What Maks Makems
(Words: Tom Pickard, Music: Paul Smith)
I found Tom Pickard’s poem in the ‘Land of Three Rivers’ anthology of North-East poetry. I was already aware of him and Connie Pickard, who co-organised the Morden Tower poetry readings within Newcastle’s old town wall, having played a few concerts at this intimate and historic countercultural space. I felt the Tees and Tyne were well represented on this album, so it was nice to pay tribute to Wearside and its proud shipbuilding heritage. Some of the technical terms ended up feeling like abstract sound poetry to my ignorant ears! I should’ve consulted my Dad, who was also a “crick-neck welder”.
(Paul Smith)
Two musical worlds collide, harmoniously, with the release of Unthank : Smith’s ‘Nowhere and Everywhere’, a bold, inquisitive album of songs inspired by, and drawing from, traditional British music. This is the debut offering from Maximo Park’s Paul Smith and Rachel Unthank, of The Unthanks.
Paul Smith: “I’d always wanted to sing with Rachel, after hearing her early records. She has such a pure voice. We met backstage at an Africa Express concert, after our own performances, and got on well, which made me think we could collaborate at some point.”
The album hinges on the interplay between the two central voices, and has three unaccompanied songs that form the spine of the record. Rachel Unthank: “We felt it was important to not sugarcoat our voices – we’re both very direct singers. Starting the album with just our two voices might shock a few Maximo Park fans!”
Though Rachel Unthank has been immersed in the folk world from childhood, Smith ’s route towards folk began in his teens with a love of Bert Jansch, Nick Drake and Martin Carthy, especially their fingerstyle guitar-playing. Echoes of that approach can be heard throughout this album, albeit simplified and merged with a more direct sound akin to US avant-rock acolytes of the ‘60s folk revival like Gastr Del Sol and David Pajo.
Alongside the traditional stylings are pastoral clarinet lines, played by Faye MacCalman, a rising star of the North-East jazz scene. Inspired by John Cameron ’s ‘Kes ’soundtrack and Robert Kirby’s string arrangements, Unthank : Smith gave MacCalman the freedom to roam from melodicism to dissonance.
Another understated but crucial contribution comes from drummer and percussionist, Alex Neilson, best known for his work with Trembling Bells and Bonnie ‘Prince ’Billy. His distinctive playing embellishes the few ‘full band ’recordings that underpin this otherwise restrained record, including the Child Ballad, ‘Lord Bateman’, a dramatic love story that begins in a Turkish jail and ends in rural Northumberland.
The North-East looms large over this collection of songs, many of which originate on the banks of Tyne, Wear and Tees. Smith found words for the 7-minute centrepiece, ‘ O ’Mary Will You Go’, for example, in the North East Folk Archive and decided to set this Teesside tale to his own music. Touched by the tale of a soon-to-be-emigrant and his reticent partner, Unthank : Smith transform this ancient text into a moving and gently humorous duet that resonates with many of the migrant stories of our time. Smith’s fuzz guitar that punctuates both this song and Lord Bateman is more reminiscent of drone and noise music than anything either of these distinctive artists have done before.
Smith’s own compositions include ‘The Natural Urge ’, inspired by Paul Nash’s First World War paintings, and ‘Robert Kay’, about a young Stockton soldier killed, also, in World War 1. “Folk music, as I see it, has always revolved around the everyday experiences of ordinary working people, and these songs are almost commemorations of people’s lives”
In another first, Unthank joins Smith in the world of songwriting, with her song Seven Tears, a mesh of vocals evoking the mythological Selkie, a creature capable of transforming from seal to human by shedding their skin - proof that the romance of folklore is alive and well.
Recorded with warm clarity by David Brewis from Field Music in the band’s Sunderland studio, this record is as timeless as the rich folk music that inspired it.
Photo Credits:
(1)-(2) Unthank : Smith;
The Unthanks:
(3) by Walkin' Tom (Rudolstadt 2009), (4) by The Mollis (FolkEast 2022).