Releasing his debut album The Punch Bowl in 2002, it was the follow-up effort Kitty Jay from Devon musician Seth Lakeman that saw him catapulted into the spotlight after it received a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize in 2005.
Multiple albums, tours and high-profile collaborations later, the acclaimed folk artist is now gearing up to release his latest studio effort The Granite Way, out on 14th February on his own label, Honour Oak Records. This is a collection of songs that was recorded within a week alongside a group of longtime collaborators of Seth’s, staying true to his roots and referring to ancient stories that inspired early West Country storytelling.
‘I made a point at the beginning of this writing period to stick with a narrative as best I can,’ he explains. ‘Each song feels strongly connected through history to the moors and the sea. I had written the stories and songs beforehand and had the melodic tunes ready for us all to explore when we recorded in the room, and the musical interplay between this lineup really displays their appetite for sounds and subjects within the folk tradition. With very little rehearsal beforehand the songs evolved quickly and naturally – there was no fixed arrangement until we finally recorded.’
The buoyant ‘Louisa’ opens the album with the oft-covered tale of the eponymous lifeboat journeying by land to Porlock Weir from Lynmouth, complete with joyous strings and a chorus written for crowd singalongs, as the scene is set for fifty minutes of folklore.
A popular theme in tales such as these is the fragility of mortality, explored here in tracks like ‘Charlotte Dymond’ and ‘Gallows Tree’. The former takes on a mystical haunting air with its story of the titular woman murdered on Bodmin Moor by her farm hand, while the latter is a jittery and unnerving recounting of a condemned man reflecting his fate as he stands under said tree.
In a track that Seth states is about ‘a spectral figure who roams the moors, chasing lost souls away from a safe passage’, the eerie ‘Huntsman and the Moon’ plays out like a lullaby, one about the Old Crockern, otherwise known as the Huntsman Devil of Dartmoor. Another myth of this region provides the inspiration of ‘The Black Fox’, a galloping song with Seth’s voice ringing clear as it tells the mysterious tale of the legend of the Black Fox of Dartmoor, believed to be a supernatural guardian of the moors.
With most of the album rooted in West Country folklore, ‘One More Before You Go’ contains a more universal message of love and happiness, sharing good times with good friends and family. An extended instrumental outro hints that this is one set to soar in a live setting.
Seth’s expert grasp of using folk music to convey a multitude of emotions in mere minutes cannot be overstated, as shown in the stunning ‘Slow Down’: ‘A weary farmer rushes through his days, tending to fields and livestock,’ he explains. ‘He eventually realises the beauty of stillness and all the simple things nature has to offer.’ It is also a song that can be applied to our world of unrelenting pace and information overload… taking time to stand still can indeed be a universal sentiment.
It makes sense that as a Devon man (where many a ship has set sail for new worlds), the theme of hope lying over unknown waters feeds its way into The Granite Way – rolling along is the pleasant ‘Come and Go’, exploring the possibility of new beginnings beyond the horizon. Of course, another significant chapter in Devon’s history is its industrial roots, one which Seth addresses with ‘Born to the Strain’ and the decline of shipbuilding, tin mining and fishing in and around the great county.
Closing the album is ‘Roll Back the Years’, a slow, thumping waltz which sees an old woman stood at the edge of Mounts Bay, lamenting her father lost at sea. It’s an unearthly song both lyrically and musically, leaving the book open for what may happen next.
While all the tracks on The Granite Way were written and produced by Seth Lakeman himself, the album was made possible with a group of musicians he has played alongside for many years, and will also be touring with them in early 2025 on his upcoming UK headline tour. They are Benji Kirkpatrick (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica), Ben Nicholls (double bass and electric bass), Cormac Byrne (percussion and bodhrán), and Alex Hart (vocals), with additional studio contributions from Archie Churchill Moss on accordion and Dany Crimp on whistles.
Speaking about bringing the songs from the album to life, Seth states: ‘In an effort to keep the excitement of a touring band, we recorded everything together so we can recreate all of the songs from The Granite Way live. There are plenty of upbeat melodic tunes and rhythms that will be exciting to play and explore.’
Full dates below:
Wed 19 Feb – BRISTOL St Georges
Thu 20 Feb – BUXTON Opera House
Fri 21 Feb – FARNHAM Maltings
Sat 22 Feb – EXETER Cathedral
Sun 23 Feb – SWANSEA Taliesin Arts Centre
Mon 24 Feb – SHREWSBURY Theatre Severn
Tue 25 Feb – MILTON KEYNES The Stables
Wed 26 Feb – COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre
Thu 27 Feb – LONDON Union Chapel
Fri 28 Feb – BURY ST EDMUNDS The Apex
Sat 01 Mar – BRIGHTON St Georges
