katecorwen

Kate Fletcher and Corwen Broch are two multi-instrumentalists who perform English folk and historical music. We are particularly fascinated by the ballad tradition. We run workshops for children & adults, make musical instruments & other crafts. Kate is from a family of musicians and grew up singing folk songs from the New Community Songbook in the back of a Morris Minor on the way to hunt for rare species of moss with her Mum and Dad (a bryophyte fiend). She has lived on a narrowboat for many years, worked as a music teacher, run choirs and taught drama. She can play Dancing Queen on the Ukulele, and sing 70 verse ballads from memory, though not usually at the same gig... Corwen grew up in Dorset with his grandparents who were The Last Of The Victorians. Thus instilled with a love of spartan living, chipping ice from the inside of the bedroom windows, open fires and outside toilets, he ran away with the Travellers and spent many years in festival cafes, down protest site tunnels, busking or sleeping in the back of vans. New Traveller culture being what it is he quickly learnt to play lots of instruments. He is older now and his knees make bad noises when he sits on the pavement so these days he gigs and makes ancient musical instruments like lyres and bone flutes for a living. He will talk about them to anyone who will listen. He is a Druid and has a robe to prove it. Kate & Corwen met in the 10th century playing at a medieval banquet. Their compatible collection of ancient reed instruments inspired love at first parp.The fact that they also had similar collections of Finnish pop cemented the relationship. Since meeting they have walked pilgrimages to Spain, across Norway, rebuilt Kate's narrowboat and played lots of music. Their interests include Druidry, strange and archaic instruments, ancient ballads, bagpipes, horsehair strings, dressing up, pilgrimage, low impact lifestyles, harmoniums, Finno-Ugrian folk poetry.