Drawn together by a shared love of the traditional song and balladry of England, Scotland and beyond and an open, intuitive approach to collaboration, The Furrow Collective share timeless songs of this world and others, with storytelling at their heart.
It is this storytelling focus upon which the band are set to expand with their upcoming project Cantastoria, including digital single releases and the use of visuals, both in their music videos and live performances. Lucy Farrell, who is a talented visual artist as well as musician, will create ’crankies’ for each single, illustrating the stories of the songs. The crankie theatre is turned by hand whilst the story unfolds on a moving scroll, an enchanting addition to their live shows. The songs may be hundreds of years old, but they are chosen for the parallels that can be drawn with our times; tales of courage, resistance and wit.
The Furrow Collective (Lucy Farrell – viola, voice & saw, Rachel Newton – harp, fiddle, voice, Emily Portman – banjo, concertina, voice and Alasdair Roberts – guitars, voice) are well-loved for their contemporary interpretations of folk songs, and these releases focus on what they do best, breathing new life into old ballads, in song, story and art.
