Hi,

I was just thinking about this the other night whilst listening to a folk-compilation, 'folk-rising 2' on Navigator Records ( home to the mighty Bellowhead )

Strikes me that a lot of the most talented young singers and musicians aren't forming indie-rock bands now, they are forming folk groups. Remember how special indie-music seemed in the Eighties? Maybe a band like Cocteau Twins and nobody else would have heard of them, let alone be buying their records.

When such an act made number thirty-nine for a week in the singles charts, it was with a sense of real acheivement. The same can be said of today's folk groups. Seth Lakeman actually having a hit single and a hit album is almost unheard of for an act playing folk music.

As for also being truly independant, there's an artist Allison Crowe who releases her music on the legal and free downloading site Jamendo. Allison has released two or three acclaimed works through Jamendo and is sustaining a career completely outside of the mainstream. You can't say that for Kasabian!

So, two things really. Is folk the new indie and are you a former indie-fan ( like myself ) now searching other genres and styles and you're basically sick of the same old, same old?