Sing Yonder

Originally published in the December-January 2023-24 edition of Folk London Magazine

The cover of Sing Yonder, vol. 1

“There is one more step on the way from theory to practice and that’s accessibility,” said Karl Sinfield, quoted in a Folk London article from last year about his Sing Yonder project. “I think that when a beginner picks up a book of folk songs, the chances are that they are printed in notation and that this creates a barrier to entry.”

With Sing Yonder, Sinfield seeks to remove as many barriers as possible, making folk music accessible to future singers who may be intimidated by the seemingly bottomless well of material to be found under the umbrella of “English folk music.” His books are small and approachable; they beautifully illustrated, laid out cleanly, and are satisfying to hold; and they come with sample recordings for those who learn better by ear.

It is impossible to talk about this album without discussing the project that spawned it, of course, and I will sing the praises of the Sing Yonder project to anyone who will listen - what I would have given for such a thing when I was first discovering folk! - but it’s worth noting that even removed from its framework, this album is an excellent folk album.

Featuring the talents of artists like Bryony Griffith, Burd Ellen, and Jim Causley and with recordings done on everything from proper studio equipment to a smartphone after a gig, the album covers a lot of ground sonically speaking and yet it manages to work as a cohesive whole. It’s delightful to have George Sansome’s soaring vocals and gorgeous guitar playing on the same album as Angeline Morrison’s playful autoharp and lush double-tracked harmonies.

The original conception of this album was Sinfield’s hope that some of his favorite folk artists might be interested in contributing a track. To his delight (and mine!), they agreed, after which there remained one unclaimed song - The Unfortunate Lass. Sinfield decided to toss it out to the ether, opening up the floor to anyone who wished to submit a version for consideration. He ultimately chose the richly textured, psych-folk-esque version by Hevelwood for the final album (the digital copy of the album on Bandcamp includes the 12 additional submissions, which is a fantastic way to get a sense of the different flavors a folk song can take on).

Sing Yonder 1 is a wonderful album, and I hope volume 1 proves to be the first of many. You can find the album (as well as the Sing Yonder books) on Bandcamp: https://karlsinfield.bandcamp.com/album/sing-yonder-1