2011 – What the Folk is going on?

Field recordings, an old folk record playing, introducing Steeleye Span. What is folk music, who was Cecil Sharpe, these are some of the initial questions posed by The FLK. I have my own question, who are The FLK? Bearded boys and lank haired girls in cow head masks, a very obvious reference of 90s subversive pop theorist terrorists or just a very well executed homage to chill out substituting hip hop and 90s sensibilities for folk song? This new album swaps the dated and fully exploited 90s KLF aesthetic for genuinely amazing archive folk recordings with thousands of samples lasting all of a couple seconds each up to full recitals of folk genius.

“We know where the time goes“ is the debut album from The FLK, the mystery surrounding the authorship and minds behind music add to it’s charm. From what I can tell the FLK have performed only once, at Cecil Sharpe house, perhaps this makes them a genuine folk act in them selves, perhaps this is art. In fact I am sure it is art but it can be art as / and entertainment can’t it?

This album is not going to be around for long, I’m quite sure of that! It appeared from well under the radar and is sure to disappear just as quickly as it manifested, you could play spot the sample but that really would just be like train spotting. This is a very interesting album, how the Velvet Underground, Kate Bush, Dexys, Roxy music, Simon and Garfunkel, and X factor (no)hopefuls and many more will feel about being used as source material I’m not sure but then will this all just seem like a very strange dream tomorrow morning?

- Matt Shaw for Fluid Radio

www.eccrecords.co.uk
www.theflk.com