect to see a release, quite soon. I’m doing my showcase on the 20^th October at the Flowerpot. So getting a lot of people down, lots of people that haven’t seen me who want to see me um….and hopefully that will be a great night and we’ll push on from there with a tour and a release and everything that follows.

Interview: Emma Barlow

FFS announces London show with Elena Tonra, Sam Airey and Dear Winesburg

Lynn Roberts — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:40:28 +0000

We are delighted to announce a new FFS-curated Allotment show with performances from Elena Tonra – who features on the Communion Compilation, the oh-so-lovely Sam Airey and our newly-discovered favourites Dear Winesburg at London’s Slaughtered Lamb on Sunday 9th May.

When Elena Tonra‘s track Peter featured on the recently released Communion Compilation it caused quite a stir among listeners intrigued by this elusive songwriter. Elena met the Kev Jones at Cherbourg gig two Christmases ago. Kev said: “she said she was a singer songwriter so I went home and listened to her MySpace – I was blown away by her voice and the honesty of her lyrics.”

Sam Airey‘s beautiful EP Season’s Change (review coming soon) was recommended to FFS by a friend. We were instantly taken by his beautiful melodies and gentle finger-picked folk.

We came across Dear Winesburg headlining the brilliant A Folking Good Night. Frontman Chris Kreinczes’s vocals are reminiscent of Charlie Fink with a vibrato that’ll blow your socks off. He’s backed by layered harmonies, mandolin, double bass, violin and girl-driven percussion, our favourite kind. Keep your eye out Emma Kramer who also plays with Peggy Sue and Mariner’s Children.

As if the three lovely acts aren’t enough, there’ll be tiffin and cakes a-plenty served by FFS’s resident cake lady, Helen.

Tickets are £5 in advance. Available from We Got Tickets.

The story of Communion

Lynn Roberts — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:31:02 +0000

Kev Jones and Ben Lovett met way back in 2006 through mutual friends and for a while played in a band together. They founded the London Clubnight, Communion in 2007 and since then Ben has become better-known as Mumford & Sons‘ keyboard player and producer to acts such as Peggy Sue, Jay Jay Pistolet, Alessi and Mumford and Sons themselves.

Meanwhile Kev — as well as a year-long stint as the bassist for Andrew Davie‘s band Cherbourg before the frontman put the fourpiece to rest to concentrate on solo songwriting — has been the driving force behind the Communion outfit. Extending the clubnight from London to Leeds and Brighton and starting the record label, on which the Communion Compilation (reviewed by FFS writer Lois Jeary here) has been released.

The compilation aims to give a “cross section” of the wave of new folk artists in the UK, Kev says. It includes tracks from established acts such as Mumford and Sons and Johnny Flynn as well as songs by lesser-known artists. “We wanted to champion artists like Matthew and the Atlas and Rachel Sermanni who are just at the beginnings of their career,” Kev explains.

Mumford and Sons came across Scottish artist Rachel Sermanni when she supported them in Fort William on their tour of the Highlands last year. Matthew & the Atlas, too, supported Mumford and Sons. Kev says: “We booked Matthew for a festival in the summer and he gave me a lift down there — we became friends on the drive.”

Will Stokes is another member of the West London friendship group who just happens to be incredibly talented. “We came across him partly because we were friends with his sister Chloe, and also I think that he’s friends with Marcus Mumford, so there were multiple connections,” Kev explains.

Elena Tonra

Elena Tonra‘s place on the compilation was the result of a chance meeting, which should give hope to aspiring singer-songwriters: “Elena I met at the Fe Fi Fo Fum gig [show in December 2008 at London's Cargo, featuring performances from Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn, Peggy Sue, Mumford & Sons and Cherbourg] the Christmas before last, she said she was a singer songwriter so I went home and listened to her MySpace – I was blown away by her voice and the honesty of her lyrics. She reminds me of a young Laura Marling.”

All the tracks on the Communion compilation are exclusive to the record, apart from Sister by Mumford & Sons, which was given out as a download at the end of last year, but doesn’t feature on the four-piece’s mega-successful 2009 album Sigh No More. Many of the tracks are produced by Kev, Ben or Ian Grimble, who is the final piece in the Communion puzzle. Kev says: “Ian is the third wheel of Communion along with me and Ben. We’ve known him for years and he has produced both Mumford and Cherbourg over the past 12 months or so. He introduced us to the people at the Arts Club way back in the day and we owe a lot to him. He is primarily Communion’s producer but he is involved in all other aspects of the company too.”

The compilation is a 'cross section' of artists in the new folk community, says Kev.

The Communion team had to work hard to get the more established acts on the compilation — like Johnny Fynn and Alessi’s Arl — despite being friends with many of them. Kev explained: As soon as there’s a label involved it becomes that much more difficult. Even considering that Ben’s running the label with us it was still that hard [to get Mumford & Sons on board]. They’re just really big acts”

Two acts that noticeably aren’t included are Laura Marling and Noah and the Whale. Kev says: “We tried [to get a song by] Laura but it was just impossible and we didn’t even try Noah, to be fair. Apart from that everyone we asked said yes, which is amazing.”

Communion now (by Eloise Campbell)

The Compilation launch is on Sunday 28th February at Notting Hill Arts Club featuring Alessi, Kurran and the Wolfnotes, Matthew and the Atlas, Broadcast 2000 (solo), Pete Roe, Jesse Quinn, Elena Tonra, Stokes, William and Rachel Sermanni. As well as Chess Club DJs and DJ Jam, a “VERY special guest” will be spinning some tunes. Advance ticket sales are now sold out, but there will be a few places left on the door.

The headline act is Marcus Foster, a London singer-songwriter who has gained fame in the States due to his friendship with Twilight star Robert Pattinson – who turned up to a London Communion night this month. A quick Google of Foster’s name shows that the R-Patz-based hype surrounding him is massive – the US tabloids have branded them ‘The Brit Pack’. The publicity is a “mixed blessing”, says Kev, who’s now playing bass in Marcus’s band. Ex-Cherbourg drummer Chris Maas will be joining them on drums.

Matthew and the Atlas

So what’s next for the Communion family? The label will be putting out an EP by Matthew & the Atlas on 12th April. And after that Kev says: “There are no other confirmed releases yet but we hope to work with Matt Corby and Spencer McLean over the next few months.”

Communion had a stage planned for Bloom last summer, but the festival was cancelled. “We might be working with the guys at Harvest Festival this summer as well a couple of other ideas we have had but they are top secret at the moment. Watch this space!”

Communion puts on club night at the Leeds Adelphi, The Albert in Brighton, and Notting Hill Arts Club, London and has just recently announced new nights in Bristol and Dublin. You can find line-ups on their MySpace. The Communion Compilation is available to pre-order from their website, where you can also view the full tracklisting.

Kev’s plans for the future of the label are typically ambitious: “We wanted to do a compilation every 6 months but I think that it’s more likely to be 9 months,” he says. “We’re working on a concept for the new one at the moment. We might rent a big house for a week, invite a variety of singer/songwriters and musicians down and record what comes out!”

Words: Lynn Roberts

For Folk's Sake » Elena Tonra

Interview: Jamie Ley

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