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Lost Horizons at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Venue: Malone's Irish Bar
Town: Edinburgh
Website: http://www.losthorizonsfolkclub.btck.co.uk/

Paul and Trish are stubbornly passionate about live music and it is contagious. On their first visit to the Edinburgh Fringe, they worked with an unearthly determination to showcase the work of fresh, young songwriters who have visited their folk club, Lost Horizons in East London. Thus the Lost Horizons Collective was born in Edinburgh. A group of singers and musicians whose support of each other emboldened the most shy and humbled the most proud, fostering the sharing of advice.

During the week I spent with the Lost Horizons family, I witnessed the sheer talent of Jacob de Berker, Martin Callingham, Bob Munton, James O'Hara Knight, Anna MacDonald and Will O'Donoghue. Jacob uses guitar technique on his banjo. His haunting vocals grasp at your attention with unrivalled delicacy and his lyrics are shaped by the beauty of a timeless soul. Martin's dry humour is in marked contrast with the fragility of his songs and his sensitive guitar playing complements his lyrics to great effect.

Bob embodies folk spirit like few performers of nineteen years old. With a penchant for protest songs he is keen to get the room singing along with his simple and effective compositions. James has an earthy voice which drew comparisons with Leonard Cohen from the audience on more than one occasion. The honesty of his lyrics is captivating and his rich, deep voice is extraordinary. Anna's voice was enough to bring the all day drinkers at Malones Irish Bar on a Sunday evening to a standstill. Her voice is pure and tender, her stage presence charming. Will is entirely watchable performing his own deeply emotive songs. He also included an unaccompanied rendition of 'Accident of Birth' written by Steve O'Donoghue which neatly brings together football loyalty, nationality and religion to promote tolerance. Certainly a talent to watch, this young singer is an exciting part of the Lost Horizons line up.

The final word goes to the Lost Horizons MC Trish: 'History books tell the story of aristocracy and rulers. Folk music is the way that ordinary people record their stories.' Lost Horizons is providing a platform for ordinary young folk to do this.

Louise Jordan

picture Paul & Trish with Louise Jordan