BEN WALKER

Hello!

Hope all is well with you and you’re looking forward to the summer. I’m off next week to one of my favourite places – Halsway Manor in Somerset – to do my summer Masterclass for intermediate guitarists. It’s a lovely week and you always come away with great friends at the end of it. There’s be a gig on Thursday 6th, too, if you’re in the area.

Then, I’m absolutely delighted to let you know that Kirsty Merryn and I will be taking the show on the road with September dates in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland! She’s had an amazing 2023 so far touring with the likes of Show of Hands. We’ve been working on some new old songs, and we’re really looking forward to all the fun of touring together again!

If you’ve friends in those parts and you think they might like us, do tip them off! In the meantime, enjoy the good weather and hopefully see you soon.

Thanks for reading and all the best,

Ben

In what feels like no time at all, my new album is finally out!

There’s so much brilliant new material coming out at the moment; hopefully you’ll find a moment to enjoy this one. With everything that’s been going on in the world, it’s taken me nearly three years to make this album, but I hope it’s better for the extra time spent thinking, testing, trying a few things.

I’ve wanted to make this album for a long time – I wanted to write something that spoke about the way that we as humans have understood the vastness of nature through different lenses. There are poems set to music, some things I’ve written myself, some instrumental pieces, and above all I wanted to stretch myself musically and find the style that best fits the song.

I couldn’t have made it without the help of some wonderful artists, so if you’re interested in who’s involved we have (drum roll), Sophie Jamieson, Nancy Kerr, Emily Mae Winters, Louis Brennan, Lucy Cait, Sam Lee and Kirsty Merryn on vocals, Basia Bartz, Anna Jenkins and Jo Silverston on strings, my old flatmate John Parker on double bass, and Nancy’s Magpie Arc bandmate, Tom Wright on drums. It’s been an absolute privilege to make music with such generous people – I really enjoyed making this album, so I hope it speaks to you too.

You can now buy the full album directly from me at bandcamp, from wherever you get your albums from, or to stream in the usual places – a full list is here 

Cheers and all the best,

Ben

It’s the first of February and my new single is out today!

It’s called Banish Air from Air and it’s also the title track of my new album.

The words are a poem by Emily Dickinson. It uses so few words to say what I wanted to say, I had to open the album with it. It’s at least 150 years old but it feels condensed and supercharged even now, let alone compared to her contemporaries.

Marry Waterson made another astonishing video for this song – I gave her no directions, she just promised me something ‘devastating and lovely’ and I’m sure you’ll agree that’s what we got.

Sophie Jamieson did me the honour of singing on it. I first worked with Sophie many years ago, on her debut EP, and as it started to take shape I knew this one could only really be for her to sing. The harmony arrangement at the heart of this track is her work and I think it’s stunning.

You can listen to the single on Spotify or any of the other streaming services, and if you pre-order the full album directly from me, you’ll be the first to get a copy when it comes out later this month.

Thanks for reading and all the best,

Ben

Happy new year one and all. Here’s hoping it’s better for most of us than the last! 

In the spirit of looking ahead, I’m delighted to let you know that you can now pre-order my new album, ‘Banish Air from Air’, if you like that sort of thing!

This album came out of trying to make sense of a world that seems upside down. It’s a very human instinct to try to put a justifying narrative to the chaos – we’ve got hypotheses which go back centuries, from folk myths to religion, from alchemy to science.  I’d usually default to music or science to describe the world but folk superstitions offer their own explanations of things we’re still figuring out. I love the satisfaction of peeling back the layers of a folk tale and finding that, in its own way, the story still makes sense. I started to play with developing a few of the folk stories I was reading into lyrics to work with musically, and found that I rather liked a couple of them, so there are a few new songs among the very old ones. 

With everything that’s been going on in the world, it’s taken me nearly three years to make this album, but I hope it’s better for the extra time spent thinking, testing, trying a few things. 

The first single is called ‘Starlings’ and you can see Folk Radio UK’s write up and the beautiful video that Marry Waterson made for it, here

I’ve worked with some wonderful artists for this record. It’s a privilege to make music with such generous people, so incredibly good at what they do. I really enjoyed making it, so I hope it speaks to you too.

You can pre-order it here, and you’ll be the first to get a copy when it comes out next month.

Cheers and all the best,

Ben

Hello!
 Hope you’re looking forward to the weekend! It’s been great getting back on the road properly this last two months touring Life and the Land with Kirsty Merryn – we’ll be picking that up again at harvest-time, so don’t worry if you haven’t seen that yet, there will be more!
In the meantime, I wanted to let you know what I’ll be up to for the next few months. I’ll be busy! There are a few gigs in the pipeline, starting with one at the trusty old Water Rats in London next Friday, 27th May, just me and a guitar, some old tunes and some new.

Then, I’ll be at Home Farm Festival with the rest of the Folkroom crew and playing a set on the Folkroom stage on 11th June; that’s always a huge laugh and a lovely weekend.

On 18th June Thom Ashworth and I will be picking up our Covid- sabotaged run of joint headline gigs with a long-postponed evening at Soundbox in Chester, I’m really looking forward to that, and if you haven’t heard his new stuff, it’s very much worth coming along to listen.

I’ve been working with my friend, neighbour and one of my favourite singers Laura Hockenhull (of the Long Hill Ramblers) on some traditional material that we both love. On the 24th June we’ll be playing it for the first time with the honour of supporting the legend that is Martin Carthy here in Brighton. Thom will be there playing his stuff too. I’m afraid that one is already sold out, but if you were lucky enough to get a ticket, that should be a gig and a half!

And finally, I’m delighted that Halsway Manor asked me back to run my masterclass for intermediate and advanced guitarists on the week of 4th July. A week in sunny Somerset, good food and good company, couldn’t really ask for more! Still a few places left I believe, if you’d like to join us?

It’s great fun, come on your own or bring a friend, you’ll definitely leave with a few more! There’s also a gig there on the Thursday night (the 7th) with me and the fabulous Simon Mayor and Hilary James, if you’re in the area. Word to the wise – I’ve been working on a little instrumental EP for release around then – watch this space!  

Cheers and all the best, 

Ben

Hello!

Sometimes it feels like the only thing to do is to get together with friends and enjoy a little escape from worrying about the world, even if it’s just for an evening. 

I’m really looking forward to seeing some friendly faces at this month’s Life and the Land gigs with Kirsty Merryn. First up are our good friends at Red Lion Folk Club in Birmingham which is always a lovely place to play. 

Then, we’re bringing the show to Cecil Sharp House in London on the 30th March; that one is going to be a bit special.

So if you fancy joining us for a few songs and tunes, we’d love to see you there.

Kirsty Merryn and I have been having such a good time touring our joint project Life and the Land, and it even got a little play on the Folk Show this week!

This video was taken at the fantastic Lighthouse Arts Centre in Poole, always a great place to play. This is one of the darker tracks on the EP but it’s such a great song. If you’d like to catch us live this month, we’re in Sutton, Burton, Birmingham and Bristol!

Hello! I just wanted to let you know that Life and the Land, my EP with the marvellous singer, songwriter and pianist Kirsty Merryn is now available for pre-order and coming out September 3rd! 

It seems a long time ago that we started thinking together about the traditional folk songs that celebrate our connection to the seasons! Life and the Land takes us through the year’s cycle of death and rebirth, with scarecrows, ploughboys, shepherdesses and the birds of the field telling their tales. If anything, this record feels even more relevant now, after a winter that feels like it’s gone on too long. These songs remind us that all things pass, green things grow, the sun rises and sets and the seasons change. 

Working with a singer and songwriter of such talent like Kirsty who genuinely enjoys bringing traditional material up to date as much as I do has been marvellous. We hope you find listening to these songs as much fun as it was to make them. They’re a blast to play live so we hope we’ll see you on our joint tour, we’ll be seeing you around the place from Harvest to Spring.

You can pre-order the EP here and get a copy signed by both of us – and tickets for the tour are on sale now.

Hello! Hope all is well and you’re enjoying the sunshine! 

As things finally look like they are coming back around, I wanted to drop you a quick line to let you know about this year’s plans. It’ll be great to pick up where Thom Ashworth and I left off back in 2019 with some joint dates in Chester at SoundBox on 18th June, and in London at the Green Note on 19th July.

In between I’ll be heading to one of my absolute favourite places, Halsway Manor, to run my guitar masterclass, this is always a wonderful meeting of like minds – and there’s a gig on the Thursday night. If  you’ve been brushing up on your skills during lockdown and you fancy a week in the Somerset sun, maybe you’d like to join me there?

Then, it’s very good to finally be able to say that brilliant singer/songwriter Kirsty Merryn and I will be touring our joint project Life and the Land, alongside the EP which we’re launching on 3rd September. 

This year more than ever it feels like we should appreciate the joy of the seasons and we’ve found some great songs to do it with. Dates for your diary in the poster just here. This should be a really fun show, if you’re lucky enough to have tickets to the (sold out) Magpie’s Nest festival this weekend, you might get a sneak preview! 

Some venues have tickets on sale already, and some will be available soon, so do please keep an eye out for links and updates. 

If we’re in your area we would love to see you on the road, all being well!

Cheers and all the best,

Ben

Those of you who follow my guitar playing with interest, will know over the years I’ve been strongly affiliated with the guitars of one Roger Bucknall, of Fylde Guitars.

My first proper performance guitar was a second hand Alchemist, bought from Hobgoblin Music in London, which I still have and am very fond of indeed. If you’ve seen me play live, you’ve also probably seen the beast that is my fan-fret Falstaff – that’s the guitar I’m clutching at the top of this website…

However… as goldilocks once said to the three bears, some things are just right. This new guitar is closer in size to my (smaller) Alchemist, which makes it super easy to play when trying to make weird stretches, but has just enough grunt to be able to do what it needs to do at the bottom end without me having to really attack it.

For the guitar connoisseurs amongst you, the back and sides are figured walnut, and very lovely. The top is sinker redwood, which lives up to the hype, sitting somewhere between the spongy response of cedar, and the golf-ball thwack of spruce. It’s also 12 frets to the body, and has an LR Baggs Dual system in place, meaning I’ll be able to experiment in stereo 😁

I’ve already started writing with it – if you’d like to hear what it sounds like, click the link below!

Touring might have been curtailed but Ben Walker’s new instrumental EP The Rakes of Adair takes the listener on a charming trip from England to Ireland and back again with five tunes first set down in the 1700s or earlier. 

Reviewers of Ben’s 2019 debut solo album Echo remarked on ‘hauntology reminiscent of Gavin Bryars’ (The Guardian), calling it  ‘a profound statement connecting past and present’ (fRoots). With this new record Ben picks up an earlier thread. 

His 2018 EP The Fox on the Downs explored eighteenth century English tunes following his Lost Tunes EFDSS residency with Leveret’s Rob Harbron at Cecil Sharp House. Reviewers pronounced it ‘jaw-dropping’ (Folk Radio UK), and ‘almost obscenely good’ (Fatea). 

The second EP in what looks set to become a series exploring this particular era, The Rakes of Adair whisks us back three hundred years through deceptively simple, exquisite fingerstyle guitar, pure pleasure to hear. 

Ben says: ‘ I’m still fascinated by what was happening in the eighteenth century and how people started to value these old tunes and write them down for us to find. I spend a lot of time with English music but I often play a couple of Irish tunes at gigs just because they’re so much fun to play – not being on the road I’ve finally had time to record a few! Some of them made their way across the sea and back again. When you play in Ireland you feel the music very close to the surface, every pub feels on the cusp of a session; there’s usually a story behind the tune, too. Hopefully we can all enjoy live music together again soon. 

All proceeds from this record will go to Macmillan Cancer Support. A very dear friend of mine lost her life to cancer last year so this is something I wanted to do to remember her.’ 

The Rakes of Adair will be released on Folkroom Records as a limited edition CD on November 6th 2020.

When Ben Walker and Kirsty Merryn announced a joint project earlier this year little did they know it was the last time they would see each other for months on end. The impact of coronavirus on folk music has been huge – a year of cancelled gigs and empty venues, without even the solace of getting together to play. With a handful of demos recorded before lockdown and the future for performing artists uncertain, Ben and Kirsty regretfully put the EP launch and tour for Life and the Land on hold. They spent the time researching, writing, sharing and swapping from home until they could record together again. 

Westlin Winds offers a first taste of the EP, with Spring 2021 dates announced soon – all being well. 

As Kirsty says: ‘Westlin Winds is about that moment at the height of summer where nature overflows with abundance. In our version we wanted to reflect on humanity’s relationship with nature in 2020, how much we take with little regard for the consequences. Life and the Land was always meant to be about celebrating the fruits of a year’s struggle – I’m not sure we realised quite how apt that was going to be! We really wanted to have something to show for harvest time. It’s been frustrating not to be able to tour, we’re so looking forward to playing these songs for people. It’ll be worth the wait.’ 

Ben adds ‘This song is from a Robbie Burns poem he called Song Composed in August – despite our best laid plans that’s when we ended up recording it! The way we’ve done it was inspired by Dick Goughan’s classic version; in the end we kept the arrangement simple and let the lovely song shine through. Hopefully, it’ll give a flavour of how our two styles combine and whets appetites for the rest of the record.’

Westlin Winds will be released on Bandcamp on Friday September 11th on Folkroom Records For press queries or to book a performance in 2021 contact gigs@benwalkermusic.com