About Me
Songs from the Floodplain is Jon’s 2nd solo album, the first being the well received, self-released ‘Painted Lady’ (2006).Jon Boden’s other albums include the highly acclaimed Burlesque 2006 and Matachin 2008 (Navigator) with dynamic, fast-rising big band, Bellowhead - and Vagabond (Navigator) with the equally feted traditional duo, Spiers & Boden 2008. He has also recorded and performed with Eliza Carthy on both of her Mercury Prize nominated albums.Jon has toured internationally with Bellowhead, performed on Later with Jools Holland (alongside Thom Yorke and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers) and also made two televised appearances at the BBC 2008 Proms. Bellowhead were recently appointed Band in Residence at London’s South Bank Centre, following in the footsteps of St Etienne.Additionally, Jon has appeared at countless prestigious festivals throughout the UK and has also composed several theatre scores, most recently for the RSC's Merchant of Venice, 2008Born in Chicago in 1977, he grew up in Winchester, graduated in Mediaeval Studies from Durham University and since becoming a father, has since settled in the South Yorkshire dales.Songs From The Floodplain follows in a long tradition of post-apocalyptic literature, from The Last Man by Mary Shelley (1826) through Ridley Walker by Russell Hoban (1980) to, more recently, The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006). This is probably the first time the subject has been seriously tackled in the form of an album, though, it has to be said that ‘Songs from the Floodplain’ is far less bleak then that of the many novels which examine the subject. You are left to wonder whether what has occurred is a literal flood or a devastating man-made disaster, but the basic fabric of community has obviously survived, despite the collapse of industry, technology.Although the album doesn't tell a complete story, there are strong thematic links between all the songs. The ambiguous character of 'The Preacher' looms large in the darker numbers (Penny For The Preacher, Dancing in the Factory) whilst the character of 'the gypsy's daughter' dominates the middle of the album as a mocking onlooker to an archaic folk custom in Beating the Bounds and then later, as an object of adoration in The Pilgrim's Way and April Queen. The notion of rain and of flood is never far away giving ‘Songs from the Floodplain’s vivid narrative, epic proportions. The final track of the album (Has-been Cavalry) brings all the themes together with a defiant hymn-like quality.
“A mover and shaker on the folk scene, both as half of Spiers & Boden and as founder of the big band Bellowhead, Jon Boden salutes his teenage rock roots … Mixing tenderness and anger in equal measure … Occasionally raw, but a refreshingly original creation’. (The Observer) “First he delighted the traditionalists with his fiddle playing in that much praised duo Spiers & Boden, then he helped to shake up the new folk scene as leader of the massed ranks of that rousing folk dance and brass big band, Bellowhead. Now, just to show what else he can do, Jon Boden has decided to release an album of his own songs…. It's a work of remarkable confidence and bravery and, for the most part, it actually works. He is a versatile singer, best heard on thoughtful, sad-edged songs... Boden is a man to watch†(The Guardian) !!! Start Code To Apply Top Banner !!!!
