He cuts a striking figure; a dark, brooding, handsome young man, blessed with a strong voice and a powerful fiddle, but somewhere out on the windswept heart of Dartmoor, last year`s Mercury Prize nomination for `Kitty Jay`, caught Seth Lakeman by surprise
.......... it`s an achievement, a dream. I was nominated for the (Radio 2 best newcomer & best original track) folk awards and when I first got the phone call, I was over the moon, I couldn`t believe it. I was literally walking around the moors bloody shouting, I thought this is incredible y`know? I was unemployed then, so after that, the Mercury thing, well it`s surreal. It is surreal! I would never, ever in a million years, have thought or even imagined it...in isolated moments, in solitude, just trying to get my head around it...it`s quite a big thing for me. Things went a bit crazy, yeah.
The master of the understatement, you can feel his excitement as he recalls how the events of last year changed his life forever, as more and more accolades were thrust upon his shoulders from the likes of Billy Bragg, Jools Holland, Eddie Reader and The Pogues
............ It`s a very strange feeling, (he laughs), y`know what I mean? A year ago I`d never have thought I was going to be here, it was just me experimenting and mucking about with different styles for six months to write that record `Kitty Jay` and its incredible that I`m able to do this now. I`ve had to sacrifice personal things in order to concentrate so highly on the work, so there is a flip side, but you can`t ever moan about this sort of job - you have to take it while you can.
Having created early success and critical acclaim with his brother in the band Equation, Seth`s songwriting went from strength to strength whilst he played (first) fiddle for a host of haunting voices including Kathryn Roberts, Cara Dillon and Kate Rusby. Finally, however, his own voice has been given the freedom that it deserves, as he builds on last year`s stunning solo success with the first new material from any of last year`s Mercury nominees. It may take a while for the likes of Coldplay and The Kaiser Chiefs to come up with a new song, but Seth Lakeman has his new album,`Freedom Fields` ready for release this March. Once again recorded in his brother`s kitchen studio on Dartmoor
............ basically I stuck to a similar approach to the writing of `Kitty Jay`, but involved a band of acoustic musicians, we used a great bodhran player to drum and do the percussion, a straight double bass all the way through and whatever my brother (Sean Lakeman) and myself do, plus a few guests on the vocals. It`s going to be a great live band that you see when we`re touring this year.
`Freedom Fields` has some unexpected turns
............. there`s still quite a `landscape-songwriting` thing going on there, but theres a number of different elements that are a progression from the previous record. Some people who`ve heard it are picking up bits of Led Zep III in there and things like that. There are a couple of tracks that are full on, all acoustic wooden instruments yeah, but played quite heavily. It`s cool, it`s what we like to do, yeah? We`re young and we enjoy playing upbeat energy songs. I guess I have to be honest and say I`m not a straight forward "folky" in any sense, I don`t look like a folk musician (laughs). I`m just trying to be true to my roots, myself and my surroundings and at the same time I`m trying to write in other people`s shoes and see other perpectives.
The title track of the new album comes from one of the most significant battles of the English Civil war
.............. it happened at Plymouth and was probably the most important turning point in the whole war. Charles 1st had to bring his troops down to try and quell the locals as they fought his Cavaliers, and after vicious fighting the people of Plymouth routed the King`s army and held their ground. It`s a very significant event.
Not all the songs are historical though
.............. it doesn`t necessarily happen over the whole concept of the record, but in individual songs, you don`t have to keep to the facts all the time, they (the facts) relate to how you`re writing the song and it`s style. `White Hare` (the single), it`s related to something called the Tinner`s Hare which was a superstition that the miners had: They used to believe in a witch that lived on Bodmin Moor who took the form of a white hare and if the miners were walking at night and the white hare caught their eye in the moonlight, it would steal the miner`s soul...mind you they used to believe a lot of things back then! (he laughs long and hard).
Touched by Mercury, but not poisoned, Seth Lakeman wants to take us all to Freedom Fields with the authentic sound of the people`s music.
posted by CLGR at 8:07 AM
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