WBTV-LP

Decadent young woman. After the dance by Ramón Casas, 1899. Image source

Two hours of folk! Once in a while I find myself with a solid collection of songs that I haven't managed to fit into other playlists and therefore I just throw them together into one playlist because I think they're pretty groovy and I feel like playing them on the ol' sound box. These are all folkish songs by folkish artists. A good chunk of them are regulars on Winter Light / Summer Heat, but also some that don't get that much air play on this program and a couple are getting their debut.

35 different acts in this show, here is some information about some of them:

Handgjort:

Name translates to Handmade, a reference to their all acoustic instrument lineup. Handgjort is a mostly Swedish group (one member was an American who deserted the Vietnam war) and all the bandmembers had visited India at one point and incorporated that eastern influence in their sound via the inclusion of tablas and sitar. There were 901 copies in the initial production of Handgjort's self-titled debut record each with a unique cover hand painted by the members of the band, but pretty much anyone passing by their offices were recruited to contribute including other musicians on the Silence label, friends, neighbors and people who just happened to have passed by "including the postman". The band fit the mold of starving artists, with little but their music keeping them going, tabla player Theo Greyerz described that they "Lived on baked beans and hashish". Their sole album was released on the same day their label released Bo Hansson 's 'Sagan Om Ringen' (or 'Music Inspired By Lord Of The Rings') and therefore took a backseat in promotion and suffered commercially.

Roger Bunn:

Roger Bunn had an interest in two genres when growing up, skiffle which was booming across Britain at the time and American beat and jazz. He was playing lead guitar in skiffle bands in the late 1950's and playing jazz bass in the early 1960's. Bunn ran across the Beatles in their Hamburg days, replacing them in residency at the Star Club, and that helped him years later when he asked Paul McCartney and Apple Corps. to give him studio time to record demos that would become his only album. Piece Of Mind resulted in a unique blend of folk, jazz, psychedelic rock and soul horns. Bunn spent time in Marianne Faithfull's backing band, formed the folk group Djinn, which David Bowie was briefly in, and was the original guitarist for Roxy Music. Rumor is that Brian Ferry asked him to shave off his beard and to dress nicely, and Bunn responded by quitting the band.

Countries represented: USA, England, Sweden, India, Peru, Canada, Wales, Netherlands, Japan, Iceland, Scotland, Italy, France.