Having recently departed as Tradfolk editor, Jon Wilks returns to these pages with the first track from his new EP, Live from The Albion Rooms. Released as part of the Hudson Club series on October 31st, we’re delighted to be able to premiere the first of four videos recorded at The Albion Rooms, the Kent studio owned by The Libertines.
“I was playing a gig at the wonderful Rosslyn Court down in Margate, one of my favourite folk venues,” explains Jon. “Before the show I glanced at the guest list and spotted, ‘Carl Barât plus mum'”. It’s worth jumping in here and explaining to sworn denizens of the folk world that Carl Barât is a prominent member of notorious indie rockers, The Libertines. You’ve probably heard of Pete Doherty. Well, Carl is his more level-headed counterpart, also known for his spells with The Jackals and Damon Albarn’s Africa Express.
Jon continues: “Sure enough, just before the show started, in walked Carl (plus mum). During the interval we chatted and he suggested that I come and use his studio, The Albion Rooms. I pitched up there earlier this summer and worked with his excellent sound engineer, Jason Stafford, and my dear friend Jon Nice, who makes the FolkEast X Tradfolk Squash Court Sessions videos. We did a bunch of songs and videos in a day – everything sung and played live, just me and Gwendolyn, my lovely Fylde guitar. I wasn’t trying to record anything new – some of the songs I’ve recorded before – but I wanted to see what I could put together in a great studio in a short space of time.”
Does this mean that The Libertines man is a fan of traditional music? “We spent quite a lot of time chatting about Napoleonic ballads, which he seemed particularly interested in” says Jon. “The Libertines have this thing about ‘the songs of Albion’, so it was quite interesting chatting to him about English traditional music – what you might call ‘The songs of old Albion.’ The EP includes ‘Napoleon’s Farewell to Paris’ [Roud 1626], so hopefully he’ll have been somewhat satiated with that.”
The origins of ‘October Song’
How do you write that when you’re barely out of short trousers?
The first song to come from Live from the Albion Rooms is ‘October Song’, originally by Incredible String Band. “It’s not traditional,” says Jon, “but it’s a folk club standard. Everyone’s had a go, I reckon. I’ve been playing it for about 20 years and I never get tired of it. It’s a wily old tune and the lyrics are occasionally mind-boggling… in a good way!” He explains that he’s currently researching a book about the legendary folk club, Les Cousins, and the surrounding Soho folk scene – one of the reasons he stepped away from editing Tradfolk – and that he recently got to interview Robin Williamson, the song’s author. “We chatted about his memories of Soho from the mid-60s, and at the end of the conversation I thanked him for writing this song. He told me it was the first song he ever wrote. It’s all there in the opening line: ‘I’ll sing you this October song, for there is no song before it.’ He must’ve been about 18 when he jotted that down. I’m not sure how you improve on ‘October Song’ Imagine writing something like this on your first try! I’d have given up. How can you top that?”
“It’s the final verse that is the killer for me: ‘I met a man whose name was Time, and he said I must be going. But just how long ago that was, I have no way of knowing. Sometimes I want to murder Time, sometimes when my heart’s aching, but mostly I just stroll along the path that he is taking.’ I repeat… what?! How do you write that when you’re barely out of short trousers?”
Live from the Albion Rooms is coming out as part of the Hudson Club series, something that delights Jon. “It’s no secret that Andy Bell and the team at Hudson Records regularly release some of the best folk stuff in the UK at the moment, so to be invited to be part of their club series is quite a thrill. It’s like a stamp of approval, isn’t it? I was chuffed when he asked me.” The EP will be made available to Hudson Club subscribers on October 31st. More information can be found on hudsonrecords.co.uk.
Meanwhile, you’ll find Jon Wilks on tour this month with Jackie Oates, followed by a series of gigs in November with Martin Carthy. Tickets are available now.
Find out more about Jon Wilks from: jonwilks.online
Jon Wilks tour dates
- October 6th: The Froize, Suffolk (solo)
- October 18th: Whitchurch Folk Club, Hampshire (with Jackie Oates)
- October 19th: Calstock Arts (with Jackie Oates)
- October 20th: Exeter Phoenix (with Jackie Oates)
- November 8th: Marlborough Town Hall (with Martin Carthy)
- November 10th: Cambridge Junction (with Martin Carthy)
- November 11th: Colchester Arts Centre (with Martin Carthy)
- November 24th: Kitchen Garden Cafe, Birmingham (solo)
- November 28th: The Hyde Tavern, Winchester (solo)
- November 29th: The Goose is Out, London (solo)
Tracklisting
The tracklist for Jon Wilks’s Live from the Albion Rooms is:
- October Song (Williamson)
- Napoleon’s Farewell to Paris (Trad, arr. Wilks)
- From a Lullaby Kiss (Knight)
- Greek Street (Wilks)
