Playlist: Remembrance of Times Past

Field Music – Six Weeks, Nine Wells

During the summer I spent an afternoon with my daughter exploring the Sunderland streets where I grew at. By the end, having played in my old park, peered through the fence at my first school and noted the disappearance of my old nursery, we were ready for ice cream. So we popped to the corner shop, just like I did when I got my pocket money, bought some choc ices and sat on the bench outside to eat them. It felt like 40 years rolled away.

You’re not supposed to have Proustian flashbacks in places like Sunderland of course, but nobody told Field Music that. The Brewis brothers are back in action, and the lead single from this week’s new album is its own curious concoction of childhood nostalgia and retro prog-pop. Six Weeks, Nine Wells harks back to summer holidays past; those seemingly endless weeks of freedom that always ended too soon.

It's an ode to a simpler time: out of the house with your mates, no questions asked as long as you were home by teatime. Probably sitting outside the corner shop with an ice cream or a can of pop, for that matter. But Field Music is too smart to sink into simple, unreflective nostalgia. Six Weeks effectively evokes those contradictory, almost other-worldly memories while creating a distinctive and slightly disturbing sound world that carries strong Eno echoes. It’s a thoughtful reflection on the past, not a rant about how the world is getting worse.

Field Music’s new album, Limits of Language, is out Thursday. Order your copy from your preferred independent record store here and look out for the series of in store appearances to promote it. Also, check out this interview with author and musician Ian Fawdon about Sunderland’s burgeoning music scene.

Me Lost Me – Off and On

Another remembrance of times past, from the ever intriguing Me Lost Me. Off and On, based on an interview with former miner Steven Maitland, meditates on the days of the Durham coalfield and backed by No More Nowt. Jayne Dent (who featured in an earlier playlist) is one of the most imaginative musicians currently working in the region. Blending folk and electronica (and, on occasion, references to gaming consoles) she constructs rich, multi-layered sonic environments that reward repeated listening.

There’s a surprising amount in common with the Field Music track. Both look back at the past – albeit from very different starting points – and they both create an almost hallucinatory world. Which possibly makes sense in response to the huge changes that our region has seen in my lifetime, changes that render some elements of the world in which I grew up almost fantastic.

I caught Me Lost Me in concert in Darlington earlier this year and it was a compelling experience. Jayne is back in action on Saturday in Newcastle at the Beyond the Moor festival, a boundary-pushing folk showcase. Read on for more about that, and details of tickets.

Cri du Canard - Laridé de Kervignac: Quand j’étais chez mon père

The Beyond the Moor festival is a relatively new addition to the northeast folk scene, coming to life after the refurbishment of Gosforth Civic Theatre. But it’s already proving that folk music is more diverse than cupping your hand to your ear and warbling some rustic ditty. Particularly round here, traditional music often has a grittier, more industrial edge; a world where dark nights on the farm are replaced by the darkness of toiling below ground (see Jez Lowe, Pitman Poet legend, and also on the bill).

But Beyond the Moor casts its net widely, and Cri du Canard offers something completely different. Newcastle based, but fascinated by the French accordion tradition, Grace, Sam and Dave blend fiddle, flute and squeezebox to recreate Breton sounds for a contemporary audience.

Sounds unlikely? Well, yeah. But it also creates a surprisingly infectious collection of earworms, of which Laridé de Kervignac is one of the most immediately appealing. This was music I never knew I needed, until suddenly I discovered I did. Hopefully, Saturday’s festival will bring more discoveries.

Beyond the Moor is at Gosforth Civic Theatre in Newcastle on Saturday, Oct. 12. Eight acts play two stages, with show times from 3-10pm. Tickets are £37.90 for the day (including booking fee), students and U18s £21.91. You can book online via the event page.

Thanks for reading another playlist. If you liked it, give a like and subscribe. If you really liked it, consider buying me a coffee. But, most of all, please consider supporting the artists by buying their music or attending their gigs.

Previous playlists: Folksy flavours / Politics / Stockton Calling / Russia / Aelius / #6 / Border Crossings / #8 / Safe hands throwing stones / More Than a Stone’s Throw / Fusion / Pigs, parties and Portuguese / From Bronte to Black Metal / Punk Princesses / Mackem magic and a mystical remix / Narc.Fest / Fringe Benefits / Peterlee Psalms / Winds of Change / Punk nostalgia, twisted psychedelia