A Walk Around Britain

This is all the music on the website, put in an easy to find place.

We hope to make things easier for people interested mainly in the music we make.

For us, the songs we sing are crucially aligned to our movement through landscape. The old songs, in their simplest conception, are creative responses of people to life in place.

As such, an old song lives best in its place of birth, to be released spontaneously within the echoes of its original expression, to turn from history to breath, and meet ears.

That means live, unamplified, on the land, and to people…

But since this is only a website, and can only reproduce digitalized recordings, that’s all we can share with you, until we meet in person.

So if you want to hear everything the website has available, without having to trudge through writing and photographs, this page is for you.

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Hello.

These are a couple of the songs we have been learning.

Because they are not polished, there are mis-takes, but they are energetic and exciting, we think.

not always neat and pretty

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Free Songs in Radnorshire

We present a selection of songs from our winter shows and gigs.

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Those of you familiar with Sam Lee will be eager to jump straight to the recordings of him (scroll down down down).

Those who know nothing of the name, the man, or the songs, might wish to read on awhile…

heroically leaping herrings, Sam is well-known for his good leather boots

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This is the first CD album review we have received, and we are well grateful. 8 starry points out of a potential 10 – it’s just like being back at school – good boys…

But apart from our own ego-flattery, this article provokes many good questions about the nature of modern traditional music in our societal context.

We like it. Read it HERE.

the debut album

Here are all the Lyrics to our debut album, Songs.

Please take these songs, and make them yours, and your friends’ and childrens’.

Keep them, and give them away. Learn them, sing them, change them.

In the shower, while washing up, to the stars and starlings, please sing them.

home is where the song's sung

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Our album, ‘Songs’ by Ed, Will and Ginger, is available on CD now.

Please buy it here, and enjoy the good old songs of this land, as sung by us.

Priced £10, it has 16 tracks, traditional classics and modern bangers alike.

If you would prefer to send us a cheque then let us know and we’ll give you and address.

Available right until Christmas, we will be walking it to the post-office each day from now until the last post.

Ancient corkers like ‘Tom of Bedlam’, as well 20th century staples like ‘Albert Berry and the Coal’, are featured. It has Ed on various stringed instruments, Ginger on drums and organ, and all of us singing our hearts right up.

It’s ideal for almost any family member or friend. It’s a beautiful object, with layers to unwrap. There’s kicks for all the gang in these good old songs, for old Auntie Jane and odd cousin Billy, for sister, boyfriend, dad or granny. It’s a good thing, and we are happy to put it out.

All the lyrics to the songs are written out HERE.

Our debut CD

Here comes more cherry chatter…

Ideally sized to fit snugly in most seasonal stockings, this is a stunning item, far more than just a CD, with a 20 page booklet, packed with stories and information, informative and amusing, and stunning full-colour illustrations and photographs. It also comes with a 2-sided poster!

We’re coming to enjoy saying that. It’s all eco-printed too, although our confusing requests to the printers meant it wasn’t tapped onto the packaging.

So please accept our small apologies for the delay, and please be assured of our great joy at reaching the final stage of our first CD project, this small but well-timed release. We hope you’ll find it a unique and worthwhile object, beautiful, educative and nourishing.

And may the very best of this cold season, much good deep rest, and all joys of the hearth, be found and held by you and yours at this time,

and cheerio for now.

Will and Ed (and Ginger too)

PS Click READ ON if you want to know more about how we got the CD out…

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Not everything that we recorded for our album came out as we had hoped. Pressure to leave, the thousand leaves of sundry preparation turning, the late nights…it was not the most wholesome event.

But we got there. And then, just before we brought the thing out properly, the wind called us, and out the door we went.

fal dee raddle o

Well, the whole walk passed with its many adventures, and still we did not release the CD. But that is fine, it will come out when it is best suited. Soon we hope, for we’re broke, and need shiny pennies to re-sole boots, to buy girls red wine, to keep ourselves in bread and cheese.

But we trust that all will come as it is needed.

For now, we’re bandying about scraps of old recordings. It’s a strange job we have here, working flat out for YOU…whosoever you may be. A paycheque is not part of the bargain. But, we both agree, that makes the work more integral and fulfilling, and provides the proper motivation for furtherance (viz. honesty and education, not reward).

Still, if you like all this work, and you appreciate how we are doing it all in the middle of wherever we find ourselves around Britain, with nothing but busking money to sweeten our labours…and if you know sponsors, good folk with spare pound coins, or boots…consider putting our cause their way, please do.

Right then. Have these snippets:

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(from: My husband’s got no courage in him)

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(from: Country Life)

Please enjoy, and sing…

Action photo with Bakery boys

Back in July, Richard Dadd and Dan Fryer from The Bakery came to visit us. They came to take an interview, to form part of a mini series they were producing for BBC Radio Kent. This series was all about strange and exciting things, in and originating from Canterbury, the capital of East Kent. Our sing[-song wanderings apparently qualified.

So up to the woods, just above Monmouth, did Rich and Dan pop. We had been here a few days already, as many visitors were coming out all in rapid succession at that time. We had made a little camp, and an office, with a fern roof, ash poles, and pine rootlet and nettle binding. We had busked in the town, and met some lovely people. Details will come, soon we promise, just as soon as we’ve finished building our winter home (whose walls are being stuffed with straw right now).

So with Rich and Dan, a fine day and evening were spent wandering through the woods, finding springs and gathering food. Although strangers until now, the pair are friends of friends from our home town, Canterbury, so it was a little like going home to meet them.

Rich and Dan are also deft audio editors, and canny interviewers. After editing a radio-friendly 5 minute episode, culled from the hours of cherry-chatter with which we filled their audio recording device, Rich and Dan found themselves with a lump of excess material. Believing there were sufficient good-sounds to produce another 30 minute podcast, they set to.

Our great thanks to them, for this is what they made:

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doon we sung

We sung this down a 350 ft well, in the Milburys pub, just before Winchester.

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The reverb was superb, if a little much. It is pure analogue f/x.

It is a great Easter song, and was recorded by May Bradley in Shropshire, a Gypsy lady who sings in a unique and beautiful style.

A less echo-drenched version of the song appears on our album.

Here be lyrics:

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