Image above: Melanie Chadwick

Poetry reinvented: An interview with northern-folk outfit,  the Lake Poets – by Betty Hammer

The Lake District is a rural area in the north west of England, famed for its green and hilly scenery, beautiful fresh-water lakes and as the birthplace of some of the most avant-garde and romantic poetry British literature has ever seen.  It’s also given us one more thing to be thankful for- folk artist the Lake Poets.

Track – Windowsill – by The Lake Poets.

You’ve probably never heard of the Lake Poets (the band that is, not Wordsworth and his crew) but they- or should I say he- is producing some of the best folk music on the UK circuit at present. The band comprises of singer/songwriter  Martin Longstaff. A 23 year old MA student, Longstaff hails from Sunderland-  a city in the centre of the industrial north, more famed for its football team the Black Cats, shipbuilding and coal mining than its folk-output. Oh, and  it’s given us those other fellas from Sunderland The FutureHeads. Not that he sounds anything like them…

When the Lake Poets take to the stage, it is just one voice and a guitar.

Whilst the simplicity is traditional, his voice is simply something else.  At a recent gig supporting Mammal Club, Longstaff took to the stage relatively unnoticed. But within 30 seconds of his opening song the room- 100 or so people- had fallen completely silent. The effect was surreal and reminiscent of the first time I saw Damien Rice play to a small gig of 50 people, just before the release of his best-selling album O. Few artists- Rice, Bon Iver and a handful of others- have the ability to mesmerise in that way and I hadn’t seen anything like it since- until the Lake Poets.

Image above: Billy Mather

Longstaff’s voice is- simply put- stunningly beautiful.  That sounds a bit wet – but there’s no better way to describe the raw mix of tenderness and understated vulnerability, so unusual in a man’s voice. It cuts right through the middle of the gender divide and really stirs emotion, catching you completely off guard.

He’s also a bloody good guitarist, and his skilled mix of picking, quiet verses and emphatic choruses provides real entertainment. Softly spoken, Longstaff drives a masculine analysis of the world so rarely expressed, much of which is drawn from the immediate world around him;

I had a nice upbringing; my parents worked really hard and came from very little. Both my granddads worked down the shipyard- my dad was a mechanical engineer down the pit. When I was born, my dad fell in with the miner strike… it changed things for him. After that fell apart, he thought ‘Stuff this, I’m not going to join the army’- which seemed to be the only other option available for people like him-  so instead, he went to University. My mam supported him and he worked really hard and got his degree .

This ‘work hard and pursue your dreams’ ethos was inspired by another personal experience for Longstaff- the sad and unexpected death of his grandfather last April. “It made me realise that life is short, and if there’s something you want to do, you’ve just got to go out there and do it”. So, mid-2010, Longstaff went out and started playing.

In a relatively short space of time, he’s made a name for himself as one of the north-east’s premier folk musicians, and has shared the stage with the crème of the northern independent music scene. The Lake Poets have also just completed their first major tour in support of Ben Montague & Leddra Chapman, playing a string of dates across including Newcastle, London, Oxford and Edinburgh. And judging by the jump in downloads of the demo E.P and explosion of followers on Twitter, Longstaff’s making quite an impression.

Image above: Louise Norman

So what does the future hold? The Lake Poets are through to the final 16 of the Generator/Head of Steam competition to play at this summer’s Evolution festival. The prize is a big one; if he wins, he’ll be sharing a billing with the likes of Iggy and the Stooges, 2 Door Cinema Club, Hercules and the love affair and fellow folkie Karthyn Williams. Not bad for a fella that’s only been doing it for 12 months.

As for a recording…“There’s been interest from a few record labels, but interestingly, most are either from North America or Australia… A couple of guys out there asked to plug my stuff, I said yeah. Why not?” As for the UK? He’s in no rush to sign to a label here either; “to be honest, I take the music mostly as a hobby- I love doing it, and want to do as well as I can for myself- but money and fame aren’t big motivation for me. I just enjoy playing”.

As long as the gigs keep rolling in, the Lake Poets will keep evolving.

The Lake Poets are playing a string of dates across the UK- check their site for details. Their debut E.P is expected mid-2011.

Art inspired by The Lake Poets Music…

Submissions from: Melanie Chadwick | Billy Mather | Louise Norman | Fiona Li | Rukmunal Hakim | Sky Nash | Kerri-Ann Hulme

Thanks to all the artists who contributed Illustrations to this article. Your work is brilliant.

Look out for more opportunities to illustrate for some great upcoming acts over the next few months (via twitter @creaturemag).