That Folking List
Music Projects That Are Changing The World
Should art have a purpose? Some might argue that the act of creation, itself, or the pleasure derived from music is purpose enough. Who can say for certain? It is my personal belief that, in the times we find ourselves in now, music (and art of all kinds) will serve as a profound influence in our continuation in and connection to the world, whether that influence is purposeful or not. However, the following artists are definitely not taking a back seat, using their gifts to cultivate the continuation of folk tradition, or speak loudly in support of music’s place to fight for the world we live in.
Can language play a crucial part in shaping a child’s future—and the future of the world, at large? Esteemed author Robert MacFarlane, visual artist Jackie Morris, and a host of the UK’s finest folk musicians certainly think so. Enter The Lost Words: Spell Songs.
In 2007, the Oxford Junior Dictionary proclaimed they would be removing 50 words from the widely used child’s dictionary. Words such as almond, blackberry and crocus were to be replaced with words like analogue, block graph and celebrity. Despite discord over these (and other) initial changes, in 2012, further additional words—such as catkin, chestnut, clover, kingfisher, heron and wren, to name just a few—were replaced with words and phrases such as cut and paste, broadband and chat room (the Guardian). Many well-known authors, artists and teachers were shocked and loudly spoke out in protest against these changes, most especially in light of the current global climate crisis, the decline of so many wild species within the UK, and studies which had confirmed a multitude of negative connection links between child (and, later, adulthood) health issues and a lack of outdoor playtime.
In response, Robert MacFarlane (best-selling author of Mountains of the Mind, The Wild Places, 
The Old Ways, Landmarks, and Underland, among others) penned The Lost Words—a ‘book of spells’ designed to be sung or spoken aloud, poetically capturing many of the creatures which the OJD had deemed unnecessary for children to learn. But, as often happens when art connects to a potent source of need, The Lost Words became so much more than a book, transforming into a massive catalyst for many of the UK’s top artists to take a stand for nature, wonderment and our connection to the living world.
The Lost Words was published in 2017, featuring gloriously beautiful artwork by Jackie Morris. The Lost Spells, a pocket-sized follow-up to the fist book, featuring even more ‘spell-poems,’ came shortly after. Eventually, a powerhouse cast of the UK’ s finest folk musicians (among them, Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis, Seckou Keita, Kris Drever, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter and Jim Molyneux) was formed, setting these words to music and collaborating in a series of live and live-streamed performances, fundraisers and art installments. As of today, the artists have come together post-pandemic to create Spell Songs II, and much fundraising work has been done to get copies of the book into children schools all over the UK, and beyond, with associated learning materials available for download, online, to help teachers apply the book to classroom learning.
Having followed this project since it’s early inception, I was delighted to see a copy of The Lost Spells in a friend’s personal library, a few weeks before heading onto Finland. I was likewise excited when another friend, in Finland, recommend I check out one of the songs off the gorgeous Spell Songs album (which I already owned, of course), shortly after arriving…but was shocked to learn that neither of these friends—both women with a passion for words, music and nature—had any idea of the history behind the books and music. Hence, this article was born…
“If biological loss is also cultural loss, then surely culture and
creativity must play a part in biological protection.”
Merlyn Driver was raised in Orkney, brought up on a smallholding in the north of Scotland, without electricity. Consequently, he spent much of his childhood outdoors. Now a musician, writer, and creative producer, this profound relationship to nature, surrounded by the lessons of the living world, can be seen reflected in his work, which focuses on the connections between music and the environment. He believes it is an imperative duty of the artist to examine how we creatively respond to issues such as climate change and ecological collapse, and to embrace the imaginative power that we hold.
“Musicians share the same responsibility as everyone else to minimize our environmental impact in practical terms,” he says, “but we also work in a very particular field – that of imagination and feeling – and are therefore in a unique position to inspire reverence and engagement with the natural world among others.”
In 2021, with the hauntingly beautiful call of the Eurasian curlew echoing through the ‘simmerdim,’ laced throughout his childhood memories, Merlyn was inspired to write a song.
“It was only then that I discovered the wealth of folklore, poetry and music that curlews have inspired, and came to realize the true scale of their recent struggles. In many parts of the UK their numbers have nose-dived more than 60% and curlews are now on the conservation Red List. The thought that we could lose curlews from the UK countryside has inspired me to act and assemble other creative responses to this iconic bird – this time on their behalf.”
In collaboration with the RSPB, Simmerdim: Curlew Sounds–a double album, featuring contributions from Talvin Singh, David Gray, The Unthanks, Tiny Leaves, Cosmo Sheldrake, Camilla George & Tamar Osborn, Emily Barker, Puuluup, El Buho (feat. David Rothenberg), Marja Mortensson & Daniel Herskedal, and Tuuletar, as well as field recordings of curlews in the wild–will be available this month. You can pre-order the album now, along with an accompanying 16-page booklet. Merlyn’s original track, Simmerdim (featuring Nathan Riki Thompson on bass), was released this Easter and is also available for download, with 100% of net profits from album sales going to the RSPB to aide in curlew protection.
The Curlew Project, however, is hardly Merlyn Driver’s first journey into the creation of music-based projects with environmental matters at the heart…
“Throughout history, music has been used to inspire and give strength at times of crisis and emergency – and yet there is currently a void within almost all music-making and performance when it comes to environmental engagement. As young people mobilize and discourse around climate change and the environment becomes increasingly mainstream, we believe that music must come to play a greater role. Making Tracks focuses on inspiring and facilitating environmental engagement on both practical and creative levels.”
Founded by Katerina Pavlakisas, Making Tracks was began its life as a traveling concert series in the UK. Merlyn joined the project in 2016, and in 2019 he took over as director, transforming the program into a new, environmentally-focused music exchange programme, based around an annual residency and tour. Showcasing artists whose work features music with direct or implicit connections to cultural traditions and heritage–including environmentally-engaged artists working with soundscape field recordings or sound art–the fellowship program is particularly interested in collaboratively-minded music professionals who double as community organizers, environmentalists, ethnomusicologists, writers, and storytellers. Making Tracks aims to strike a balance between showcasing solo talent and giving musicians the opportunity to collaborate on new projects, exploring new musical styles and traditions.
Each autumn, 8 artists from diverse backgrounds are chosen to take part in the fellowship. The program is comprised of a two-week residency on the west coast of Scotland, during which time, new collaborative works are incubated. This is then followed by a series of 10 public concerts throughout the UK in some of it’s most beloved venues, as well as youth music workshops in partnership with local schools and Music Education Hubs. Special care is taken to reduce the carbon footprint of all artists and necessary travel during the residency. From the outset, discussions are encouraged between the artists to increase awareness of existing strategies for environmental engagement and to develop new one.
To listen to or purchase a copy of their live album from 2019, click here.
In nearly all the countries I have visited, folk artists and researchers (and even non-artists), have largely lamented the slow disappearance of their individual cultural traditions. Folk traditions have existed as a creative, expression-based, interactive part of individual and community life for millennia, drawing people together through work, celebration, mourning and the events of both the individual and cultural experience. However, with the not-so-gradual shift in our societies, the world over, towards a tech-oriented, virtual-reality obsessed existence, which distances itself from nature and from one another–not to mention the continued push toward a largely mechanized workforce–when a folk tradition ceases to exist within the home, workplace or community, in many places, it ceases to exist all-together. Perhaps, you might say that if this is the case, we must no longer ‘have need’ of these traditions. But I think that cannot be further from the truth.
Folk music and global traditions at large are places where history, personal and cultural identity, community connection, and the processing of daily occurrences and personal mythology meet, and the disappearances of these traditions from our own lives is not only a devastating loss for the global community but, I believe, a crisis of the human psyche, removing a crucial means of knowledge transmission and expressive means of processing and reflection of our human joys and misfortunes. However, there are some folks who are doing everything they can to mitigate these disappearances, by documenting cultural traditions and seeking to reignite them.
One of these is The Polyphony Project. Begun by Hungarian composer, multi-instrumentalist, folklorist, and singer, Both Miklós, the Polyphony Project aims is to explore, preserve and present the living musical folklore of Ukrainian villages. Since it’s inception, the project has rapidly gained traction, and Miklós has been joined by a massive team of researchers, technicians and ethnomusicologists, to create an organized, virtual database of the intangible cultural heritage recordings, using state-of-the-art technology, as well as videos of dances, stories and discussions. Their our priority is to make this valuable heritage accessible to anyone in contemporary society.
In a similar vein, but on smaller scale, a group of four young Lithuanian woman, who call themselves Obelija, have been coming together for the last several years to explore the rich garden of Lithuanian folk tradition. Beyond explorations in crackling archival recordings, the group (consisting of members ) sought to learn many of the songs from elders still living in the Dzūkija villages, in traditional, oral fashion. In 2018, this culminated in a gorgeous album of freshly interpreted folk songs, showcasing not only Lithuanian life, but the lives of women within the village. You can listen to or purchase the album, here.
“In many songs of this album, the recurring motif of green rue or a wreath of rue can be found. This element is a symbol of a girl’s youth and virginity and is crucial in the songs, which tell stories about different stages of woman’s life, her love, hardships and joys that come and go throughout the years. In the lyrics one can perceive deep connection between human life and nature.”
For our regular readers, you may recall back to February’s article, where I recounted the story of meeting accordionist Tuulikki Bartosik at a festival on the magical island of Ruhnuh, Estonia. As it so happens, I was brought to that festival as a guest of the phenomenal violinist, singer, DJ and photographer, Karoliina Kreintaal, whose passion for the unique traditions of Ruhnuh Island has been causing quite a stir–and she is not alone. Ruhnuh Island boasts a fascinating and unusual history and musical tradition, with a multitude of influences and a voice all it’s own. Despite it’s proximity to Latvia, the island was largely inhabited by Swedish seal hunters from the medieval era until 1919. These hunters made their living by selling seal fat in the nearby ports, chiefly Rīga. Control of the island changed hands many times over the years between Sweden, Russia, Germany and Estonia (read more here). However, during WWII, Ruhnu was occupied first by the Soviet Union, and then by Nazi Germany. In the autumn of 1943, a group of nearly 75 islanders fled to Sweden. The remaining population of the island (save two families), followed suite shortly after, where they established the Runöbornas association, in order to preserve the history and culture of Ruhnu’s original population.
In 2009, Karoliina came across a 1938 recording of Ruhnu Swedish hymns and wedding music while browsing in the Malmö City Library. Together, with friends and fellow musicians, Lee Taul and Sänni Noormets, they decided to organize a violin camp on the island to revitalize the old songs. These camps and the establishing of the Ruhnu Rahu festival has sparked new life into the island inhabitants and is drawing visitors for miles around. The dynamic trio have recently recorded an album, based on their research and experiences on Ruhnuh, including everything from the island’s rich heritage of weddings songs and dance tunes, to original songs inspired by the island itself. To celebrate the album, they have also created a live performance piece, collaborating with storyteller Kairi Leivo, who narrates the poignant, colorful stories and chronicles of village life in English, Swedish, Finnish, Russian and, of course, Estonian.
(As a side note, while this first, brief list is focused in Europe–more specifically, the UK and the Baltic States–I hope to make this list an annual occurrence here, on Folkworks. In doing so, it is my intention to share with you good music that is making a difference, as well as helping to spread the reach of these incredible artists. Many of the listed artists sell their work through Bandcamp, which donates 100% of the purchase to the artist every First Friday, since the pandemic began. Should any of these projects, the artists or their music touch something in you, I humbly ask that you consider doing the same, by sharing these projects with your friends, or supporting the artist/project by purchasing their music).
PLAYLIST
That Folking List
Music Projects That Are Changing The World
