Sea Song Sessions

‘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.

Jon Boden

Seth Lakeman

Ben Nicholls

Emily Portman

Jack Rutter

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

The album artwork is based on a painting, ‘Taut Ropes With Brick,’ by the artist John Henderson, who passed away in April. “I met him a couple of times at The Chelsea Arts Club on his trips up to London from his native Cornwall.” says Ben Nicholls. “I always remembered his witty, dry humour and him talking about his photo-realist paintings of maritime rope. There was something compelling about this artist who had focused on ropes from the sea and yet made incredible paintings which expressed so much more. Sea songs are like this, a narrow subject matter but one that tells much bigger stories about the wider world. When we were looking for an album sleeve, one of his pictures was an obvious choice.”

Buy or listen to the "Sea Song Sessions"

“Sea Song Sessions is a glorious album, showcasing some of the best of the current crop of British folk artists – Jon Boden, Seth Lakeman, Ben Nicholls, Emily Portman, Jack Rutter – delivering some of the best music you’re likely to hear this year.”
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)