Angeline Morrison is a folk singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose 2022 album ‘The Sorrow Songs : Folk Songs of Black British Experience’ (Topic Records) was voted No 1 Folk Album of the year in The Guardian. Angeline explores traditional song with a deep reverence, love and curiosity, a handmade sonic aesthetic and a feeling for the stories of ordinary human lives.
The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience (released October 2022, Topic Records) is a work of re-storying. The historic Black presence in the UK dates back to at least Roman times, yet is often hidden, forgotten or unacknowledged. The populations of enslaved African people and their descendants in the USA have their bodies of folk song, which are vitally important for containing histories, expressing feelings, giving voice and claiming presence… but the Black ancestors of the UK have no equivalent body of song. The Sorrow Songs begins to address this.
It is a gift to the forgotten Black ancestors of these islands, and to the folk community here today. The album uses history and imagination to tell stories of UK Black ancestors in the sonic style of UK traditional and folk music.
The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience (released October 2022, Topic Records) is a work of re-storying. The historic Black presence in the UK dates back to at least Roman times, yet is often hidden, forgotten or unacknowledged. The populations of enslaved African people and their descendants in the USA have their bodies of folk song, which are vitally important for containing histories, expressing feelings, giving voice and claiming presence… but the Black ancestors of the UK have no equivalent body of song. The Sorrow Songs begins to address this.
It is a gift to the forgotten Black ancestors of these islands, and to the folk community here today. The album uses history and imagination to tell stories of UK Black ancestors in the sonic style of UK traditional and folk music.
"A ballad maker for our time" (ArtsDesk.com)
"Morrison's courage in reconstructing folk repertoire is truly revolutionary" (New Internationalist)
"Abundant with meaning and feeling" (The Guardian)
Daudi Matsiko
Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Ugandan singer-songwriter and guitarist Daudi Matsiko carefully crafts modern albeit reverent folk. Deft, melancholic picking reminiscent of Nick Drake is tempered by contemporary percussion and instrumentation, and Matsiko’s vocals derive their strength from their seeming fragility, a warble in notes that may or may not be intentional. With every song, his confessional lyrics cut to the marrow.
After releasing two independent EPs, A Brief Introduction to Failure and The Lingering Effects of Disconnection, he signed to Naim Records and has toured with GoGo Penguin, Keaton Henson, Portico Quartet whilst also being a successful graduate of the Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal.
Strange Brew & Ear Trumpet
All Ages (under 18s to be accompanied)
