The F Word - Seth Lakeman

Say the ‘F’ word to most people and you’re likely to witness a knee jerk yawn reaction. But Folk music is currently under going a make over and gone are the days when beards, cardigans and tree hugging hippies are de rigueur to be a part of the scene. Seth Lakeman is one of the latest ambassadors for modern UK folk music helping to revive a sometimes forgotten and largely ignored genre. And with the imminent release of his third album ‘Freedom Fields’ things are looking up for the West Country musician. But just how does a 29-year-old break into a scene largely dominated by and associated with an older generation?

“My parents ran a folk club in Plymouth” Seth explains “So that was obviously a heavy influence. I picked up the violin at an early age and that style of music was pretty much around the house all the time so I was just absorbing it. And then once my brothers started playing, well, you get competitive, so I think we drove each other to get better and improve.”

And improve they did. Seth’s first venture in the music industry was with his two brothers as The Seth Lakeman Trio. A successful tour of Portugal in 1994 with Kathryn Roberts and Kate Rusby followed and subsequently led to the formation of Equation and a record deal with Warner’s. Three albums and a whole heap of praise later and Seth decided to go it alone releasing his debut solo album ‘The Punch Bowl’ in 2002. But it was his second release ‘Kitty Jay’ that took him from middling folk obscurity to the mainstream with a nomination for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize.

“The Mercury thing was something that catapulted me somewhere else that I couldn’t even visualise. For what it’s done as a vehicle for the music, it really has been extraordinary. And it was a really tough year in terms of acts.” Seth continues: “Coldplay were the biggest they’ve ever been at that point so that was just like…shit! You had the Magic Numbers, The Kaiser Chiefs, Hard Fi; so to stick myself in there was pretty bizarre to be honest.”

But bizarre wasn’t a new concept for Seth Lakeman. The same album that had received the Mercury Music Prize nomination had been launched not in a fashionable and overpriced Soho bar but in the prison that time had forgot… Dartmoor. Not your average launch party by any stretch of the imagination, but neither was it a homage to Johnny Cash. Being the son of a Daily Mirror journalist it was all about good old-fashioned publicity as Seth explains with a mischievous grin.

“I spent a good year on the dole discovering playing the fiddle, discovering the local area, really researching and thinking about where I wanted to take my songs and take myself. I got the record together and I thought right we’re going to launch it, where’s a good place to do it. I was chatting in the pub one day and one of the prison officers said to me write to Claudia Sturt (then governor of Dartmoor Prison) and I said do you reckon she’d have it? Do they do concerts in there? But she said it’s a great idea! Even though the songs were murder ballads and things like that, who can relate to it more than the guys in here? When they look outside their prison windows they see the barrenness of Dartmoor and it went down really well. It was definitely the most nerve-racking gig I’ve ever done and I think it probably will be.” 

And it was no coincidence that Dartmoor was Seth’s prison of choice. Listen to any of his records and there’s an underlying theme. The West Country. Folklore, history, myths and legends are all moulded together by recognisable and universal human themes. Story telling is what this young man does best. His songs are poignant, vivid and full of energy. It’s his passion and the West Country remains his primary resource and will always be close to his heart.

“I was born and bread there so it seemed pretty natural. I just wanted to explore where I was from. And once I opened the door there was so much. It was just like wow, now this is a great place to start! But what I wouldn’t like is for young people to think it’s like a history lesson because its not. All I like is for a point to be made in a song and the best songs have a great point or a great hook or a message. The ones that ramble just seem to fly over my head. You can have a love song but have it from a perspective that you can relate to.”