Types of folk music you like or dislike

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 27 Jan 20 - 09:59 PM

Have spent the last hour listening Anouar Brahem and it is just stunning, he plays with passionate intensity. Thank you so much for the link. I will be listening to a lot more of this man!

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: Jack Campin
Date: 28 Jan 20 - 07:33 AM

If you like Anouar Brahem you will probably like Yurdal Tokcan and Necati Celik - more in a pure classical style, though they both do collaborations.

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 28 Jan 20 - 07:39 AM

This is more like it :-) Well done all!

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: gillymor
Date: 28 Jan 20 - 07:43 AM

YURDAL TOKCAN - Nihavend Saz Semaisi 'DAMLALAR'

Sublime.

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: Nick
Date: 28 Jan 20 - 07:49 AM

That's the sort of folk I like too :)

FOLK I LIKE

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: Joe G
Date: 28 Jan 20 - 08:18 AM

In this company another mention of the beautiful songs and voice of Turkish singer Olcay Bayir seems appropriate :-)

Olcay Bayir

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: Jack Campin
Date: 28 Jan 20 - 09:41 AM

In another thread, about Nic Jones:

yes it is understated, but in my opinion it is much better than bob dylan's, in my opinion dylan is a mediocre singer

I didn't have such a definite preference; yes Dylan is technically crap, but he does put SOME emotional expressiveness into his singing, whereas the Nic Jones link that was about combines brilliant guitar technique with a complete emotional blank in the vocals.

Which points up a preference I have always had, for vocals which actually communicate the feeling in the text. This isn't a matter of genre, though in some genres (like rembetiko or Arabic singing) you would just about never find a darkly emotional text set to light boppy shadowless music. Two versions of the same (non-folk) song:

John Renbourn

Theo Bleckmann

Renbourn turns it into party music (probably a children's party in silly hats). Bleckmann sounds like he actually understands what the song is about.

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 28 Jan 20 - 09:55 AM

Hi Jack, I like Yurdal Tokcan very much indeed. I went on Amazon to see what cds might be available. The prices were outrageous, over a hundred dollars in some cases. Do you have any idea why that would be ?

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: Jack Campin
Date: 28 Jan 20 - 10:17 AM

This doesn't seem too expensive

CD Baby

This (which I have) is even cheaper:

Saray/Hislenis

I've bought most of my Turkish CDs in Istanbul. Kalan Muzik or Golden Horn should be easy enough to deal with remotely. The problem from the UK is finding some way to pay them - UK banks won't let you use their cards to buy stuff from Turkey.

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: GUEST,Colin Holt
Date: 30 Jan 20 - 07:50 AM

With reference to a response on this thread but earlier in the debate... (I think by Joe Offer)… I've heard many times reference to "writing in the traditional style".... As a songwriter, I'm keen to understand what this means... I've asked the question before but never really received a proper explanation … ?????

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Jan 20 - 08:13 AM

somebody has to define the tradition to do that, Colin! good luck with that!

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: gillymor
Date: 30 Jan 20 - 08:39 AM

Joe G, thanks for the heads up on Olcay Bayir. I'm enamored of the accompaniments as much as I am of her beautiful singing.

DERMANIN OLAYIM - Olcay Bayir & Paul Dwyer

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: Joe G
Date: 30 Jan 20 - 09:22 AM

Yes Olcay works with some wonderful musicians

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 30 Jan 20 - 10:15 AM

Jack, I have an album by Theo Beckman where he does all Kate Bush stuff. I saw him live in New York , he played a lot of Kate..I wasn't sure I liked it. But the more I have listened to it, the more I appreciate the complexity of what he does. He does not work well as background music, but on headphones he really comes through.
I am not trying to Define tradition Colin, but if there is such a thing, I think Stan Rogers comes very close to emulating traditional writers.

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: Karen Impola
Date: 30 Jan 20 - 11:52 PM

Colin, when I think of "songwriting in a traditional style", the first thing that comes to mind is Richard Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lightning." It's a proper ballad, because it uses dialog to tell the story, with a minimum of narration.

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Jan 20 - 05:14 AM

OK- tells a story- there's a start- but so does Memphis Tennessee & it's much older

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 01 Feb 20 - 04:49 PM

This far down the thread, it could be easy to forget what Dave said in his OP, but having re-read it, I'd say my tastes in folk music are fairly close to his.
I do go to a number of events where "source singers" or their followers are the guests, and while I enjoy listening to them, I don't really feel like going out and learning a 40-verse ballad myself.
I do enjoy unusual line-ups, including a "bit of Brass" as in Brass Monkey or Bellowhead, and much further back, was blown away when I first heard the likes of Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention.
What I really don't like is people (usually younger, but not always the case), messing with much-loved songs and putting a thrashy rhythm on them, chopping up the words until they don't make sense any more, warbling all over the place until the original tune disappears (See previous posts re ER!).
Yes, and excessive speed does absolutely nothing for me: I like to be able to identify and enjoy the tune. I just LOVE slow airs: that doesn't mean that every tune should be played at slow air speed, but just let's have a little sensibility and musicality.
Parodies? Love the good ones, which stay nearest to the original words, but not keen on rude or smutty ones.
And please don't preach or tell me who to vote for if you're the esteemed guest: not needed in your between songs speech: and keep the balance between playing/singing and talking right. Some performers just talk too much!

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: Elmore
Date: 01 Feb 20 - 05:32 PM

Types? Types? There's only folk music and non-folk music. Who decides Which it is? I do.

Subject: RE: Types of folk music you like or dislike
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 01 Feb 20 - 06:14 PM

Okay, Colin, I'll have a go.
The early collectors went round recording what they decided to call folk songs, those songs that had been passed down in oral tradition, some dating back to the 16th century right through to the early 19th century. Most were printed on broadsides and had a certain style, narrative, simple structure, simple tunes, few characters, often lots of dialogue, and other characteristics, covered certain subjects. To emulate this in your own song writing would then be 'in the traditional style'. This is very loosely defined by the way.

Some writers write about heritage subjects, some about topical events, some use traditional structures and tunes.

Hope this helps.