Mercury prize nominees Rachel Unthank the Winterset are soaring beyond their folk roots, writes Tony Clayton-Lea
IT'S A RARE act, indeed, that features singing and clog dancing at the same time, but Rachel Unthank the Winterset is a rare act. They dare to carry on the folk traditions of England's northeast while maintaining a poised stance amid their rather more contemporary colleagues.
In other words, 29-year-old Rachel and her 22-year-old sister Becky might fit the folk bill, but that still doesn't prevent them from enthusing about the excitement of grunge music or the uplifting melancholia of Tindersticks.
And speaking of melancholia, Rachel and her all-female Winterset band, sister Becky, second- generation Irish fiddle player Niopha Keegan and pianist Stef Conner, are still smarting ever so slightly about not nabbing this year's Mercury Prize (which was won a few weeks ago by Manchester band Elbow).
Although certain sections of the media view the Mercury Prize with cynicism - there are, some say, purely tokenistic choices in the areas of jazz and folk - most of the acts nominated see it as a boost to their record sales and careers.
Yet Rachel says that just being nominated was fantastic. "It came totally out of the blue. Even though we didn't win, being nominated increased sales. But more importantly, it will broaden out awareness of our music and where we're from.
"We love it that it will raise our profile and the music, but it's also great for people to know that England actually has an indigenous folk music, especially up in the northeast of the country.
"We're just music lovers, and we want our music to be judged on that level. Being a part of the Mercury prize helps by being put on that plateau where people say, 'Well, if it's up for the Mercury then there must be something in it'.
"Then they'll be able to judge it on a musical level and not a genre level. That's all you can ask for when you're creating music. If they like it, then that's great. If they don't, that's their choice.
"Hopefully, being in a high-profile thing such as the Mercury will open doors for other folk bands that are presently bubbling up."
The Unthank sisters have been immersed in Northumbrian/ Tyneside folk music all of their lives. Their parents, says Rachel, got into folk music in the 1960s and have stayed with it ever since.
From when they were children, they have been listening to everything from the music of the Carthys, Watersons and June Tabor to the likes of Altan and Voice Squad. They were also introduced to the bawdy, boisterous and impassioned singing style of sea-shanty groups such as The Wilsons and The Keelers (of which their father is a member).
"We were brought along to folk festivals, we joined clog-dance teams and we sang. Most of our life has been a round of various festivals, clog dancing, singing and folk music."
This may seem far removed from the lifestyle and home background of a typical teenager, but Rachel reckons they did normal things, as well.
"My friends were music lovers, and they understood that I'd hang out with them until the summer came along, and then I'd be off travelling with my parents around all the folk festivals, and that they wouldn't see me until it was time to head back to school. It wasn't even questioned.
"Besides, our parents always encouraged us to listen to different kinds of music — they were mad Beatles fans, for a start, and they loved rock'n'roll. It's just that folk is such a massive part of our life.
"When I was a teenager, grunge was fashionable, so I was a right little heavy metaler. We've always listened to music, from indie to pop and back again. Some folkies can be a bit strict in that regard, as they just want a pure folk diet, but our parents weren't like that at all."
Rachel and Becky describe their art as "big, loud singing in harmony - that's us". At first Rachel was on her own, having performed with various bands, but when Becky was old enough, the pair set out as a unit and patrolled the UK's many folk festivals with a keen eye, clogs at the ready and a repertoire that won them praise from casual observers and die-hard folkies alike. Singing in their broad, yet lilting Geordie accents, and to all intents and purposes clinging to the stories of the songs they sing, the pair quickly became recognised as keepers of the flame of a virtually forgotten part of UK folk.
The sisters subsequently added musicians to the line-up, took up the band name and have been working towards something big ever since. Their 2005 debut album Cruel Sister (the title of which is an in-joke) nabbed various Folk of the Year awards, while the likes of Kate Rusby, Tracey Thorn, Joan Wasser (Joan as Policewoman) and Duke Special have name-checked the Geordie lasses as being a particularly special act to look out for.
Meanwhile, Unthank's latterday covering of songs by Robert Wyatt, Antony the Johnsons and Bonnie 'Prince' Bill has further broadened their appeal.
Prior to the Mercury nomination, did they feel as if they were working in something of a vacuum? Yes, says Rachel, but something happened along the way.
"We started to span different folk genres — which wasn't necessarily our original intention — and subsequently have been asked to perform at different festivals, perhaps more mainstream festivals such as the Electric Picnic, Lovebox, the Big Chill.
"We don't want to leave the folk world behind us, but it seems as if we're branching out regardless. We get people come up to us and say things like, 'we don't like folk music but we like you'. People might have a negative idea of what folk music is going to be like, but put it in front of them and they actually like it."
Rachel Unthank the Winterset's latest album, The Bairns, is out through RabbleRouser/EMI