From all indie genres, Folk seems to have a special place in our hearts. We can't help to get back to folk songs when we look for some calm and inspiration. When we want to hope for a nice dream. Or when we are feeling in the mood for some very well told stories. As an honour to those feelings, this series is entitled TIFU (Today I Folked Up). Only folk songs from new folk artists. To let you and ourselves go.
Lea & The Loved Ones – You Should Come Sailing
This is one of those cases where art comes from an unexpected place. Lea-Marie Sittler is the band singer and guitarist, but also a friend of the sailor who wrote You Should Come Sailing. The lyrics were in a letter she received while her friend was out on the sea. The song is a mix between a folky-waltz, a contemporary musette, and the simplicity and angelical vibes and vocals of the Northeast singers. It’s quite gracious how Lea and her Loved Ones let us imagine how it feels to be there with the cold and salty breeze and the calm of shaw. “This is a hymn about everlasting friendship, a toast to the freedom of the ocean” and we cheer to that!
Freyr – Avalon
Two Swedish in a row! It’s not a secret we want to keep well saved, we’ve said it before that we have a thing for Nordish Folk and here we present two different examples to re-affirm that. Avalon is not a “simple folk-ish song”, it has tthe beat of a trip-hop song, the instrumental of an experimental indie track, and the melody and vocals of a great pop-folk song. All together, Freyr presents a unique style yet it all sounds quite familiar. That’s the craziest thing: we’ve heard something like this before, but also nothing sounds like Freyr’s Avalon sounds. Better if we just leave it here so you check it yourself.
Moon Deer – Ghosts
A good falsetto, electronic sonorities nicely performing what a modern folk song needs and a power build-up. This would be the recipe of a folk-ish hit, pairing with ones from Sigur Rós, Bon Iver, or Bruce Hornsby. And apparently, this is exactly what Ghosts from Moon Deer has. The weigh of the song changes as it goes, becoming heavier until it reaches its pick, then the words gain other value and we can almost feel what it’s like to be a ghost. Apart from that, it’s phenomenal how J. P. Franke -the man behing the project- completes every moment with odd sonorities and instruments making every second become an untravelled experience.
The song is included in Moon Deer’s debut album, Songs For Cassandra, out last Friday, October 8th.
taia – Killer
Taia wrote, performed, recorded, and produced everything in her room while tumbling on some of her favorite hits by Bob Dylan, Phoebe Bridgers, Holly Humberstone, and Avril Lavigne and some influences are quite easy to find in this Killer song. It starts as a simple naive pop-ish song, however with a voice like that, one couldn’t predict a chorus like this. The song becomes more mature and after the first chorus it all starts waving more unpredictably and we love it! After all, Killer sounds like candy to us, that acid-sugar candy we are addicted to. It’s smooth, it’s sweet and it leaves a sour taste in our mouth.
N. Kerbin – A Boy And A Man And A Satellite
A lot of new artists see their inspiration in the likes of Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens, nowadays, but only a few make them fair justice. N. Kerbin not only comes with a great and touching song, sonically speaking, but also a lyric structure and poetry that reminds a lot of Sufjan at his best. The storytelling engages surprisingly thorough with the instrumental and vocals it fascinates everyone who’s a fan of those two icons. A Boy And A Man And A Satellite is a song capable to put the name of Nathaniel Kerbin on the list of the most surprising composers of the year.
Wes Reeve – Cup Of Tea
We don’t have much more to say about Wes Reeve, she’s one of our favorite singer-songwriters of the year and a lovely discovery! Cup Of Tea is one of the countless songs she’s releasing since a year ago and recently launching one every friday. We’re absolutely surrendered to her creativity and capability to overcome week after week with a new theme, lyrics, and melody, Also, she’s doing all the drawings that come along with the songs. Wes lives in a fairytale where she either is the fairy and the princess and it’s absolutely gorgeous to be able to travel to her universe every friday and stay there for a while.
Carmody – Lives Apart
It’s not the first time we write about Carmody and her exceptional work, but since she returned to her roots on folk we had to include some of the songs of her sophomore EP My Jupiter to this compilation. Lives Apart is the third single released and just like she got us used to, her songs are more about her amazing voice that travels through pain and joy, that elevates the mind and soul. That tendency is followed in the second single off of this EP, Rise, a more upbeat song, more soulful but never less folk-ish. And that folk notion is transported to More Than I Miss You -the first one launched-, instrumentally more experimental and close to some indie-folk bands. In the end, just another magnificent work from Carmody.
London Grammar – Californian Soil
Is with no surprise (or maybe a bit) that we include London Grammar in this collection. The trio led by Hannah Reid is not best known for doing folk music, more like indietronic, dreamy pop-sh with a bunch of chamber, but the fact is that we couldn’t be indifferent to Californian Soil, since it has a bunch of folk-ish elements and sonorities, a whole different approach to what is their usual style. The song has a blues/country pace and it is completed with a mysterious and not less exciting wires arrangement which elevates the song to an almost apotheotic build-up, just like London Grammar does best. Even Hannah’s vocals sound harsher and country-ish, making it easier for to us include Californian Soil in this month’s TIFO set of songs.
All these songs (and all previous songs feature in TIFU) are also featured on our folk playlist. Follow it on Spotify: