Music > Interviews

Chris Wood

02/09/15

Folk musician Chris Wood is a leader in his field. Working with the Imagine Village along with other major collaborations, winning of Folk Singer of the Year on more than one occasion, releasing albums full of moving, truthful and intelligent songs has kept him busy. He’s found the time to come and play in the stunning surroundings of Norwich’s Octagon Chapel this month for your listening pleasure. I spoke to him about his influences and how he came to play the fiddle.

I understand you are self-taught on the guitar and violin. How old were you when you started and how did you go about teaching yourself?

I swapped a camera for my first fiddle; I must’ve been 18 or 19. There was only one fiddle player within a 60 mile radius and I knew I didn’t want to play like him so I just got started myself. It seemed to take me about 3 hours!

Who influenced you as a musician when you first began, and who influences your sound now?

Bach was a big influence on me; every note he wrote was written as an act of worship, not unlike Shaker music. Also Joni Mitchell, Ry Cooder and Martin Carthy obviously. No one really influences me now. It might be easier if they did!

You’ve won lots of awards including Folk Singer of the Year multiple times…what does that mean to you? Did you start making music with the intention of making it a successful career?

The most I ever hoped for was being able to feed my family. The kids have left home now so I just have Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs to support now...

What other genres of music other than folk do you enjoy listening to?

Music genres were thought up by the industry so that we’d know where to look when we went into a record shop. Do you find the computer generated “If you liked that you might like this” algorithms throws up some insane suggestions? Its audacious don’t you think, to even dream that a computer might one day tell us what we “like"?

What do you think of the recent increased interest in folk music and the new acts that are coming through?

I’ve heard many people, including myself, suggest that folk music's lack of popularity is suggestive evidence that it might lay claim to some kind of cultural high ground over say, pop music or middle-of-the-road. As it gets more and more popular folk music may have to ask itself some difficult questions.

Folk music is traditionally very community orientated. How do you go about starting to create a group with others?

Tom Waits' approach to going into the recording studio with a bunch of people is relevant here. “Everybody do exactly as I say and we’ll all get out alive”!  

Can you tell me a bit about The English Acoustic Collective?

The English Acoustic Collective started as a fiddle school but as the years went by and I started writing songs it started to attract a wider and wider range of people, classical musicians, composers, poets, film makers, photographers, writers…it could’ve gone two ways, evolution or the start of a new thing. I decided to hand it over to Rob Harbron & Miranda Rutter who have returned it to a more conventional folk music summer school and it remains highly successful with a strong emphasis on composition. One day I might set something up with a wider artistic embrace.

I know you wrote a song called Hollow Point about the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. What is it about folk songs that makes it a good way to express deep emotions and current issues so effectively?

A song can get itself written pretty quick. Neil Young keeps them coming; he just did a Monsanto song. Elvis Costello did his Thatcher song Tramp the Dirt Down and What’s So Funny About Peace Love And Understanding not to mention Ship Building. Billy Holiday sang Strange Fruit. It’s not really a “folk" thing, it’s a song thing.

What’s the most memorable gig you’ve played in your life thus far?

The one where I lost my voice after five songs. That was pretty memorable! I won’t be forgetting that in a hurry; it’s made me wise up about my voice, you know, drink more water, steam, go easy on the coffee, that kind of thing.

How was it playing in the Imagined Village collective alongside folk legends Martin and Eliza Carthy amongst others?

All the villagers were great musicians. Most of what I do is solo so I wanted to see if I could sing in front of a ten-piece band. Drama is what it’s all about and the Imagined Village left me looking for more. I started listening to a lot of blues after that. I also got hooked up to an electric guitar.

You went on tour with Joan Armatrading in 2012…around 50 dates! How was that, to experience touring the whole of Britain?

Night after night playing to some one else’s audience is a right of passage. I’d recommend it; I learned plenty. 

What are you working on presently? Will there be a new album out soon?

Yes I’m scribbling away on some more songs, trying to un-riddle the universe, trying to articulate something closer to the truth than the spin we are fed. I’m just trying to be a useful person I guess.

Chris Wood plays at the Octagon Chapel on 30th September. Tickets available from ueaticketbookings.co.uk.