Once dubbed “the fiddler with the Midas touch”, Sam Sweeney has long been acknowledged as one of England’s finest traditional folk musicians. A fiddling sensation with inspired trio Leveret and the mighty Bellowhead, the Gloucestershire-based performer has always had his eyes focused outside the box and a savvy approach that innovatively and fearlessly sets out to mould the folk tradition into something permeable, pliable and searingly alive.
Now Hudson Records is proud to announce the release of his forthcoming album Escape That. His first entirely self-composed record, it simultaneously presses the reset button on what a folk record should sound like while marking a major stride forward for Sam into the world of composition. Shaking off the shackles, this is an unrestrained Sam Sweeney – and it’s an album that will get under your skin. It ties together all his musical passions in an honest and candid expression of himself, combining pop hooks and aesthetics with his pioneering work in the world of traditional dance tunes.
Written without ever touching the violin, Sam retreated to his attic during the lockdowns of 2020-21 and, using snapshots of people and moments as inspiration in a time of isolation, created over twenty pieces of music for Escape That using synths and guitars. He devised a way of writing where he’d lay down a chord sequence and then record an improvisation over the top. On listening back, anything that could be considered a hook would be kept, everything else was deleted and tracks developed by linking the hooks together to create dance tunes. Once each track was demoed, Sam translated the melodies back to the fiddle.
Escape That is uncompromising and unashamed in its pool of influences – a heady mix that bursts past the folk gatekeepers. It’s an album that drops in on old musical allies but emerges as something entirely new; not an uncomfortable fusion of genres but a genuine expression of love for his inspirations, past and present. The album features Ben Nicholls (Seth Lakeman, Nadine Shah) on electric and double bass, Jack Rutter on acoustic guitar, Louis Campbell on electric guitars and Dave Mackay (Art Garfunkel, Plini) on keyboards and synthesizers. Sam once again worked with Hudson Records producer Andy Bell (Spell Songs, Bellowhead) and the album was recorded in the hills of South Wales, Stroud and Sheffield.
Says Sam: “Escape That is the most ‘me’ music I can imagine making. It ties together my love for traditional dance tunes with my obsession with pop music hooks and textures. Every piece of music we have ever heard leaves a footprint in our minds. With this record I am actively re-treading some of these footprints, visiting old musical companions and combining them with my love for traditional dance music. This is emotional music for me and an honest acknowledgment of all the music I have loved since I was a kid. It’s not trying to be anything. It’s as close as I’ve ever got to sharing the sound of the inside of my head.”
Sam will be performing the music from Escape That with his own band in November 2022 whilst supporting his other band, folk juggernauts Bellowhead, on their sell-out 18 date reunion tour in November 2022.
Nominated four times, and winner in 2015, of Musician Of The Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Sam has been at the forefront of the revival in English music for the last fifteen years. As well as being a veteran of the outstanding Bellowhead and founder member of the ground-breaking Leveret he was the inaugural Artistic Director of the National Youth Folk Ensemble. He has collaborated, recorded and performed with The Full English, Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings, Fay Hield and Emily Portman as well as creating his own theatre production Made In The Great War. Sam’s previous releases, The Unfinished Violin (Island Records) and Unearth Repeat (Hudson Records) both achieved international acclaim.
Escape That is available from all digital music platforms, on CD, LP and a limited edition red vinyl LP.
Photo Credits:
(1)-(2) Sam Sweeney,
(3) Leveret,
(4) Bellowhead
(unknown/website).
