Stick In The Wheel – From Here: English Folk Field Recordings

Stick in the Wheel are a band with its origins in working-class East London, UK. They bring a contemporary approach to folk music with raw minimalism, setting vocals to simple accompaniments and handclaps, along with progressive synths and beats informed by the street music of their heritage. As a way of giving something back to the scene that had, if not completely accepted them, at least accommodated them, the group set out to make a collection of live recordings of other musicians immersed in traditional music; what they called a snapshot of English folk music right now. They wanted to capture performances that were immediate and intimate. They recorded across the country in private and personal spaces, in down-time, and between gigs. Often recorded in less than an hour in locations as diverse as a stone cottage in Edale, a London bank vault, a Bristol back room, to a Robin Hood’s Bay garden at dusk and a Bedford kitchen. The theme of the project was From Here and each artist’s contribution was their response to that theme. They were recorded live, with two stereo mics and no overdubs. Artists involved included Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy, John Kirkpatrick, Jon Boden and Spiro (band).