folk features
Feature: The 50 best albums of 2020
Well, it’s been a bit of a year, hasn’t it? Global pandemics, George Floyd, environmental issues, terrorism, dissatisfaction with those in charge, not least in the ongoing (it seems) fallout from the American Presidential election. None of that has stopped artists from all persuasions and genres making some fantastic music over the last 12 months. …
Feature / Playlist: Every track (on Spotify) for every John Peel festive 50
Over on our Spotify page, alongside all the playlists we’ve received from artists, albums of the year, our monthly playlists, psych playlists, classic DJ sets, not forgotten series and other delights (you should really check it out and follow some of them), we’ve added a new, mammoth playlist – every track currently on Spotify from …
Playlist: Trembling Bells pick ‘tour bus jammers and tequila slammers’ playlists
On the verge of the release of seventh album Dungeness on March 30th, we asked Alex Neilson and Lavinia Blackwall from the band to come up with a playlist of tunes they might be rocking on the tour bus. Alex dragged in Trembling Bells associate and possible (we might be bestowing this title upon him) …
Feature: Top 20 albums of the year – Backseat Mafia staff pick
How do you judge what were the best albums of the year? Well, here at Backseat Mafia its a collaborative affair, where everyone that writes for us has as much of a say as everyone else (how did I let that happen?). Happily, in line with the widely and wildly varied nature of our ethos …
Soundtrack of our lives: Hattie Briggs
All 12,300 tickets for the 51st Cambridge Folk Festival were snapped up again this year with fans flocking to enjoy the likes of Joan Baez, Wilko Johnson, Passenger, Joan Armatrading and festival favourites the Proclaimers amongst others. Alongside these dyed-in-the-wool legends of the melody and the song was a young lady called Hattie Briggs who …
Feature: Cheerio Jethro Tull – thoughts on the ending
Following a particularly demanding day at work, I wandered into Sheffield branch of HMV on Tuesday. As I walked through the doors, my eyes inevitably flicked to my right and across to the new release display. Ninety percent of the time I don’t even recognise the name of at least half of the acts on …
Feature: Label Focus – Blackest Rainbow
It’s funny that one of the best labels distributing Folk, experimental, drone, Japanese alternative, avant garde and general ‘noise’ stuff is Blackest Rainbow records, here in Sheffield. not only that but they are specialists in physical media such as Lp and caught on very early to the resurgence in Cassettes. Of course, you can still download this …