Guitarist Kit Hawes and fiddler Aaron Catlow are well known for their work together as members of the Balkan-influenced folk band Sheelanagig. In addition, in demand as musicians, writers and arrangers to date they have worked with a wide array of artists included Yola, Seth Lakeman, Afro Celt Sound System, and Roni Size. Their new record ‘Pill Pilots’ finds the duo back on home ground exploring the myths and rich history of England’s Bristol Channel and the surrounding areas.
The duo has researched the material well for this record. Classic folk tales, ‘The Sheepfold’ and ‘Flame of Fire’ deal with lust, class, misogyny, and vengeful ghosts. ‘I Know My Love’ finds the duo giving an anglicised, take on an Irish folk classic.
Original instrumentals ‘Kellaways’ and ‘The Warreners’ showcase the dynamic range of the skills the musicians pose. Beautifully produced, Hawes’s guitar parts sound warm, crisp and intimate as Catlow’s fiddle weaves in and out of the complex chord structures, often playing and singing together in harmony demonstrating a unique empathy between the musicians.
Title track ‘Pill Pilots’ is another original composition inspired by the political struggle of the skilled Pill Pilots who worked the Bristol Channel guiding ships in and out of the treacherous waters. Fearing for their very livelihoods, the song details the violent struggle of the workers against mechanisation in the form of the steamboat ‘Fury’. In keeping with the theme of enforced change, ‘Hard Times of Old England’, an 18th-century ballad from the time of the Napoleonic wars proves to be an inspired choice for the record as it could easily be describing a divided post-Brexit Britain.
‘Pill Pilots’ is a beautiful record that weaves together a rich tapestry of stories and vibrant timeless melodies that explores the nautical, mythical and political heritage of the British Isles in a way that fires the imagination of the listener.
More information on the fascinating history of the Pill Pilots can be found online at the Bristol Radical History Group.