Donovan Phillips Leitch, known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965, and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles and albums during the late 1960s. His work became emblematic of the flower power era with its blend of folk, pop, psychedelica, and jazz stylings.
Edward II are an English band which play a fusion of world music, English folk and reggae. Active from 1980, the band broke up after losing several key members in 1999, relaunching as "e2K" in 2000. In 2003, the band dissolved once more, but have since reformed for a one-year reunion tour in 2009 under the "Edward II" name, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the breakup of the original band. They reformed in 2015 specifically to produce the Manchester's Improving Daily project, which includes the release of new recorded material and a book. The project is designed to celebrate a collection of tunes written in Manchester during the Industrial Revolution, published as Broadsides and currently held in Manchester Central Library. In 2021 Edward II released the album "Dancing Tunes", bringing their own unique style to a collection of traditional and historic Jamaican calypso and mento songs that pre-date reggae as we know it today.
The Old Swan Band is a long-established and influential English country dance band.
Keith "Mac" MacLeod, was an English musician who was a part of the Hertfordshire folk and blues scene from 1959 onwards. He played in St Albans alongside Mick Softley and Maddy Prior and toured with John Renbourn. Influences include Softley, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Derroll Adams, Jesse Fuller, Big Bill Broonzy, Snooks Eaglin, Reverend Gary Davis and Davey Graham.
The Hurdy Gurdy Man is the sixth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in North America in October 1968 on Epic Records, but not in the UK due to a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman (1966) and Mellow Yellow (1967) from being released there. A songbook of lead sheets to the album was nonetheless issued in both countries. In Canada the album reached No. 19.
Ralph Burns Kellogg, also known as Ethan James, was an American musician, record producer, and recording engineer best known for his work on Minutemen's seminal album Double Nickels on the Dime. He also produced and engineered albums for Black Flag, The Bangles, Rain Parade, Dos, and many others. Many of these recordings were undertaken at Radio Tokyo Studio, the recording facility he founded in the early 1980s.
Andy Cutting is an English folk musician and composer. He plays melodeon and is best known for writing and performing traditional English folk and his own original compositions which combine English and French traditions with wider influences. He is three times winner of the Folk Musician of the Year award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and has appeared on around 50 albums, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians. He was born in Harrow, London and is married with three children.
No Roses is an album by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band. It was recorded in the summer of 1971 and produced by Sandy Roberton and Ashley Hutchings, who was Collins' husband at the time. It was released in October 1971 on the Pegasus label.
Stille Volk is a folk band from the Pyrenees area of France. The band formed in 1994, and draws inspiration from Celtic and medieval music.
Ad Vielle Que Pourra was a Quebec-based music group which performed original compositions in the style of the French, Québécois, and Breton folk music traditions. The band's name came from the vielle, an instrument which features prominently in their music.
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a song by the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was recorded in April 1968 and released the following month as a single. The song gave its name to the album The Hurdy Gurdy Man, which was released in October of that year in the United States. The single reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
Planxty is the first album by the Irish folk group Planxty, recorded in London during early September 1972 and released in early 1973.
Nigel Eaton is a British multi-instrumentalist and composer best known for playing the hurdy-gurdy. Born in Lyndhurst, Eaton played the piano and cello before switching to the hurdy-gurdy in 1981 when his father, Christopher Eaton, began manufacturing them. Eaton has been described as the "foremost hurdy-gurdy player in popular music in North America and Europe".
Jo Freya is an English saxophonist, clarinettist and singer.
Third Eye is the sole studio album by British band Monsoon.
Schandmaul is a German medieval folk rock band from the Munich area.
Eluveitie is a Swiss folk metal band from Winterthur, Zürich, founded in 2002 by Chrigel Glanzmann. The project's first demo, Vên, was released in 2003. Vên was a studio project of Glanzmann's, but its success led to the recruitment of a full band. The band then released a full-length album, Spirit, in June 2006. In November 2007, Eluveitie was signed by Nuclear Blast. The group rose to fame following the release of their first major-label album, Slania, in February 2008. The album peaked at number 35 in the Swiss charts and number 72 in the German charts.
True Stories is a 2009 album recorded by the English guitarist and banjo player Martin Simpson and released on the Topic Records label. The album features a mixture of traditional and original material.
Leo Matthew Abrahams is an English musician, composer and producer. He has collaborated with Brian Eno, Katie Melua, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, Regina Spektor, Jon Hopkins and Paul Simon. After attending the Royal Academy of Music in England, he started his musical career by touring as lead guitarist with Imogen Heap.
Ithilien is a Belgian folk metal band from Brussels using traditional folk instruments such as a hurdy gurdy, a bagpipe, a violin, a nyckelharpa, flutes and a bouzouki. They combine elements of metal (death/metalcore) and traditional folk music.
