Loading

Lisa Knapp

Venue: The Corduroy Folk Club
Town: The Atkinson, Southport
Date: 6/12/13
Website: http://lisaknapp.co.uk

Back in September, I had the pleasure of reviewing, in this magazine, the then-new album by Lisa Knapp, "Hidden Seam". I was much taken with this amazing album and so, it seems [no pun intended], were others, as it has received nominations for New Album of the Year [fRoots Critics' Poll] and Best Album of the Year [ BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards].Furthermore, Lisa has been nominated for Folk Singer of the Year and for Best Non-Traditional Track [Two Ravens] in the Radio 2 Awards. That's some achievement !

Naturally, I was delighted when I learned that Lisa was coming to my hometown of Southport to perform at the newly-formed Corduroy Folk Club at the recently refurbished Atkinson Cultural Centre.

Tonight Lisa was accompanied by her husband/musical partner/producer/multi-instrumentalist Gerry Diver, together with Tomos Brangwyn [hammered dulcimer] and Pete Flood from the mighty Bellowhead on drums and percussion. Lisa herself played a variety of instruments including violin, harp and autoharp. Lisa apologised for the fact that she had forgotten to pack her frock for the occasion and thus was clad in jeans and jumper but who cares, it's the music that matters and, as it happened, we had an evening of wonderfully inventive music.

Lisa began the show with an eerie, atmospheric version of the traditional ballad "The Blacksmith" which is the first track on her first album "Wild and Undaunted". From the off it was obvious that this was going to be a special evening, as Lisa's clear, distinctive voice soared above an accompaniment of violin, banjo, piano, hammered dulcimer and drums. This was followed by the melodious, grown-up lullaby that is "Ruler of the Rest" with its exotic, dream-like atmosphere, courtesy of Lisa's autoharp and Tomos' shimmering hammered dulcimer.

Last year, Lisa released a limited-edition EP called "Hunt the Hare-A Branch of May" on the theme of the Merry, Merry month of May, and from that EP we had a suite of numbers. Firstly, there was "A May Garland" from the singing of Miss May Johnston. This was a striking performance, in more ways than one, as it featured a sampled cuckoo clock and what appears to be a musical box. This evocative piece led into "Hunt the Hare Parts 1 and 2", an extraordinary eight minute epic in which Lisa's haunting vocals and harp combine with hammered dulcimer, piano and percussion to create a timeless, almost mediaeval atmosphere.

Just three days before tonight's show, Lisa had taken part in the Bert Jansch Tribute Concert at the Southbank Centre in London. At that event, she sang "Blackwaterside", accompanied by Martin Carthy. As Martin was not here tonight [although he did appear at this venue in November with Dave Swarbrick !],Lisa sang "Blackwaterside" unaccompanied, in what was a truly lovely version of the song and a thoroughly appropriate tribute to the late, great Bert.

The opening track on "Hidden Seam" is the extraordinary "Shipping Song", in which Lisa recites the names of the Shipping Areas around the British Isles to stunning effect. This track is one of my favourite of the year and Lisa's live performance of it certainly lived up to the recorded version.

Gerry Diver is perhaps best known for his work as a record producer but he is also an excellent musician in his own right as he demonstrated most emphatically during his solo spot in which he played a set of fiddle tunes with great lightness of touch and skill. As well as being an excellent fiddle player, Gerry is no slouch on the piano either, as he showed in his wonderful accompaniment to Lisa on her magical lullabye "Hushabye".

The one non-original song on "Hidden Seam" is the late, much-missed Lal Waterson's "Black Horse". Tonight Lisa's performance of it was amazing as she sampled her own voice and duetted with herself over an intense, rhythmic drum pattern provided by Bellowhead's Pete Flood. More vocal gymnastics followed on the title track of "Hidden Seam",an intriguing song about a "sense of bold adventure" which featured a minimalist backing theme [think Terry Riley or Philip Glass] which builds and builds to a crescendo, followed by an extraordinary vocal performance by Lisa[and more great percussion by Pete], which left me and the rest of the audience stunned. Thus, the show ended, apart from a solo encore by Lisa of a song from the singing of the late Scottish ballad singer Lizzie Higgins.

On the strength of the amazing "Hidden Seam" album and tonight's wonderful performance, it is abundantly clear that Lisa Knapp is, without doubt, one of the most original and innovative artists working in the world of folk music at the present time. The sheer inventiveness of her music is breathtaking and this is reflected in the several awards nominations that she has received this year.

Peter Cowley
photocredit:Neil King not taken at gig