A SCOTCHMAN AND TWO ENGLISH WOMEN WITH A FANCY FOR DARK BALLADS.

A BRITISH FOLK SUPERGROUP? DON'T DOUBT IT.

They have impressive biographies, they are instrumental stars and Lucy Farrell, Rachel Newton, Emily Portman and Alasdair Roberts sing beautifully. A thick book could be written about each of them, they have achieved so much in British folk. In order to take a break from themselves and enjoy playing traditional songs together instead of creating their own, they founded The Furrow Collective thirteen years ago, but they didn't help themselves much: the same fame came and on top of that, pressure from admirers to never stop. On four albums, they found the ideal recipe for a completely unusual take on old dark ballads, listening to which, according to one of the celebratory reviews, will make you feel as happy as a pig in a furrow; which, you have to admit, sounds much more attractive than "a refreshing treat that you must taste".
It may seem strange to you, but singing murderous ballads full of corpses, blood, ghosts and unhappy lovers is one of the most popular disciplines in British and Scottish folk, and the foursome has a remarkable instinct for presenting the lesser-known ones, in a performance that you have probably never heard before. "We are united by the joy of a good dark story, and even in our own compositions we are inspired by folk landscapes that carry a good dose of horror. The great thing about them is that you can dive as deep into the darkness with them as your imagination allows. However, I am also surprised by how scary songs we sometimes sing, after all, my children are also afraid of them," described the foursome's hobby Rachel Newton, who will be absent from Folk Holidays festival lineup because she wants to devote more time to her children in the coming period.

Photos by Paul Jennings