Thanks to generous donors, we are delighted to have awarded nine Micro Grants of £500 to a diverse selection of professional folk artists who live and work in England.
Our new Micro Grants for Professional Folk Artists aim to support artists in any way that will help develop their professional careers. We received applications for support ranging from time to develop creative projects, to funding for the production of new albums, to instrument or equipment purchases.
Micro Grants for 2020/21 have been awarded to:
Granny’s Attic
Recording and releasing a new instrumental EP
“The new EP will feature traditional English music alongside our own newly written tunes; recording the EP live, in the same room, with no overdubs. This grant will cover the cost of two days’ recording with Ian Stephenson at Simpson Street Studios. We had originally planned to finance the release from our gig earnings, but due to the pandemic we haven’t been able to do this. We have some money saved for recording and other costs including mixing/mastering, but not the full amount to complete the project.”
Harbottle and Jonas
To support the production of next album ‘The Beacon’.
“… this album is one of hope based on the landscapes and stories that surround us here in the Devonshire countryside. The album fuses traditional elements and original compositions. We would use this grant to contribute towards the costs of making the album a reality. a collection of songs inspired by the difficult circumstances we all faced during the global pandemic of 2020. It is an album of hope, new beginnings and re-rooting to the ancient ways.”
Hazel Askew
To purchase an Indian Harmonium.
“It’s an instrument that can create sound worlds I can’t access with my current instruments, and I have always found it very inspiring when I’ve borrowed other people’s harmoniums or worked on projects with players. There are quite a number of ways that having a harmonium would allow me to develop musically and creatively, but at the moment, the loss of earnings due to the coronavirus pandemic makes it very difficult to be able to be able to fund an instrument purchase. The loss of touring and live work this year has created an opportunity for me to work on building my writing skills, explore new ways of being creative and musically experimental, and now would be the perfect time to have a new instrument to help push me forward even more.”
Heather Ferrier
Accordion pickup microphone
“The Micro Grant would contribute towards the cost of an accordion pickup (specifically the Harmonik AC5001-HQ, which is technically an internal microphone). The stage setup that I currently use (including three external clip-on condenser microphones) is becoming increasingly inadequate for the projects that I am involved with. Having the Harmonik pickup will enable me to perform onstage with a greater variety of ensembles (due to its greater feedback resistance) and will also allow me to expand my creative practice by integrating effects into my increasingly progressive compositional work. Having this direct output will also prove useful in studio situations where I will be able to blend acoustic and effected sounds.”
Amy Hollinrake
Song writing and business development
To create new work of contemporary cultural relevance for women’s voices developing innovative cross-genre approaches to songwriting contributing to future album and develop a business plan/professional online portfolio (including EPK, video and social media strategy).
“This grant would contribute to these developmental activities, creating new work and a video shoot for an online portfolio. Allowing me to explore a shift in my working practice, and create a new culture around my music, the context it’s in and its value.”
Jim Ghedi
Recording equipment
“ [To purchase] a specific microphone will enable me to record independently, allowing me to record mobilly and also complete my home recording set up. This will allow me to complete my current project of recording a collection of traditional folk songs, including themes of working class narratives and underrepresented voices in folk songs. Once recorded I aim to work with a record label to release this album digitally across all streaming platforms and manufacture physical copies to be distributed across the UK.”
Kate Griffin
Travel bursary to undertake a creative collaboration with traditional Mozambican musician Matchume Zango.
“Inspired by our previous collaboration during Making Tracks 2020, I intend to travel to Mozambique to work more with Matchume, exploring the collaboration between UK folk styles with Mozambican traditional music. We plan to produce a studio album and perhaps perform live during a 3-week residency at Matchume’s home/studio in May 2021 (dependent on Covid-19 restrictions)”.
M G Boulter
Portable recording equipment to create podcast series to accompany new album.
“The money would be invaluable in purchasing a Zoom h4n portable recorder and also to purchase some time from musician/composerJenny Sturgeon to help advise on the technical aspects of putting a podcast together (editing, the use of incidental music, mixing etc) as she has prior experience in this field. My new record ‘Clifftown’ (to be released in March 2021) explores the history and current issues of living in a modern-day seaside town, namely Southend-on-Sea in Essex. I would like to produce a short series of podcasts that explore these topics through interviews with people in the town.”
Oliver Cross
To help towards the purchase of a adapted hurdy-gurdy
“I am a disabled freelance musician, composer and inclusive music practitioner. My main professional focus is folk music. I am currently working on developing The Lost Stories a performance based on my family history and folk music. I want to add the hurdy to my professional repertoire and now require a better instrument to do that. Having played one for 4 months, I know how I can manage it in terms of my physical impairments. As a result, I can now specify one with adaptations to make it accessible to me. I would use the grant to help with the purchase of a Neil Brook hurdy-gurdy. Neil is a retired hurdy-gurdy maker and plays in my local folk club”.
Read more about Artist Development at the English Folk Dance and Song Society
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