David Delarre Heres a little taster of Mawkin for the uninitiated!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhWZ4vdV4aw
'Mawkin'
Friday 1 July 7.30 pm
Mawkin
‘Mawkin’ – Brit-Folk’s brightest new guns, fusing folk, blues and rock
at Brixham Theatre on Friday 1 July 7.30 pm
Five years on from their hat trick of BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominations, Mawkin will be coming to Brixham Theatre on Friday 1 July, hot foot from their recent support for Folk Music giants, Bellowhead, on their farewell tour.
Since their formation in 2002, Mawkin have grown into a blistering 5-piece band fusing folk, blues and rock. They are no strangers to the cutting edge of the contemporary music scene, while still retaining all the verve and mystique of ancient folk music traditions from across the globe.
Forged out of the electric partnership of brothers Jamie and David Delarre, Mawkin are a concoction of brilliantly inventive musicianship and uninhibited energy.
Initially coming together as a 3-piece the Delarre brothers enlisted the help of good friend and rock bassist Danny Crump. Starting out as a “bunch of mates” they played to a rapturous crowd at the 2002 Dartmoor Festival and, before long, Mawkin were performing at festivals across the country, even though 2/3rds of the band weren’t old enough to drive.
Their Brixham performance will feature Mawkin’s boldest album to date, ‘The Ties That Bind’, a veritable romp of rousing chorus songs and ballsy folk tunes, played with all the verve and conviction you have come to expect from this quintet of cheeky Essex boys.
The premise of the album is clearly explained by guitarist and singer David Delarre, “Essentially, this album’s only preconceived purpose was to simply let you have fun, whilst trying your damnedest to find some deeper meaning. We’re not making a statement, apart from don’t hurt yourself while you’re dancing in the kitchen.”
The songs themselves are unapologetic, gritty tales of being tied to something, somewhere or someone, punctuated with the invigorating instrumentals that have become the trademark of Mawkin’s sound.
Rousing songs of rebellion are sung by brothers David and James Delarre James (fiddler) Delarre, underpinned by the virtuosic bellowing of Nick Cooke’s melodeon and a solid rhythm sectio, with Danny Crump on Bass and Lee Richardson on Drums.
‘The Ties That Bind’ is the latest step in the band’s career that has seen them featured on BBC and ITV for Jools Holland and Ade Edmondson respectively, live sets on BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris show and BBC Radio 4’s Clive Anderson’s ‘Loose Ends’ show, as well as appearing at a number of high profile festivals; Cambridge Folk, Larmer Tree and Shrewsbury.
In 2007 the band released their spectacular debut album ‘The Fair Essex’, which cleverly wove together a narrative of English summers, picturesque coastal towns and villages. Its been praised for its “gypsy jazz stylings, rural sound effects and sample. Its beauty is in the detail”,
One of MOJO’s folk albums of the year ‘The Fair Essex’ was a landmark in the band’s history.
Subsequent tours and festivals followed the success of their debut and the next two years was spent honing their skills and building on their energetic live shows in the UK and Europe, supporting a diverse selection of artists on tours; Eliza Carthy, Billy Bragg, Show of Hands and Mr Scruff.
A chance meet with Jim Causley at Dartmoor Festival led to the extremely popular collaboration Mawkin:Causley. The 5-piece folk boy band set to work on recording an E.P while appearing at various festivals in 2008. Not many bands can lay claim to being nominated for a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award before they have released an album, but Mawkin:Causley can.
Following the success of their 6 track sampler, ‘Cold Ruin’, the collaboration were nominated for ‘Best Group’, alongside fellow ground-breaking contemporaries Bellowhead.
Hailed as the “pin-up poster boys of folk” Mawkin:Causley attracted a lot of media attention with live sets on BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris show and BBC Radio 4’s Clive Anderson’s Loose Ends show. Mawkin:Causley toured rigorously as well as appearing at a number of high profile festivals; BBC Radio 2 Cambridge, Larmer Tree and Shrewsbury.
In 2009 they released their debut album ‘The Awkward Recruit’ – it was met with critical acclaim; Uncut called it “Remarkably assured – such conviction and a true sense of their music’s history” , while fRoots declared it “Supremely confident – a serious album, of considerable weight”.
‘The Awkward Recruit’ won two more BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominations for ‘Best Group’ and ‘Best Traditional Track’. In August 2010 Mawkin:Causley disbanded as members of the collaboration wanted to head in their own directions.
Mawkin looked to forge a bold new sound and so they turned to good friend, melodeon player and mastering engineer Nick Cooke and Lee Richardson; drummer and co-producer/engineer on ‘The Fair Essex’.
Two years in the making ‘Crow’ was another landmark in the band’s history, ancient instrumental folk tunes from around the globe dragged delightfully into the modern age. New collaborations with Eliza Carthy, Steve Knightly and Jim Causley too, garnered Mawkin critical acclaim across the media.
Mawkin are:
David Delarre (Eliza Carthy, Tred) and fiddler James Delarre (Saul Rose & James Delarre, Topette) underpin the virtuoso bellowing of Nick Cooke’s melodeon (Kate Rusby, Jim Moray), with a solid rhythm section of Danny Crump on Bass and Lee Richardson (Diverted, Extreme Music) on Drums.
**** “Invigorating, highly inventive” Q Magazine
“ Unapologetically Energetic” – Songlines Magazine
“ Gutsy, Impressive, Exquisite“ – The Guardian