‘Sea Song Sessions’ is a collection of British maritime folk songs and sea shanties, performed by a collective of some of British folk music’s leading lights: Jon Boden, Seth Lakeman, Ben Nicholls, Emily Portman & Jack Rutter.
The concept for the album came to them in 2021, when they were asked to prepare an evening of sea-related songs for the Folkestone Festival. Boden’s celebrated work with Bellowhead (of course no strangers to sea-faring songs) and Ben Nicholls’ band, Kings of The South Seas (who play exclusively maritime-influenced music), Seth Lakeman’s own extensive body of work from the South West as well as Emily Portman and Jack Rutter’s sizeable oceanic repertoires, all formed the natural foundation and inspiration for these acclaimed musicians to conceive the Sea Song Sessions.
They chose to record material from each artist’s repertoire, traditional songs and some newly written for these sessions. What you are hearing is a record that captures the story of an island nation whose political and social history is so undeniably tied to its relationship with the sea.
The album was handled by seasoned veteran Ben Hillier (Blur, Depeche Mode, Elbow) and recorded live over two days, seeking to harness the immediacy of the studio and utitizile his experience across other genres to bring a deeper complexity to the production of these songs. The performances were tracked at Agricultural Audio, Hillier’s own studio in the Sussex Downs, constructed within a giant farm building made entirely out of hay bales.
The first single from the album is ‘The Rambling Sailor’: “I first heard my Father singing this song as The Rambling Miner. This version as The Rambling Sailor is based on the 1968 version from Maddy Prior and Tim Hart and resonates with where I’m from as it mentions young Johnson stopping in Southern ports such as Plymouth.” – Seth Lakeman
Folk Radio
“..great selection, expert arrangements and enthusiastic delivery.”
Tradfolk.co
“Superb collection of maritime songs and sea shanties performed by the cream of Britain’s folk musicians.”
Americana-UK (8/10)
Upcoming Tour Dates
No shows booked at the moment.