The luminaries of the Norfolk folk scene convene once again – this time to help Norwich multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and singer Adam Clark create his ‘love-letter to Norfolk’ on his new album, Folk & Fold.

NORFOLK FOLK LUMINARIES

As regular At The Barrier visitors will know only too well, they’ve got a vibrant folk scene going on over there in Norfolk.  Indeed, for several year now, our pages have been regularly illuminated by articles concerning the output of such artists as Christina Alden, Alex Patterson, Nic Zuppardi and Georgia Shackleton.  Sometimes the artists fly solo, sometimes in pairs; sometimes they’re helping each other out.  In the case Norfolk Folk Supergroup, Kitewing, they’ve even been known to gather as a single unit…

Norwich multi-instrumentalist Adam Clark is another member of that Norfolk gaggle and he’s managed to round up several of his local colleagues to help him weave together this heady mix of traditional and original songs to form Folk & Fold.  It’s a venture that Adam describes as his: “Love-letter to Norfolk.”

Born and raised in Norwich, to parents of Irish and English heritage, Adam Clark has been around for quite some time.  To Adam, different musical genres represent not a barrier, but an opportunity and, over the years, he’s performed, recorded American folk, bluegrass, West African music, Irish music and jazz manouche.  And that’s all in addition to his regular output of self-composed songs and tunes.

MODUS OPERANDI

Folk & Fold brings together several strands of Adam’s modus operandi.  His own compositions sit comfortably alongside imaginative rearrangements of well-known (and, maybe, not-so-well-known) traditional songs.  And he’s not averse to rewriting the lyrics to traditional songs (something that would have been considered a crime of ghastly proportions in a less-enlightened age) where he considers the lyrical treatment of social norms to be outmoded.  The spirits of Harry Cox and Peter Bellamy (in particular) pervade the grooves of Folk & Fold and, along with his distinguished guests, Adam’s presentation of the songs is both respectful and refreshing.

Folk & Fold gets underway with an enjoyable version of the well-known Norfolk song, Bungay Roger.  Adam learned the song from the work of Peter Bellamy and he’s been singing it ever since he launched his musical career.  Adam’s guitar and Nic’s octave mandolin combine delicately – although their presence grows as the bawdy tale unfolds – and Adam sings with the conviction of a true Norfolk native.

SONGS, TUNES AND STORIES

Taken from the singing of Suffolk native, Goeff Lyng, Australia is another old East Anglian favourite.  It’s subject matter is summarized as: “…equality, land, colonization, justice and more” and Adam drives the song along with snatches of mandolin and shruti.

Norfolk’s rich folklore and folk history provide fertile inspiration for Adam’s own compositions and I Walked By Night takes its lyrical prompts from the memoirs of notorious Norfolk poacher, Frederick Rolfe.  The song’s co-writer, Adam’s brother Matt, provides the solid, contemplative double bass line that underlies Georgia Shackleton’s sweet fiddle, as Adam tells his story.

We stick with the subject of poaching and its consequences for Georgie.  Taken from the singing of Harry Cox, it’s another well-known song and it’s been covered in many forms over the years – perhaps most notably by Martin Carthy on his 1976 Crown of Horn album.  Alex adds a haunting fiddle line to Adam’s lightly-strummed guitar and Nic’s octave mandolin, and the atmospheric rendering of the song is rounded off by a charming run through the Morris tune, Cuckoo’s Nest.

CROSS-DRESSING AND RE-WRITING

Cross-dressing was quite a thing, back in the old days, as girls and ladies would – regularly and willingly, it seems – disguise themselves as men in order to gain acceptance to military or naval ranks.  Adam’s arrangement of The Female Cabin Boy fits the bill here, and his guitar interweaves wonderfully with Alex’s fiddle as he recounts his story of “The handsome cabin boy who was neither man nor maid.”

The Hearty Goodfellow/ The Perfect Cure is a pair of jigs – the first a tune of Adam’s that he composed on his tenor guitar and the second, traditional.  Alex’s fiddle is as light as air as his fingers flit around his instrument’s neck; Adam joins in on concertina and Nic adds to the lightness with a few well-placed sprinkles of mandolin.

Admirably, Adam took the decision to rewrite the lyrics to the traditional Fakenham Fair to: “Lessen the female objectification in the original.”  It’s another song that Adam learned from Peter Bellamy and, in Adam’s hands, it’s a sprightly, warm affair.  Adam takes centre stage on guitar, with Alex and Nic adding the sparkle, before guest Aaren Bennett contributes some nice backing vocals for the big finish.

ADIEU, OLD ENGLAND

Adam has, throughout Folk & Fold, demonstrated his prowess as a guitarist and with Home – his celebration of his family – he takes his chance to really shine.  It’s a short tune, gentle and dreamlike, and Adam plays it with genuine feeling.  And we stick with Adam’s own work for The Passing Year, a song inspired by Adam’s walks around his beloved Norfolk countryside.  His passion for his surroundings is clear as he delivers his lyrics to a backing of shruti and a collection of outdoor sounds that he’s collected over the years.

Folk & Fold is rounded off by another well-loved song from the Harry Cox songbook.  Speaking of Adieu to Old England, Adam says: “This song expresses, for me, an aspect of [Turkish author] Ece Temelkuran’s concept of being ‘unhomed’ – which suffuses much of this album and our times.”  Alex, Nic, Georgia and Aaren are joined by Christina Alden to supplement Adam’s polite, Observational rendition of the song with sweet violin and some velvety backing vocals.  It’s a fine ending to an excellent album.

Watch Adam, accompanied by Alex Patterson and Nic Zuppardi, perform Adieu to Old England – the album’s closing track – below:

Adam Clark: Website

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