Went for a great night out at the Theatre Mwldan in Cardigan last. I managed to catch live Sam Lee a charming upbeat, uplifting and highly unique individual, who released a distinctive fusion of musical compositions with enchanting captivating folk songs about nature which were combined with ones he had collected from the travelling community.
Sam plays a unique role in the British music scene. He’s an acclaimed, award-winning inventive singer, a folksong collector, conservationist and promoter of live events as founder/director of The Nest Collective who’ve helped shake up the music scene and injected life back into the folk trad and world acoustic scene. An activist, a founding member of Music Declares Emergency,a registered UK charity and independent, non-political coalition of artists, music industry professionals, and organizations, launched in July 2019. It exists to promote the power of music to foster cultural change, aiming to accelerate the industry’s response to the climate emergency and demand immediate, effective government action for a sustainable, net-zero future, https://www.musicdeclares.net/and is also closely involved with Extinction Rebellion
Throughout the evening we were told about people such as Freda Black and the Connors family. The former, a deceased Romani Gypsy who, during the early 1900s had learned folk ballads from her grandparents; the latter an Irish traveller clan, headed by Nan and Buffalo Connors who taught Lee songs that had been in their families for generations, going unwritten and unrecorded, passed down via the oral tradition.
It was a real treat to hear the inspiration and history behing the songs.Giving new life to old tunes and bringing them into the public awareness as living history is a laudable and mammoth endeavor that Sam appears to take into his stride.
Last night Sam performed The Moon Shines Bright, a Gypsy blessing song, which he learned from the aforementioned Freda Black, combining it seamlessly with the well-known standard Wild Mountain Thyme (the recorded and video versions feature the now rarely heard Liz Fraser of Cocteau Twins fame). Live, Sam Lee’s main instrument was his voice, but additionally accompanied by a guitarist and keyboard player, on occasions he sat and played a shruti box for added drone, and at other times he stood and put into practice his dance moves. He even had us the audience singing along to a couple of songs too, so a participatory experience.
With his latest album songdreaming, Lee has leaned into his own songwriting, expanding on existing songs that reflect the turbulent times that we are in. A natural countryman, he spent time as a student of Ray Mears and is famous for performing alongside nightingales in nocturnal Sussex. He even sang a duet with one last night , a bird he has also written book about called The Nightingale: Notes on a Songbird, which I subsequently bought.
Each year Singing with Nightingales is an intimate, immersive musical experience hosted by Sam Lee. and takes place in Sussex woodlands (near Lewes) during the spring (April–May) and involves a guided, silent, torchless walk at night to find, hear, and perform with wild nightingales.
Participants enjoy a campfire dinner, folklore, and songs, followed by a "human-avian musical collaboration" where musicians duet, harmonize, and interact with the birds. The project is designed to foster a "deepening of the relationship with the land" and create a "sonic communion" with the endangered birds. The event is run by Sams organization, The Nest Collective. It sounds truly wonderful and more infomation can be found here. https://www.singingwithnightingales.co.uk/what-is-swn
Sam recommended two films Our Land which is a bold and timely documentary that follows the growing access movement. It captures the tension between public campaigners fighting for greater access to nature and landowners. Blending historical context with present-day action, the film explores the deeply rooted issues of access, ownership and conservation, and asks the urgent question: who truly has the right to roam?
The second film was The History of Sound . In 1917, Lionel, a young, talented music student meets David at the Boston Conservatory, where they bond over a deep love of folk music. Years later, Lionel receives a letter from David, leading to an impromptu journey through the backwoods of Maine to collect traditional songs. This unexpected reunion, ensuing love affair, and the music they collect and preserve, will shape the course of Lionel’s life far beyond his own awareness. Both films sound vey interesting and both showing where I went very soon.
All in all an uplifting evening with a highly unique distinctive fusion of musical composition that soared with passion, personality and depth. Creating an enchanting joyful inspiring evening for all in attendance hopefully.
