For Folk's Sake » Erland & the Carnival

Album: Erland & The Carnival – Nightingale

For Folk's Sake — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 10:09:00 +0000

Having enjoyed success as a rank-and-file member of The Verve, Gorillaz and The Good, The Bad and The Queen, Simon Tong is surely one of the biggest-selling guitarists you’d struggle to pick out of a line-up. His latest collaboration with Orkney singer-songwriter Erland Cooper is unlikely to change that, though.

It’s a disappointing affair, with little or no progression from their self-titled debut and a general sense of lethargy in the arrangements. There’s certainly plenty of Erland but Tong struggles to deliver the carnival. Opener ‘So Tired In the Morning’ begins with some nice processed guitars but the dreary lyrical content – the song is, apparently, about being tired in the morning – grates instantly. By the time Cooper drops the killer line “I sit at my desk, looking out of the window” its fate as a freak-folk Kaiser Chiefs cast off is sealed.

‘Map of an Englishman’ is better, sounding at times like a slightly tipsy slot machine and delivering a decent chorus. It is a highpoint not matched too often and the good vibe is dissipated immediately by ‘Emmeline’, a comically dull affair that attempts to be all ethereal and spooky but sounds more like 10-year-olds telling each other ghost stories while listening to The Coral.

‘I Wish I Wish’ suggests there is decent chillwave band trying to get out but, regrettably, they do not make a second appearance. If it’s a carnival you’re after this is highly likely to disappoint, but the more fitting ‘Erland and the Slightly Disappointing Tombola’ simply wouldn’t have worked.

Words: Rory Dollard

Brian’s Mixtape #32: Moseley On Down

Brian — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:59:39 +0000

After spotting their rather brilliant blog post for FFS, Brian thought he’d ask the lovely folk at Moseley Folk Festival whether they’d put together a playlist to get him all fired up for the festival next September.

Brian’s going to be one busy owl this summer, with unmissable line-ups at Moseley, Open House Festival, End of the Road and Green Man. Luckily for him, though, he doesn’t have to brave the campsites and risk being fallen on by beered-up festival goers like the rest of us. Him and his pals just set up nest in a nearby tree. A fact about which he is unbearably smug.

There’s no camping at Moseley’s gorgeous site, though, so even us humans will pass the festival in comfort. Here are their picks of the Spotiverse featuring Moseley artists past and present and some they just really like. Check out FFS’s festival calendar for more info.

Brian’s Mixtape #32: Moseley On Down

Erland And The Carnival – Trouble In Mind
Donovan – Barabajagal
The Divine Comedy – Something for the Weekend
The High Llamas – Checking In, Checking Out
Johnny Flynn – Leftovers
Jocie Adams – To Ohio
Fyfe Dangerfield – She Needs Me
The Unthanks – Lucky Gilchrist
Jose Gonzalez – Crosses
Beth Jeans Houghton – I Will Return I Promise
The Besnard Lakes – Albatross
Bert Jansch – Red’s Favourite
Tunng – Hustle

If you’ve not got yourself registered on Spotify have a look at their website to learn more. And, if you need an invite (so you can use Spotify for free) let uncle Brian know in the comments section below and he will bestow one on you.

Have a flap around our mixtape section to find Brian’s previous efforts.

Brian’s Mixtape #31: All at Sea

Brian — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:00:45 +0000

This week Brian’s been completely and utterly unaffected by the volcanic ash cloud. He’s not even been subject to a light dusting, the lucky bird. He has, however, been following the news with avid interest and has concluded that all these silly bipeds should travel by boat for the time-being. He certainly would, were his means of transport not attached, rather helpfully, to his back.

In an attempt to encourage us all to take to the high seas, Brian’s put together a collection of rather marvellous songs about sailing. Here they are, in all their briny, shiver-me-timbers glory:

1. Mechanical Bride – See Worlds
2. Laura Marling – The Captain and the Hourglass
3. Jeremy Warmsley (& Emmy the Great) – The Boat Song
4. Camera Obscura – French Navy
5. Regina Spektor – Sailor Song
6. Neil Young – Sail Away
7. Jeffrey Lewis – Sea Song
8. The Decemberists – The Mariner’s Revenge Song
9. Laura Veirs – Ocean Night Song
10. Sons of Noel & Adrian – The Wreck is Not a Boat
11. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – The Ship Song
12. Erland and the Carnival – Arabian Sea

Grab it on Spotify here: Brian’s Mixtape #31: All at Sea

Tell Brian in the comment section below if he’s left out any corking sea shanties. His collection is far from exhaustive.

Our Spotify Inivtation amnesty continues – if you need one let us know and we’ll make a request of the ever-generous posse of FFS readers. Similarly, if you have any going spare let us know and we’ll give you the opportunity to do a good deed for a stranger, providing them with an lifetime’s supply of free music.

Have a flap around our mixtape section to find Brian’s previous efforts.

Album: Erland and The Carnival

Liane Escorza — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:23:31 +0000

You can tell when a band has thought hard about their name. And when they do it, it is more often than not because they have some interesting work to deliver. This is the case of Erland and The Carnival. ‘Erland’ is for Erland Cooper — the band’s guitarist and vocalist from the Orkneys. The Carnival is formed by multi-instrumentalist Simon Tong (formerly from The Verve, Blur, and The Good, The Bad & The Queen) and drums, percussions and keyboards by David Nock of The Cult and The Fireman. There are, however, no egos in this mix. Such is the disassociation of their tracks to themselves that they have chosen to make folk covers for their debut album, Erland and The Carnival. But, listen up, because these are no ordinary tributes.

‘Love is a Killing Thing’ kicks off softly and in-crescendo to finish off with a burst of synthesizer mania, an ode to freak carnivalesque shows. ‘You Don’t Have to Be Lonely’ is a beautiful crochet work of guitars and heavy keyboards. Leonard Cohen’s ‘Disturbed This Morning’ is a twinkling and bohemian vision of the poem while ‘The Derby Ram’ cannot be more uplifting than getting a ride on Clint Eastwood’s horse – such is the richness of arrangements and coolness of the tone.

Recorded at Damon Albarn’s Studio 13, Erland and The Carnival’s debut is supreme in production. The crystal clarity and spatial acumen in the recording of the instrumentation and vocals is a brilliant work of dissection; each part so neatly defined and falling into one body at the same time. Erland and The Carnival should have no trouble finding customers to jump on their funfair rides.

Erland & The Carnival are about to embark on an extensive tour taking in the following dates:

1 May Live at Leeds All-Dayer    Leeds
4 May Arts Institute    Cardiff
5 May Kazimier    Liverpool
6 May Hoxton Bar and Kitchen    London
7 May Jericho Tavern    Oxford
8 May Fibbers    York
12 May Farmhouse    Canterbury
13 May Portland    Cambridge
14 May Club Metropolis    Bristol
15 May The Great Escape ’Komedia – upstairs (Mojo night)    Brighton
16 May Little Civic    Wolverhampton
25 May Royal Albert Hall    London – supporting Paul Weller
26 May Royal Albert Hall    London – supporting Paul Weller
27 May Royal Albert Hall    London – supporting Paul Weller
28 May Royal Albert Hall    London – supporting Paul Weller
13 Aug Summer Sundae    Leicester
20 Aug Green Man Festival    Brecon Beacons, Wales
10 Sep Bestival    Isle of Wight

Donovan, The Divine Comedy, The Low Anthem, Johnny Flynn for Moseley Folk Festival

Lynn Roberts — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:45:03 +0000

The lovely chaps over at Moseley Folk Festival have announced a corker of a line up for their three-day Birmingham-based festival planned for the 3rd-5th September.

As well as folk legend Donovan, who counts Bob Dylan among his fans, revellers will be treated to performances from The Divine Comedy, Erland & the Carnival Sparrow & the Workshop, Johnny Flynn and The Low Anthem among many others.

The friendly and inclusive festival showcases eclectic folk-influenced bands as well as full on trad-folk. There’ll also be some chances to do-si-do with Cut-A-Shine — the ceilidh band who played at Mumford & Sons’s album launch barn dance last year.

Head on over to www.moseleyfolk.co.uk for more info on the line-up and to get your hands on tickets.

Brian’s Mixtape #25: Hello, Sunshine

Brian — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:15:39 +0000

Every discerning folk fan’s foul of choice, Brian Wilson II, is pleased to announce that spring has most definitely sprung. He’s spent most of the morning being dragged around a meadow by a fresh-born lamb in whose fleece his talons became most unfortunately entangled, and yet his pleasure in the changing of the seasons remains unassuaged.

For that reason, this week’s playlist is quite the joy-fest. If you’ve just been dumped/fired/treated rather rudely by the young man who made your afternoon coffee, this’ll perk you up. Either that or the unbounded exuberance that spring inspires in Brian’ll annoy you so much you’ll want to stick daffodil stalks in your eyes.

Let’s hope for the former. Here’s the tracklisting, with the Spotify link below. Happy spring!

Noah and the Whale – The First Days of Spring
Monsters of Folk – Dear God (Sincerely M. O. F.)
Belle and Sebastian – Another Sunny Day
Adam Green – Bathing Birds
The Lovin’ Spoonful – Daydream
Erland and the Carnival – One Morning Fair
Efterklang – Natural Tune
Air – Cherry Blossom Girl
Emmy the Great – The Easter Parade
Fairport Convention – Chelsea Morning
Giant Cloud – Rainbows
Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard – Bugs & Flowers
Eels – Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues

Link: Brian’s Mixtape #25: Hello, Sunshine.

Have a flap around our mixtape section to find Brian’s previous efforts.

Blog: Moseley Folk Festival recommends

Lynn Roberts — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:50:37 +0000

In 2009 Moseley Folk Festival played host to Beth Jeans Houghton, Frida Hyvonen, Kelli Ali, Drever McCusker Woomble, Rose Elinor Dougall, Smoke Fairies and many more. They kindly got in touch to recommend we listen to Goodnight Lenin recently, and it was so good we couldn’t let them stop at that. Here are some artist tips from some people who are very much in the know:

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For those who haven’t heard of Moseley Folk Festival, we aim to cross the boundaries between traditional and contemporary folk music with previous acts including José González, Jethro Tull, Davy Graham, Fairport Convention, The Bees, Saint Etienne, Morcheeba and Beth Orton.

The festival takes place in a veritable secret garden. Accessed via a small alley way between an estate agent and a pub, Moseley Park is tucked away behind the village high street just two miles from Birmingham’s city centre. As a privately-owned, charity-run park, it is usually only open to key holders. 2010 will be the 5th year of this event and we’re very excited about our line-up so keep your eyes peeled.

Based in Birmingham, Moseley Folk Festival is a little way from the London folk scene but there is plenty going on in the second city. Here are a few of our favourites:

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Goodnight Lenin (MySpace)

Goodnight Lenin caught the attention of audiences in Birmingham after releasing a YouTube video of a simple acoustic performance in which they sat perched on the counter tops of their kitchen. The group attribute their sound to Bob Dylan and Elvis Perkins, mixing folk with a heavy American influence.

2010 is set to be a great year for the band as they will be supporting First Aid Kit on the Birmingham leg of the duo’s UK tour before releasing their first limited edition single in the summer. Yet despite this, Goodnight Lenin can still be found performing amongst the pots and pans in kitchens.

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Malpas (MySpace)

We are definitely not the only ones who expect great things from the Malpas as in recent months they have toured the country with Mr. Hudson and supported OK Go at Birmingham’s O2 Academy. Soon they will be releasing their first single, but true to their loyal following they’re still making time to draw crowds into the local pubs of Moseley. Make sure you give the beautiful tinkling of ‘Under Her Sails’ a listen.

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The Old Dance School (MySpace)

The Old Dance School studied together at the Birmingham Conservatoire and used to rehearse in the garden of the old Betty Fox School of Ballet (hence the name). After three years, 30,000 miles and a few trips to A&E, their distinctive concoction of folk has earned them a place on the festival scene, including Moseley Folk Festival. Members of the group have performed, recorded and toured with the likes of Martha Wainwright, Graham Coxon, and Zoe Rahman.

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We’ve also got a few non-local recommendations we think you might like:

Chivalry isn’t quite dead for Belfast’s The Lowly Knights and with delicately illustrated artwork and songs like ‘Devotion’ they are not to be missed. (MySpace)

For something a bit more physically demanding, Cut A Shine are a troupe of musicians and dancers who are bringing ceilidh dancing well and truly up to date. (Website)

Scotsman Alasdair Roberts explores the realms of traditional music to much acclaim. (Website)

Circulus offer a psychedelic take on the Middle Ages with a variety of strange and wonderful instruments. (MySpace)

Last year we repeatedly coaxed Wolf People out of London and also had them kick off the 2009 festival after party. (MySpace)

Mountain Man are far from the thick set burly lumberjacks the name might suggest as they are actually three ladies from Vermont, USA. (MySpace)

We’re also big fans of Erland & the Carnival (MySpace), Beth Jeans Houghton (MySpace), and Sparrow and the Workshop (MySpace).

For Folk's Sake » Erland & the Carnival

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