Reviews

Artist:Nick Lawrence
Album: Of Ash & Oak EP
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 5
Website: https://www.facebook.com/NickLawrenceMusicOfficial/

Nick Lawrence is a singer-songwriter from Folkestone who was first brought to my attention by the wonderful Doug Welch on his much-missed Kent Folk show on Radio Kent. Nick has been performing to audiences around the south-east of England for over 15 years, in addition to having spent a couple of years entertaining folk around the Greater Toronto area in Canada.

Having grown up listening to traditional folk music of England and Ireland, he also acknowledges being strongly influenced by the work of artists such as The Beatles, Billy Bragg, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, The Levellers, Kate Rusby and Jake Thakery.

With 'Songs of Ash & Oak', he serves up 5 fine tracks which, in no particular order, reference pagan rituals, peasant revolt and Viking pillage, with a healthy link or two to Kent to be found within.

The E.P. opens with the upbeat 'The Return Of The Oak King', a song which celebrates the story which stems from pagan, particularly Celtic, mythology, relating to the changing seasons, a subject which not only fascinated, but also frightened early peoples, and led to mythologies which portrayed these alternating seasons as vying for dominance throughout the year. The legend of the Oak King and Holly King represented personifications of summer and winter. During the warm days of summer and when in full leaf, the Oak King is at the height of his strength. On the approach of winter and with the loss of the Oak King's leaves, the Holly King regains power which peaks at the winter solstice. At this point the Oak King is reborn, regaining power at the Spring equinox, and perpetuating the succession.

Replete with jaunty sing-along chorus encouraging all to "Rejoice, rejoice the Oak King returns as the winter retreats from the land, so pass me some ale it's time to regale the return of the Oak King's at hand", and citing both the Gaelic May Day Festival of 'Beltane' and 'Lughnasadh', the song captures the attention from the get-go.

The latter, albeit with Anglicised spelling, the Gaelic Festival marking the beginning of the harvest season, is also the subject of the following track 'At Lughnasa We Will Dance', (not to be confused with Brian Friel's Olivier-Award winning play with a similar name and subject matter, 'Dancing at Lughnasa'). Offered as an unaccompanied piece, save for the insistent bodhran beats, the song is very much in the traditional mould.

With '1381', Nick presents a chronological narrative of the first great popular rebellion in English history, the Peasants' Revolt of the titular year, the immediate cause of which was the imposition of the unpopular poll tax of 1380, which led, in June of 1381 Wat Tyler led a group of rebels from Kent to march on London demanding a reduction in taxation and an end to the unjust Feudal System. Delivered in an Estuary-English accent, comparisons will inevitably be made with the Bard of Barking, Billy Bragg.

The historical theme continues with the penultimate track, 'The Day The Heathens Came', another factual narrative story which recounts the raid, which is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which took place in the summer of 991. To the accompaniment of acoustic guitar, Nick tells of Olaf Tryggvason, later king of Norway, who, sailing with a fleet of 93 ships, raided and pillaged Folkestone, (and who, incidentally, then continued on, plundering Sandwich, and then Ipswich and Maldon).

For the final track, another unaccompanied song, (again notwithstanding the very minimal percussion beat), Nick returns to Kent, with 'Kentish Wassail', a self-composed song, very much within the traditional wassail format, celebrating the Kentish mid-winter custom, whether "Kentish Man or Man-of-Kent from North or from South or from East or from West", which involves dancing, singing and making merry to bless orchards and ensure a good harvest,

That artists such as Nick Lawrence continue to perpetuate music making and story-telling within the folk tradition, in this case via the 'Songs of Ash & Oak' E.P., is both gratifying and welcome.

David Pratt

Previous	Next
Richard Trethewey: Sons Of Cornwall EP	Mairearad Green and Rachel Newton: Anna Bhan

Recent Reviews

Kentish Wassail

Fatea Showcase Sessions

The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.

Pirate is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy

www.fatea-showcase-sessions.co.uk for all the artist information.

Visit The FATEA Archive!