Folkal Point facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Folkal Point
|
|
|---|---|
Folkal Point during the 1970s
|
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Bristol, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres |
|
| Years active | 1970s 2019 (reunion) |
| Labels | Midas Recordings (initially) Hoxa Recordings (subsequently) |
| Past members | Cherie Musialik (lead vocals) Stuart Amesbury (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) Mark Steed (lead guitar) Paul Cook (lead guitar, rhythm guitar) Brian Murray (bass, backing vocals) |
Folkal Point were a folk and folk rock band from Bristol, England, United Kingdom which was active throughout the early 1970s. The band was formed in 1971 and released its eponymous debut studio album one year later in 1972 through the now defunct British label Midas Recordings (named after the ancient Greek King Midas of Phrygia).
The band's name is a play on words between the term folk and a reference to the concept of focal point in physics, more specifically in optics. The actual focal point of the band was the lead singer, namely Cherie Musialik, according to an interview by her and fellow band member Stuart Amesbury on YouTube dating to early 2022. In addition, co-frontman Stuart Amesbury describes the sound of the band as 'psych-folk' on the band's official website. The band's overall sound also exhibits influences of folk baroque.
Biography
1970s
The band was formed in 1971 in Bristol area and was active throughout the early 1970s, being rooted in the genres of folk and folk rock, with a particular focus on English folk music. The band was a quartet composed of the following members (all teenagers at the time): Cherie Musialik (lead vocals), Stuart Amesbury (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), Mark Steed (lead guitar), and Paul Cook (lead and rhythm guitar).
The eponymous debut studio album of the band was released in 1972 through Midas Recordings and included covers after Bob Dylan, Joan Baez (i.e. Sweet Sir Galahad), Joni Mitchell, and Tom Paxton, being a stylistic mixture between traditional English folk music and contemporary American and Canadian folk music. While their namesake studio album was not a commercial success, having sold only 500 copies (of which half were reportedly lost in a flood), the record is a notable example of contemporary English folk music and has survived to this day. The sound engineer overseeing the recording sessions for the band's debut studio album was Alan Green. Despite the relatively small number of units/copies of the album which were pressed for its initial release in 1972, in the passage of time, namely after four decades, the debut studio album of the band became one of the most sought after British folk albums of all times. Throughout the early 1970s, the band performed regularly for BBC Radio Bristol.
One of the traditional English folk songs which the band covered on their debut LP was the ballad Lovely Joan. Another traditional English folk song was the ballad Scarborough Fair. In 2015, the band's debut studio album was remastered and can be listened to on Spotify.
2000s
Band members of Folkal Point worked with renowned British folk guitarist Bert Jansch (formerly of Pentangle) and John Renbourn during the early 2000s, in the context of acoustic music promotions at the Alma Tavern Theatre in Clifton, Bristol.
2010s
The band reunited in June 2019 for the Clifton International Festival of Music which was held in the namesake small suburb of Bristol.
Trivia
Band members of Folkal Point also collaborated in the past with ex-Led Zeppelin member and multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones in a series of concerts in Bristol. In addition, lead guitarist Mark Steed was the manager of a music shop in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, south-western England, as of 1998, according to a BBC Radio Bristol interview from that year.
The band's music can be listened to or purchased on such digital platforms as Bandcamp, Apple Music, SoundCloud, and others, mainly revolving around their self-titled debut studio album released in 1972 and remastered or reissued in various years afterwards.
Discography
- Folkal Point (1972), the band's debut and only studio album released through Midas Recordings (remastered in 2015 through Hoxa Recordings and re-issued in 2019 with bonus tracks through the same label)
- Circle Games (2019), live album
- Inner Circle (2020), live album
See also
- Swordedge
- Pentangle
- Jacqui McShee
- John Renbourn
- Bert Jansch
