Folkiedave, yes, absolutely Freshlyground counts! I love them too. They are very very big indeed in South Africa. Tho, again, I would not class this as "folk music" -

Mr Dave the Gnome, re your comment on Paul Simon ransacking different cultures in search of fusion: we have seen an absolute plethora here of South American influences, overlaid on just about anything, from rock to folk to gospel, even to Baroque!!!

At the moment, in this country it has never been easier for untalented artists to get signed up to a label and release an album. Result: hundreds (literally) of once-off releases from totally obscure singers (especially female ones, don't know why that should be) with a hastily thrown together backing group, borrowed compositions and no idea of what they are trying to do musically. In a way, it is a good thing, because in all the flotsam and jetsam, the truly worthy artists emerge too. But it is tedious, also. I think it is an offspin of the "new South Africa" thing - the identical thing is happening in literature. Everyone and anyone is writing (and being published): 99% of it is cheap rubbish, but now and then a real gem emerges. We are very estranged from the British folk scene. Irish traditional music occasionally gets a platform here (far too little of it) but almost no English artists, and nothing at all from Wales or Scotland.

I will search for your recommendations, Mr DtG, thank you very much for those.