Guardian Music — (ECC)The folk collective overcome "difficult third album" syndrome with bravura playing and inventive songwriting. Once an unaccompanied Jackie Oates has delivered the antique murder ballad The Captain's Apprentice, the band concentrate on original c... more info

Guardian Music — (Topic)The problem with this compilation is the title. Of course it's essential that the 70th birthday of the English folk scene's great singer, guitarist and enthusiast should be celebrated with a major retrospective. But it's equally essential that... more info

Guardian Music — Last week, we sweated over manual labour. Now let's all get lean and green with the pedal machineTinkle Tinkle! Mind out, mate! What's that? A red light? Ha, means nothing to me. Check me out! SQUISH.Yes, it's the mad, bad and dangerous world of bicy... more info

Guardian Music — Not many from the last 20 years, when pop poppets wouldn't know the meaning of the phrase, but we pick earthy songs from earthier timesFrom stage school to stardom via a year in a van – some of today's pop poppets have as much experience of life ou... more info

Guardian Music — Queen Elizabeth Hall, LondonThe Imagined Village have become a lot better by becoming more ­conventional. When they started out, playing in a large tent in the mudbath that was ­Womad 2007, they were ­almost ­frantically ­experimental ... more info

Guardian Music — (Fledg'ling)The best traditional songs have survived because the melodies (and the stories) are so strong that they can be successfully treated in a manner of ways, from the folk-rock experiments of the 1960s to the electronica of The Imagined Villag... more info

Guardian Music — (ECC/Proper)When they first appeared at Womad, back in the summer of 2007, the Imagined Village sounded well-intentioned but in need of serious rehearsal. The idea was intriguing - to rework folk songs with global influences and electronica to reflec... more info