Ben Walker & Kirsty Merryn • Live At FortyFive

• Live At FortyFive YouTube Session •

Ben Walker and Kirsty Merryn present Life and the Land

BBC Folk Award winner Ben Walker joins forces with highly acclaimed singer and pianist Kirsty Merryn to create a fresh take on a tradition ripe for rediscovery. Life and the Land is a celebration of England’s harvest tradition, reimagining songs born out of our agricultural past. Focusing on songs from rural England found in local archives and EFDSS collections, Ben and Kirsty are breathing new life into long-lost songs of the land; innovative composers and performers bringing eclectic influences from across the musical spectrum - from classical to jazz to electronica - as well as deep roots in traditional music. Both consummate musicians, contrasting and complementary styles combine to create a timeless sound, with Ben’s guitars and mandolin providing a perfect frame for Kirsty’s piano, harp and silver voice.

As Ben says ‘This project was born over a pint in the pub one September. We were talking about how it sometimes feels like we're more and more disconnected from the land we live on, the food we eat, the people around us. We both wanted to explore how people have sung about their relationship with the seasons, with work, and with each other. It's a huge pleasure to share this project with Kirsty, she’s got a real love for the tradition but doesn’t only look back; she’s a fantastic interpreter of song.’

Kirsty adds 'Traditional English songs carry so much history within them and really tell us where we came from. There’s a rich and beautiful tradition of celebrating the harvest, the culmination of a year’s worth of hard work and struggle. We wanted to recreate that idea of a harvest festival, the sheer joy of abundance, of a job well done. Life and the Land was always meant to be about celebrating the fruits of a year’s struggle - I’m not sure we realised quite how apt that was going to be! It was frustrating not to be able to tour in 2020, we’re so looking forward to playing these songs for people. It’ll be worth the wait!'

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