On Friday the 25th, Folklore release their second showcase EP, Folklore Vol. 2, so I caught up with Folklore head honcho Jacko Hooper to get the low down on the acts and the accompanying launch gig. Volume one was a 7″ record, but for this release (and probably future releases in the series) they’ve switched to the 10″ format. Initially driven by the length of the songs, which wouldn’t have sounded as good with the physical constraints of a 7″, there’s something alluring about the slightly larger format. Jacko talked me through each of the bands on the EP:

Nierra Creek / Burn out the Fire
We did the 7″ for those guys last year, and we’re working with them again. I’m just a huge fan and with the artists that I was getting together for this it’s a more left field leaning than a folk record. Nierra Creek were a really cool one to get on this because they worked so well with the other artists on the record
Quaking Aspens / Flume
Quaking Aspens have recently do a UK / European tour with Nierra Creek and ai really wanted them involved for this one. Those guys worked together quite a lot so it was an obvious combo to get them. 
Adam Spry / Tangled
Adam Spry is a US based artist who originally got in touch with me over Covid when there was obviously no shows happening. And at the time Folklore’s main presence was a radio show, because there wasn’t much else we could be doing during COVID. And he just submitted one of his songs for the radio show, a track called Bonanza, and it was so good. And we kept in touch and then he came and did our monthly showcase last year. And it was so, so good, his first show in Brighton. I want to have hopefully at least one artist that’s international for the volumes , to tap into a different audience and also to bring some of those artists to eyes and ears in Brighton.
Mezanmi / This Time Yesterday
Mezanmi is from Newcastle, based in London. He’s an incredible singer-songwriter, sort of electronic sort of based I would say, very cinematic, ethereal. His album was one of my favourite albums of last year without doubt, and he did the album launch show here. He just married up so well with Nierra Creek and Quaking Aspens, and that song is absolutely stunning. So it’s a really nice way to see out the record, really cinematic.

The launch gig takes place next Friday (25th) as a fully standing show unlike some of their seated showcases. All the acts, bar Adam Spry are playing (because he’s in the States) and there’s rumours of some special stuff on the night with collaborations.

It’s worth noting at this stage that a fair amount of time has passed between volume one – which appeared in 2018 – and volume two. “Yeah, volume one was a while ago! But it’s gonna be a bit more regular from now on. The plan was always to do them slightly more regularly than that anyway but with Covid and then opening the venue it just fell down the list in terms of having the time and resources to do that. Basically trying to keep a venue alive is like a very much full-time job but now we’re in the rhythm of things and volume three is already done. I’m trying to stay like a record ahead of myself. We keep moving forward with the 10 inch releases and we’re looking at one or two a year”
The permanence of a physical record absolutely is a very positive thing – it’s one thing for a band to play a gig but at the end of the night it’s over whereas record is going to be around for a long time. “Yeah, that’s huge. This is Quaking Aspen’s first vinyl release. It’s a big deal for them. And they were saying that they’re so happy that they’re going to end up with something they can hold, physically hold, and not just digitally release and be out in the ether.” I don’t want suggest that making music is in any means easy, but the barriers to entry have come down so much. “Absolutely – Getting the physical element is a whole other beast. And I’m just a big vinyl nerd so I love living it.”

Folklore Vol. 2 is out on 25th July and can be pre-ordered from the Folklore website