By Jason Barnard
In “A Drop Of The Morning Dew”, Serious Sam Barrett captures the essence of Yorkshire folk clubs, offering a retrospective of his two-decade musical journey. This live album, a return to his roots, reflects Barrett’s nuanced approach to traditional songs and the evolution of his songwriting since his 2009 debut.
“A Drop Of The Morning Dew” is a live album. What motivated you to create a live recording at this particular moment?
Part of it was my desire to document the Yorkshire folk clubs I was brought up going to. The clubs have really shaped the music I have made over the years and coming back to make a live album in one of them is like coming full circle. After 20 years of doing this I also wanted to make an album that was a retrospective of sorts. A lot of these songs are numbers that are on albums long since deleted and I wanted to put a lot of what I consider to be my strongest material in one place!
The album features a mix of originals and traditional songs. How do you approach arranging and performing traditional songs to make them your own?
With a lot of traditional songs I alter the melody and put together a new one so I can put my own stamp on it. Sometimes I’ll try to put together a guitar part that maybe brings something a bit different to other arrangements of the song. But in some cases I just had to go with the traditional tune as I’ve heard it in the clubs growing up. anything else would have felt like sacrilege.
How has your Yorkshire upbringing and the folk tradition in the region influenced your songwriting and musical style?
I’ve been really lucky that pretty much all the folk clubs that were local to me growing up are still going strong. There has always been a strong folk club scene around here and years and years of just being in and around them must have moulded my style a lot. Also I think there is a directness but also a tenderness to Yorkshire folk song and the way people sing around here that I hope I can reflect. The Watersons are the best exponents of that. I was lucky that my Dad and Uncle were both great folk singers and both Yorkshire born and bread. I learned nearly everything from them.
How do you feel your songwriting has evolved since your debut album “Close To Home” in 2009?
Well at that time my songwriting was a lot more naive and I wasn’t as self critical as I am now. It’s very hard for a song to make it off the cutting room floor nowadays. I chuck away so many through being hard on myself whereas back then I was a lot more care free. In some ways that naivety did me a lot of good but being more self critical makes you push yourself harder.
“A Drop Of The Morning Dew” includes eleven of your original songs. Can you highlight a couple of tracks that hold special meaning for you and share the stories behind them?
‘Alf’s song’ is about my Grandad who was a leatherworker from Meanwood in Leeds. He worked his way up the trade union movement and became the general secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Leatherworkers. He also carried a massive hunting rifle everywhere he went under a rug in the back on his ford Cortina that he was given as a gift from another trade unionist. He didn’t care. They don’t make ’em like Alf any more.
The title rack is actually about one of the regulars from the folk club where the album was recorded. She’s called Molly Binns and one night when I went to the club after having been away for years she came up to me and said. “Is it Sam? We haven’t seen you for ages?” I replied that yes it was me and she told me I didn’t look any older than when she had last seen me. Then she told me that if I wanted to stay looking young I should go into the fields every morning and rub the morning dew on my face. I thought that was beautiful and I needed to write a song about it. I subsequently discovered that doing this is a big part of folklore in lots of parts of Scotland and Northern England and there are several folk songs about it.
How does the live setting at Bacca Pipes Folk Club compare to other venues you’ve performed at?
As you can hear on the record, Bacca Pipes is a singers club. They love to sing and their joining in on the choruses really makes for such a special recording and a lovely document of what the club scene is all about. They are a truly lovely, beautiful bunch of people that are into folk music in such a pure way and for all the right reasons.
Folk clubs have been a significant part of your life. Can you recall a particularly memorable moment from one of your performances at them?
I’d have to say that the night I played at Barnsley folk club and one of my folk heroes Dave Burland came to see me was an absolute mindblower. I grew up watching him performing and introducing the acts at Barnsley Folk Festival and I couldn’t believe he’d come to see me.
As a hard-touring artist, how has your experience touring the US, especially with The Pine Hill Haints, influenced your music and performance style?
Oh definitely. Travelling the length and breadth of the States playing every night helps you hone your performance a lot. A lot of the places we play can be rowdy joints so I’ve had to learn how to grab attention fast. And then keep it! It also led me to sing more songs that are local to me because a lot of Americans have very little concept of English and particularly Northern English trad songs with the exception of ‘Scarborough Fair’. It also deepened my love of country and American roots music.
You’ve shared stages with various artists like Martin Carthy and Karine Polwart. Are there any particular moments that stand out?
Playing on the same bill as Martin was absolutely incredible. He was such a lovely man and the depth of his knowledge about traditional music is mindblowing.
“A Drop Of The Morning Dew” marks the inaugural release on your own label, Crow Lane Records. What led you to start your label, and what are your aspirations for it?
Well I actually ran a label with a friend before Crow Lane records called YaDig? which nearly all of my previous releases came out on. To me it just makes sense to put out my own record on my own label. That way there’s nobody trying to alter my musical vision and I don’t have to ask anyone for any money. I just save up, release and record, hope it sells and then do the same again! It’s always worked for me. My aspirations are just to keep playing, keep selling records and hopefully be able to do this for the rest of my life.
How does it feel to be the face and sound of Otley Tourism’s advertising campaign last Christmas with your song ‘Never Loved Christmas’?
It was fun! And we raised some good money for local food banks with that song, which is the most important thing. Especially at a time when so many people are struggling.
With a mix of 12-string guitar and banjo, how do you decide which instrument suits a particular song live?
The way I play banjo means that only songs with a very particular timing and feel will work. It’s all to do with the rhythms that frailing banjo will allow you to work with. On guitar I can have more choice because I can play a wider range of styles on guitar. sometimes though a song will only work as an unaccompanied number. I do a lot of those nowadays as well.
Looking ahead, what can we expect?
I’ll probably do another studio album in a couple of years. probably another with a heavy folk/trad feel. I just want to keep going!
Further information:
Serious Sam Barrett, A Drop Of The Morning Dew: Live At Bacca Pipes Folk Club, Crow Lane Records. Release date 1 March 2024
