Lisa Knapp (born 1974 in Balham) [1] is an English folk singer, songwriter, fiddle player and multi-instrumentalist. Her singing voice has been described as "crystal clear" and reminiscent of Anne Briggs or Jeannie Robertson. [1] Two of her three albums have received five-starred reviews in the British national press.
Lisa Knapp was born in 1974 in Balham in South London [1] and raised in Tooting, also in South London. [2]
Her debut album, Wild and Undaunted, released in 2007, was Mojo 's Folk Album of the Year. It includes a cover version of Lal Waterson's song "Black Horse". [3]
Colin Irwin gave her 2013 album Hidden Seam, which included contributions by Martin Carthy and Kathryn Williams, five stars in a review for The Observer . [4] The lyrics of the album's opening track, "Shipping Song", derive from BBC Radio 4's Shipping Forecast. [5] Another song from the album, "Two Ravens", took the award for Best Original Song at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2014. [6]
Till April is Dead – A Garland Of May, Knapp's 2017 concept album about the month of May, "twists tradition... mixing in interviews about May Day rituals and samples of birdsong, buzzing flies and cuckoo clocks". [7] It received a five-starred review in The Guardian from Jude Rogers who described it as "overflowing with warmth, light and waywardness". "Knapp’s voice throughout", she said, "is a revelation, both pure and wild, springing free". [8] Writing in The Observer , Neil Spencer gave four stars to Till April is Dead – A Garland for May, which he described as completing "a trio of extraordinary albums". [9] Thomas Blake, for Folk Radio UK, said that the album "seeks to understand old songs and traditions in modern and often highly original ways. It is a real step forward from a genuinely groundbreaking artist". [10]
Knapp is married to musician Gerry Diver, who co-produces her albums. [11]
Knapp sang "The Blacksmith" and "Bonnie at Morn" on Gerry Diver's album, Diversions (2002) [11] and also performed on two of the tracks on David Rotheray's 2013 album Answer Ballads. [12] She also sang "A Promise That I Keep" for the theme song for the Wolfblood series 1–3. She is also a member of the trio Hack-Poets Guild; their album Blackletter Garland was named one of the ten best folk albums of 2023 by Jude Rogers of The Guardian. [13]