[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”24052″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space height=”42px”][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” css_animation=””][vc_column_inner][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]The Return of Imagined Village…..
Billy Bragg
Eliza Carthy
Martin Carthy
Simon Emmerson
Johnny Kalsi
Andy Gangadeen
Jackie Oates
Simon Richmond
Sheema Mukherjee
Julian Bardock
Ali Friend[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]The most ambitious folk fusion band of the 21st century, The Imagined Village set out to match English traditional songs against the sounds of contemporary multi-cultural England, with influences from Asia, the Caribbean and elsewhere. And they did so with an extraordinary line-up that included folk celebrities Eliza Carthy and Martin Carthy, Simon Emmerson (of Afro-Celt Sound System fame), sitar exponent Sheema Mujherjee, that rousing dhol and tabla percussionist Johnny Kalsi, and drummer Andy Gangadeen. They recorded three albums, played at major festivals from Glastonbury to Cambridge, headlined at concert halls and appeared on Later…With Jools Holland, performing a stomping, percussive re-working of Cold Haily Rainy Night (the song that won them Best Traditional Track at the 2008 BBC Folk Awards). Then, after recording Bending The Dark in 2012, they took an unexpectedly lengthy break, from which they have at last thankfully returned.
The Imagined Village will be playing at two major festivals this summer (FolkEast on Aug 19 and Beautiful Days on Aug 20), with members of the original line-up. So why has it taken them so long? They have all been busy with other projects, of course – though Simon says that Eliza has constantly been pestering him to organise a re-union. But the real catalyst came during the Covid lockdown, when the band recorded a glorious (and socially-distanced) new version of Sandy Denny’s setting for The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood, which can be heard on the 2021 compilation The Electric Muse Revisited. It reminded The Imagined Village that they are still a very special band. This promises to be the folk comeback of the year.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]
In 2012, The Imagined Village brought the first ever FolkEast Festival to a close.
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”24082″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=””][vc_column_text]
In 2022, they headline the Friday night to begin the 10 year celebrations.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/D8Yn5rFkaw4″][/vc_column][/vc_row]