Folk sensation Jon Boden is the definition of cool as I approach the green room of London’s The Luminaire on a cold Wednesday evening. As he finishes a discussion with a member of the crew about where he should go for dinner (an Italian round the corner, if you wondered), he flashes my partner and me a down-to-earth and believably genuine smile. The most striking thing to first notice about Jon are his charming good looks, and he starts talking, it becomes clear that everything about him oozes effortless charisma, modest confidence and an ease that only comes from a few years of experience in the industry.
Having recently played the grand Shepherd’s Bush Empire with his band Bellowhead, The Luminaire is notably a low-key venue for Jon, but it’s clear that this makes the show no less important to him. “Bigger isn’t always better,” he explains, “Bellowhead works best when there are about 500 people in the audience; it’s just the scale of the thing – and the kind of show it is.” Jon didn’t embark on a tour to promote the release of his solo debut ‘The Painted Lady’ back in 2006, though he has an impressive catalogue of previous performances under his belt with Bellowhead and Spiers & Boden. “Shepherd’s Bush Empire was great with Bellowhead, but I like the variety to be honest. I like playing the little arts centres and folk clubs; it’s interesting.”
Venue size isn’t the only difference between Jon’s solo career and his other projects. Both Bellowhead and Spiers & Boden are ventures which consist of modern arrangements and interpretations of traditional folk songs, whereas both of Jon’s solo releases have been almost entirely self-penned. “It’s a very different process writing a song from scratch. ‘The Painted Lady’ was ten years of songwriting, but ‘Songs From The Floodplain’ was very much as and when a song popped out of me – whether it was a phrase or idea or emotional event or whatever.” Jon’s latest solo offering follows the interesting story of three major characters in a post-apocalyptic rural world, where environmental problems have successfully gotten the better of the human race. “Last summer, I sat down for two weeks, and just sort of got it all written. I came up with the concept for the album about two years ago, but I spent a long time mulling over the possibilities.”
Despite the realist theme that ‘Songs From The Floodplain presents, Jon doesn’t classify himself as a particularly dark person: “I think maybe if you’re someone of a dark disposition you want to write happy songs, and if you’re of a cheerful disposition you want to write dark songs.” Jon’s unpretentious and friendly persona come across fluently, showing very clearly that he is of the jovial temperament he talks about. So where does Jon find the inspiration for his songs? The idea of setting ‘Songs From The Floodplain’ in a rural location was something drawn from his personal experience of living life in the Yorkshire Dales. “It’s very nice to be able to go for a walk and feel that you’re working,” Jon grins. “Writing the album was a lovely process. Things just seemed to feed into it.”
When Bellowhead started out in 2004, the British folk scene was something quite different to today’s revival of so-called ‘anti-folksters’, a movement that appears to be reinvigorating the world of folk within the popular music scene. In ‘Songs From The Floodplain’, Jon explores the possible future of folk. “Folk customs today are generally appreciated mostly by middle class folkies like myself. We’re very jolly about it. I think as they start to mean something again [in the world of ‘Songs From The Floodplain’], they could easily become a lot darker. Not all folk customs are good; in the past they’ve been about shutting people out. I could see that happening again in the future.”
Educated at Durham University, Jon is quite the picture of middle-classism himself; and his degree in Medieval Studies has clearly influenced his interest in the folk tradition. He places huge emphasis on its importance: “If everyone learned five traditional songs at school, in the way that they learn five poems, the songs would just be there forever, and I think that would enrich people’s lives.” It isn’t only traditional songs that Jon believes can enrich people’s lives – he also suggests the more modern and extremely controversial area of free music downloads, viewed by many musicians and industry reps very negatively, to be relatively beneficial, too. “I personally am very happy for people to download my music, and I don’t especially mind if they pay for it or not. Music for me is about standing on stage and performing,” he clarifies. “We’re aware that particularly nowadays you don’t need to buy that physical product , which is why we try to make the product, the CD or vinyl, as nice an object as possible.”
With Bellowhead, collaborations with John Spiers, and a solo career all in motion, what could possibly be next for Jon Boden? “I’m making an album with my partner, Fay Hield. It’s her solo album but I’m playing on it,” he tells us with a sparkle in his eyes. “And Bellowhead has got to do a new album soon – I suppose that’s the next thing. We’ve got quite a lot of new material already on the go.” I personally can’t wait, but until then Jon Boden’s second solo release, ‘Songs From The Floodplain’, is available now on Navigator Records.
Want to find out if Jon Boden, Bellowhead or Spiers & Boden are playing near you? Check out Gig Junkie.