Hack-Poets Guild are a trio, but not in the traditional ‘folk’ sense. These three singers and creative minds have used their individual and unique knowledge of music and balladry to create a new experience in the British folk song canon. Teaming up with producer and musician Gerry Driver, they have created the 12-song album, Blackletter Garland, “twelve fascinating interpretations and original compositions that tell intricate tales of birth, love, conflict and death”, as their website boasts, consisting mainly of re-worked broadside ballads from the 17th and 19th century (plus a few very fitting originals).
The trio could be considered a supergroup. Lisa Knapp has been popular since her highly esteemed debut, Wild & Undaunted, released in 2007. Having since performed with some of the biggest names in British folk, Lisa has achieved that pedestal herself and continued to release a mixture of original and reinterpreted traditional songs, often using modern production techniques to enhance some of the more esoteric material.
Nathaniel Mann is a proper renaissance man in every sense of the term, his work spanning multimedia and genres. With experience in film, broadcast, research, production and curation, his most reminiscent work to that of Hack-Poets Guild is his group Dead Rat Orchestra, who perform traditional-style songs with custom-made resonant meat cleavers. Well worth checking out.
Finally, Marry Waterson needs scant introduction. The daughter of Lal Waterson and co-creator of landmark albums, The Days That Shaped Me and Hidden, she has the sensibilities of folk singing coursing through her, and the ability to deliver sincerity and sharpness to anything she sings – traditional or original.
It’s not uncommon for albums by folk musicians to contain a variety of original and traditional material, however, the Hack-Poets Guild have found a perfectly balanced mix between the two, including songs with lyrics loosely based on the themes of the original texts, in some cases even blending both original and traditional lyrics in one song. With this approach, the different sources blend without friction and keep the album fresh and inviting with every progressive track. From: https://tradfolk.co/music/reviews/blackletter-garland-hack-poets-guild/
