PBS6 – PBS6 (PBS6)
Review by Ruth Rosselson
Crap name, great CD! Watch out Imagined Village, there are some new kids on the block hoping to drag folk music into the 21st Century.
There are many people who think that folk be preserved and stay static, but I’m not one of them. As Chumbawamba say on their new album, “that’s not music, that’s a pickle”. PBS6 is a collaboration between former All-Britain Bodhran champion Will Lang, rapper Crystalize, vocalists Tessa Smith and Katie Wighton, Shona Kipling on accordion, Jason Singh doing beatbox, beats and tabla and Tom Wright on guitars, bass and programming. That line up in itself is probably enough to give you a flavour of the type of music that they produce.
Their approach is, if not exactly new, entertaining to listen to and most of all catchy and danceable. It’s difficult to listen to without wanting to dance round the living room. As well as some traditional songs updated, there are some original tracks too, both songs and tunes. There are hints of Adrian Sherwood’s On U Sound on my favourite track, the fabulous Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger’s Moving On song complete with a choir from Verne prison and shades of Nitin Sawney on other tracks. But they’ve taken these influences, mashed them up with the folk tradition and created something fresh and interesting. There are a couple of duff tracks, but on the whole, this is a great first album. They’ve only just started, but they could go far. Definitely not one for the traditionalists. File under folky hip hop. Or hippy hop folk.
Ruth Rosselson
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