Folk series on UK Channel 5

Subject: Folk series on Channel 5
From: Folknacious
Date: 09 Nov 07 - 07:53 PM

Via the BBC board and apparently before that on Froots, I've read of a series of documentaries on folk performers being made for Channel 5 TV to be shown early next year. 4 programmes, the subjects are Eliza Carthy, Kate Rusby, Seth Lakeman and Athena. The people who are making them produced an earlier programme about Kathryn Tickell. Did anybody see that? Was it good for the music? Can we expect this new series to be beneficial? I'd like to think it will be with that range of artists all of who I like, but my past experience of folk programmes on TV, other than a few on BBC4 like the Bob Copper and Martin Carthy ones a few years ago, hasn't been that good. This isn't the BBC though . . .

Subject: RE: Folk series on UK Channel 5
From: BB
Date: 10 Nov 07 - 04:26 AM

The Kathryn Tickell programme was excellent - if it's out of the same stable director-wise, this series could be as good or otherwise as its subjects, and how interesting their backgrounds and present work is (or should that be 'are'?)

Barbara

Subject: RE: Folk series on UK Channel 5
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 10 Nov 07 - 05:21 AM

On case others are as innocent as I of "Athena", I set out below a short cut and paste from the fatea-records website


"Athena
Album:Breathe With Me
Label:Embraceable
Website: http://www.athenaandreadis.com
Athena, is an artist that I think I would struggle with live. "Breathe With Me" is an album that exploits the emotion. It wallows in your selfpity and endulges your melcholia. You really need to have had your heart shattered to get full benefit from this album. It's about reflecting in your lounge or your bedroom, maybe with another wounded soul. It would take a real masochist to go out to a theatre and do it in public. Athena knew where she was when the hunter killed Bambi's mother and the songs trip off her lips like she needs absolution."

So, for me, I think that might be one programme out of four that I will enjoy, but I will watch them and see.

Subject: RE: Folk series on UK Channel 5
From: Folknacious
Date: 10 Nov 07 - 07:12 AM

I don't know of this Fatea Record, but you must have looked hard to find that review of her album as all the ones I saw at the time were pretty favourable. She has a MySpace here with music samples and quite a few other more favourable quotes. She's not trad by any means, though her song Inside Out shows her musical origins.

Subject: RE: Folk series on UK Channel 5
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 10 Nov 07 - 07:13 AM

Quite genuinely the first review I found by googling "Athena" +folk

Subject: RE: Folk series on UK Channel 5
From: Folknacious
Date: 10 Nov 07 - 07:24 AM

Fair enough, but I've seen her in concert a couple of times in Coventry (Warwick Uni Arts Centre, full both times) and she was very involving and not like described at all. I must admit I slightly preferred her the first time when it was just a trio and she sang a few Greek songs, the second had a drummer added and was all in English but still good. The programme I will be looking forward to most is Eliza Carthy though, she has done some of my favourite gigs of recent years and I'd take Anglicana to my desert island.

Subject: RE: Folk series on UK Channel 5
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 10 Nov 07 - 11:12 AM

We are agreed on the merits of Eliza Carthy then. For some reason the Athena myspace will not run songs for me - It appears to be that my security settings are objecting to three cookies associated with it, one the notorious "doubleclick" which is a data miner, one called "filmserve" and the other "tangozebra".

Subject: RE: Folk series on UK Channel 5
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 10 Nov 07 - 01:35 PM

Bastard! system ate my post. I shall be polite this time. Definitely not for me.