{"id":186,"date":"2014-01-24T09:54:32","date_gmt":"2014-01-24T09:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kokakola.co.uk\/magazine\/?p=186"},"modified":"2015-04-14T22:37:14","modified_gmt":"2015-04-14T21:37:14","slug":"cd-greats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/?p=186","title":{"rendered":"CD Greats &#8211; Jan 2014 Issue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>by Mick Tems<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Contents<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#Jeff_Hankins\">Jeff Hankins<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Jim_Bainbridge\">Jim Bainbridge<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Fernhill_Whilia\">Fernhill: Whilia<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Caladh_Nua_Happy_Days\">Caladh Nua: Happy Days<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Martin_Curtis_Sea_To_Summit\">Martin Curtis: Sea To Summit<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Mary_Chapin_Carpenter_Time_Sex_Love\">Mary Chapin Carpenter: Time* Sex* Love*<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Freres_de_Sac_Tout_Na_Quun_Temps\">Fr\u00e8res de Sac: Tout N\u2019a Qu\u2019un Temps<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Phil_Tanner_The_Gower_Nightingale\">Phil Tanner: The Gower Nightingale<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Liadan_Casadh_Na_Taoide_Turning_The_Tide\">L\u00edadan: Casadh Na Taoide (Turning The Tide)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#The_Best_Of_The_Gathering_2003-2004\">The Best Of The Gathering, 2003-2004<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#The_Penguin_Cafe_Orchestra_Broadcasting_From_Home\">The Penguin Caf\u00e9 Orchestra: Broadcasting From Home <\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<p>One of the perks of a good many years\u2019 reviewing, writing and reporting on the roots scene is my bulging, bursting album collection. It\u2019s a pointer to more than 40 years of exciting, wonderful history, and my eyes and ears have been influenced by many brilliant and exotic sounds from Wales, Europe and the world. The good news is that roots music and folk are riding high as far as the commercial industry is concerned, and record companies and high-powered agents are vying with each other to see who wins the Folk Awards, which can mean very big bucks indeed.<\/p>\n<h6><span id=\"Jeff_Hankins\">Jeff Hankins<\/span><\/h6>\n<p>But of all the paraphernalia and razzmatazz going on, I treasure my two favourite recordings. Other CDs get filed away and forgotten, but I still keep my two<strong> Jeff Hankins<\/strong> sets at the top of the pile for reference and &#8211; if I\u2019m fed up of all the new material that keeps beating a path to my door &#8211; to listen awhile and to lose myself in the intelligent, gentle humour of his poetry and the inspiring warmth of his melodies.<\/p>\n<p>There were days when Making A Record meant you had really arrived. There were costly studios to be booked, and there was also the great expense of releasing the album which kept many musicians hopefully waiting in a long queue or paying a wad of money for \u2018vanity\u2019 publishing. Nowadays, digital recording means that the industry has sky-rocketed for the better. Some say it has changed for the worse; fRoots magazine, for instance, will not review cd-ROM albums or those who are obviously computer-copied. There\u2019s no room left for the genuine recordings to write about.<\/p>\n<p>But the two Jeff Hankins CDs, while computer-copied, are absolute sparkling gems; and we have Andy Jackson, former BBC Wales sound engineer, to thank for that. Andy, an ardent member of Llantrisant Folk Club, was living in a cottage in Pontyclun when he recorded the first of two Jeff gigs at the Club in 2001, and then in December 2008. Jeff\u2019s 17 tracks of <em>Live At Llantrisant<\/em> \u00a0were full of the wonder and delight of his performance: \u2018No Son Of Mine\u2019, \u2018Kissing Gates\u2019, \u2018Hips And Haws\u2019 and \u2018Lottery Song\u2019 are Jeff\u2019s observations on living in the South Wales Valleys village of Deri, its rural location contrasted with fast-disappearing heavy industry and his loathing for the miners\u2019 life.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff is a family man and a teacher; he doesn\u2019t push himself, and his appearances are extremely rare, like gold dust. I can count myself very fortunate to witness his performances, and ask myself why he had to choose this Club of all clubs. Jeff makes it to the Club occasionally, about every six weeks on average; but these days he comes later and leaves even earlier, leaving the audience to savour and to simply enjoy his songs.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff\u2019s second album, <em>Prince Of Winter<\/em>, grabs hold of your ears and mind with \u2018M25\u2019, a colourful illustration of the relentless, hopeless surge and flow of London\u2019s rush-hour traffic; \u2018A King\u2019s Ransom\u2019, written during the Royal Family\u2019s plumbing of the popularity depths, Charles and Diana\u2019s divorce and Queen Elizabeth\u2019s \u201cannus horibilis\u201d; \u2018Ardoyne Road\u2019, written for the children of the Holy Cross school and their children, in a post-Good Friday Agreement world; \u2018The Vow\u2019, a stunningly beautiful wedding song and one which the bride and groom will want to keep for ever; \u2018Kirrin Island\u2019, memories of Enid Blyton and adventure, innocence, jingoism, racism and snobbery; \u2018Kal-El\u2019s Song\u2019, an affectionate tribute to Superman, spiced with gentle humour; \u2018Pirate Party\u2019, a delightful, funny look back at Baden-Powell\u2019s idea of a para-military youth movement; \u2018Last Winter Sun\u2019, a vivid painting of Deri Mountain on a golden autumn afternoon; and \u2018Queen Of Autumn\u2019, a poignant study of changing seasons and ever-changing women, and which Jeff has adopted for the title of this brilliant programme. I\u2019m sorry if your particular favourite got missed out, but all his 15 tracks deserve a standing ovation. Not one is wasted; and I hear that Jeff is involved in a songwriters\u2019 project, which Anne Lister (writer of \u2018Icarus\u2019, which Martin Simpson promoted and which many famous artists queued up to record) has organised \u2013 watch this space.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff hasn\u2019t got catalogue numbers for either of his two CDs, but Furze Records have.<\/p>\n<h6><span id=\"Jim_Bainbridge\">Jim Bainbridge<\/span><\/h6>\n<div id=\"attachment_337\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Jim-Bainbridge-034.png\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-337\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-337 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Jim-Bainbridge-034-225x300.png\" alt=\"Jim Bainbridge at Llantrisant: Bob Davenport says that he \u201chas listened and learned from the People rather than the Folk.\u201d\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Jim-Bainbridge-034-225x300.png 225w, http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Jim-Bainbridge-034.png 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-337\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jim Bainbridge at Llantrisant: Bob Davenport says that he \u201chas listened and learned from the People rather than the Folk.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Being a musician, I\u2019m fascinated by the humble melodeon and all its curious habits; and I just love the eclectic two-row playing and singing of North-Easterner <strong>Jim Bainbridge<\/strong>, whose vast repertoire includes a bewildering range of traditional reels, polkas, hornpipes, scottisches and Fermanagh barndances, the wartime \u2018Rum And Coca Cola\u2019 by The Andrews Sisters, lots of Tommy Armstrong favourites, Jimmy Watt\u2019s Fife classic \u2018Keltie Clippie\u2019, Willie Scott\u2019s powerful and beautiful ballad \u2018Jamie Raeburn\u2019, the Liam Clancy version of \u2018It\u2019s Never Too Late To Start Living\u2019 and a 1911 classic \u2018Oh You Beautiful Doll\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Jim, who comes from South Shields and is Durham-born, was a member of the legendary Marsden Rattlers, the resident band at The Marsden Inn\u2019s regular Marsden Folk Club in South Shields, which was set up early in 1964 after a few months at the Beacon pub in the town. Jim said: \u201cThe band played festivals in the North and Scotland from 1964, with occasional forays to the south, for instance Cambridge Festival in 1968, but was more at home at barn dances and ceilis all over. There were a few recordings on LPs, and we were arguably the first of the &#8216;English&#8217; revival bands, apart from maybe the High Level Ranters and the Rakes &#8211; even if their material was never &#8216;English&#8217; in the modern sense, and nor was ours, even if we played with such as Oscar Woods and Scan Tester at times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe original band was very much a moveable feast, with band composition often changing from week to week. We never had any hangups about whether the material was &#8216;traditional&#8217; or &#8216;folk&#8217;, and we often upset the &#8216;folk police&#8217;.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Marsden Ratters\u2019 regular personnel was Jim Irvine (whistle and spoons), Jim Bainbridge on melodeon and occasional piano, Trevor Sheridan (banjo), Jim Bainbridge\u2019s sisters Kath and Susan taking turns on the piano and fiddler John Lincoln. But Jim had a job in Customs and Excise, and he emigrated down south to Kent, where he could be heard playing up a storm on his simple two-row.<\/p>\n<p>He and his wife Francie moved to West Cork in Ireland, near to the village of Ballydehob. Jim played the pubs and bars with guitarist Patrick Forester, from Cork City to the Mizen Head, butting out in the stormy Atlantic, and to remote islands such as Sherkin and Cape Clear. Playing in the noisy bars was meat and drink to Jim; both he and Patrick developed an eclectic style which was part Irish music-hall from Percy French, part Irish rebel songs, part ceili tunes and part pop songs, which kept the drinking public fascinated and ordering more pints of the black stuff. But, forever restless, Jim and Francie emigrated once more to the volcanic island of El Hierro, which was well off the beaten track in the popular tourist-inhabited Canaries; then it was south-west Scotland, in Glentrool village, and finally Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n<p>Jim has recorded three CDs which vividly contrast both his and Francie\u2019s travels and experiences. He had already recorded a cassette album, <em>Home From Home<\/em>, and <em>The Drunken Billy Goat<\/em> (FUR002CD) includes three tracks from that. This CD is full of the vibrancy and excitement of West Cork bar culture before the international bankers\u2019 crisis suffocated it; Patrick and Jim go for broke, harvesting old jigs, barndances, reels and Kerry slides, while Jim stokes the fire with the emigrants\u2019 songs \u2018Patsy Fagan\/Goodbye Mick\u2019 and the well-known and well-loved \u2018Cream Of Society\u2019. It\u2019s coated with the memories of this part of south-west Ireland, and I truly love it.<\/p>\n<p>The Tyne area is great for Irish music and North-Eastern working-class culture, and the 2004 CD <em>Lights On The River<\/em> (FUR003CD) is just typical of that \u2013 in fact, I consider it to be the best of Jim\u2019s three CDs. Jim recorded it alone at the Davy Lamp Folk Club, and I really admire his unfettered, freestyle squeezebox playing. The veteran Gateshead singer Bob Davenport said in his sleeve notes: \u201cBy the way, he is also a very good singer and piano player. Though Jim\u2019s music is often heard at folk clubs, concerts and festivals, he is able to sit in a public house and play for the locals in a sing-along. The People have no wish to be Folk, and Jim has listened and learned from the People rather than the Folk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although Jim recorded his second CD for a folk club, I have to say that the repertoire just edged it into a winning place. The third Furzemusic CD,<em>Galloway House<\/em> (MCD004) has him entertaining the villagers and folkies at House O\u2019 Hill, which stands on its own in the Galloway Forest, near the lovely Glentrool, the house which has a long tradition of accordion and fiddle music. It\u2019s now Jim\u2019s local, and the pub\u2019s music tradition is kept on in the informal sessions which are held there one a month. Ted Poole of Swindon Folksingers\u2019 Club says in his sleeve notes: \u201cThese are not just for \u2018folkies\u2019 but real community events, and Jim has that happy knack of matching his performance to his audience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The great thing about Jim is his magnetism in holding the floor and his audience, throwing in an incredible variety of musical material. I never tire of his work, not for all the 60-odd tracks on his three CDs<\/p>\n<p>Here are my Top Ten, in no particular order; I missed out on praising my favourite amazing albums, but the consolation is that I always return to the best-loved sets and savour their brilliant sounds time and time again:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><span id=\"Fernhill_Whilia\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Fernhill.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-336\" src=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Fernhill.png\" alt=\"Fernhill\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a>Fernhill: Whilia<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>(Beautiful Jo BEJO30) \u2013 Ceri Rhys Matthews, his wife Julie Murphy and accordion master Andy Cutting in seven extended and fabulously ethereal Welsh gems. Julie sings like an absolute angel.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><span id=\"Caladh_Nua_Happy_Days\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Caladh-Nua.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-335\" src=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Caladh-Nua.png\" alt=\"Caladh Nua\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a>Caladh Nua: Happy Days<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>(Private Label CN001) \u2013 The name means Safe Habour in Irish, and we saw this Carlow\/Waterford\/Kilkenny band delivering their joyous and beautiful music at The Gathering traditional festival in Killarney. Lisa Butler (fiddle) has a pretty wondrous voice, and Eoin O&#8217;Meachair (banjo, mandolin, whistles and vocals), Paddy Tutty (fiddle), Derek Morrisey (button accordion) and Colm O\u2019Caoimh (bouzouki, guitar and vocals) light the blue touchpaper.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Alasdair-Fraser-Natalie-Haas.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-334\" src=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Alasdair-Fraser-Natalie-Haas.png\" alt=\"Alasdair Fraser &amp; Natalie Haas\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Alasdair Fraser &amp; Natalie Haas:<\/strong> <strong>Highlander\u2019s Farewell<\/strong> (CUL 123D &#8211; Scottish fiddler, now in California, with classical cellist, based in Montreal, making absolutely stunning music together. Saw them at Roots Unearthed, bought the CD and loved it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Martin-Curtis.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-333\" src=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Martin-Curtis.png\" alt=\"Martin Curtis\" width=\"98\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h6><span id=\"Martin_Curtis_Sea_To_Summit\"><strong>Martin Curtis: Sea To Summit<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>(Gin &amp; Raspberry Records GRCD027) \u2013 the latest from the industrious Mr Curtis, with a breathtaking image of New Zealand\u2019s Southern Alps and a promising package of self-written songs, including \u2018Master Of The Crew\u2019, Martin\u2019s \u2018real\u2019 ancestor who was caught up in the mutiny on The Bounty.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/mary-Chapin-Carpenter.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-332\" src=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/mary-Chapin-Carpenter.png\" alt=\"mary Chapin Carpenter\" width=\"100\" height=\"98\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h6><span id=\"Mary_Chapin_Carpenter_Time_Sex_Love\"><strong>Mary Chapin Carpenter: Time* Sex* Love*<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>(Columbia CK85176) \u2013 Mary says that time is the great gift, sex is the great equaliser and love is the great mystery; this is her 2001 CD, bulging with 14 of her incisive observations. Lately Mary has appeared on BBC4\u2019s Transatlantic Sessions, singing beautiful harmonies with musical colleagues Karen Matheson and Julie Fowlis.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><span id=\"Freres_de_Sac_Tout_Na_Quun_Temps\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Freres-du-Sac.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-331\" src=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Freres-du-Sac-300x271.png\" alt=\"Freres du Sac\" width=\"100\" height=\"90\" srcset=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Freres-du-Sac-300x271.png 300w, http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Freres-du-Sac.png 394w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px\" \/><\/a>Fr\u00e8res de Sac: Tout N\u2019a Qu\u2019un Temps<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>(Mustradem MTD733) \u2013 recorded at the Cafe Des Arts in Grenoble in January 2007, brothers Christophe (who played recorder in the amazing band Ded\u00e1le) and diatonic accordionist Jean-Loup Sacchettini delight the audience with a cooking pot of valses, bour\u00e8es, polskas, larid\u00e9s, da\u00f1s leon and Simon Jeffes\u2019 \u2018Music For A Found Harmonium\u2019, which develops into a lively two-step. Exceedingly good value!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><span id=\"Phil_Tanner_The_Gower_Nightingale\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Phil-Tanner.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-330\" src=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Phil-Tanner.png\" alt=\"Phil Tanner\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a>Phil Tanner: The Gower Nightingale<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>(Veteran VT145CD) \u2013 My Gower Garland project in 2000 involved the commemoration of 50 years of Phil Tanner\u2019s death; now John Howson, owner of Veteran Recordings, had taken on the challenge and produced a CD and comprehensive booklet, expertly \u2018cleaned\u2019 by recording engineer Ralph Jordan, who died in January. It even includes the patronising tones of BBC journalist and presenter Wynford Vaughan Thomas with his memories of Phil\u2019s singing.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><span id=\"Liadan_Casadh_Na_Taoide_Turning_The_Tide\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/ln0002.gif\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-327\" src=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/ln0002.gif\" alt=\"ln0002\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a>L\u00edadan: Casadh Na Taoide (Turning The Tide)<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>(LN0002) \u2013 The Gathering is certainly The Place To Be for experiencing inspiring and exciting bands, and the six musicians of Galway\/ Limerick all-female group L\u00edadan are turning heads, eyes, ears and hearts with their wild and beautiful repertoire. Absolutely stunning with harp, fiddles, whistle, piano accordion and fine harmonies.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><span id=\"The_Best_Of_The_Gathering_2003-2004\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/The-Gathering.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-329\" src=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/The-Gathering.png\" alt=\"The Gathering\" width=\"100\" height=\"102\" \/><\/a>The Best Of The Gathering, 2003-2004<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>(Gathering Records CD001) \u2013 The first compilation CD produced in aid of the Maurice O\u2019Donahue Instrument Fund; traditional Irish musicians and truly great bands join forces on the 15 tracks, with Jackie Daly and Seamus Creagh, Joe Burke and Anne Conroy, Noel Hill, Dervish, North Cregg and Dan\u00fa included in the promising line-up. Definitely one of the best compilations from the festivals in these islands.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><span id=\"The_Penguin_Cafe_Orchestra_Broadcasting_From_Home\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Penquin-Cafe-Orchestra.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-328\" src=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Penquin-Cafe-Orchestra.png\" alt=\"Penquin Cafe Orchestra\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a>The Penguin Caf\u00e9 Orchestra: Broadcasting From Home <\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>(EEGCD38) \u2013 The seminal 1984 Simon Jeffes album, with \u2018Music For A Found Harmonium\u2019 on it, the tune which which many bands, famous and not so famous, would give their eye teeth to record; he had a bewildering array of acoustic and curious instruments on the album, such as cuatro, milkbottles, ukelele, omnichord, soloban, omnichord and penny whistles, and the tracks included \u2018Music By Numbers,\u2019 \u2018More Milk\u2019, \u2018Prelude And Yodel\u2019 and \u2018In The Back Of A Taxi\u2019. The Folk Police might grumble, but what the hell?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"excerpt\">by Mick Tems One of the perks of a good many years\u2019 reviewing, writing and reporting on the roots scene is my bulging, bursting album collection. It\u2019s a pointer to more than 40 years of exciting, wonderful history, and my eyes and ears have been influenced by many brilliant and exotic sounds from Wales, Europe&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/?p=186\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=186"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":469,"href":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186\/revisions\/469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}