Milkweed

Milkweed are an experimental folk duo. They use voice, guitar and banjo. They describe their sound as slacker-trad, which is both true and somehow insufficient. In 2022 they released Myths and Legends of Wales, which saw them hit on a formula that has served them well ever since: a short album inspired by the discovery, manipulation and interpretation of a specific folkloric text. In this case it was a 1984 title by Tony Roberts. The Mound People followed in 2023, this time inspired by a 1974 text on preserved bronze age human remains by Danish archaeologist Peter Glob. Most recently, Folklore 1979 (2024) takes the text of an academic journal published by the Folklore Society and turns it into a set of brief, beguiling songs.

On the face of it their musical concerns are transatlantic – they follow the rich creative line that runs between British traditional music and the songs and tunes of the eastern United States. In reality their scope is global, and rooted in deep time, with influences from prehistory bleeding into a troubled and troubling modern era. As a result their music doesn’t sit easily anywhere, but ricochets between bewitching folk music and disconcerting hauntological experimentation.

Instagram

Bandcamp