Embedded Files
Let Blanche and Mike introduce themselves with this song, recorded at AnderidaFest in Sussex. Autobiographical? You decide!
Mike Gulston
Mike Gulston
Mike's background is in the traditional songs of England, accompanied by his distinctively sensitive arrangements on guitar, octave mandola and laùd.
His specialities are hefty great traditional ballads, tender lovesongs, and the unexpected - check out his version of Ghost Chickens In The Sky on his solo album.
He is the driving rhythm section of balfolk duo Deux Sans Frontieres, with Mark Prescott, and also plays with Metheglin and was part of the late lamented folk-rock extravaganza Brocc.
Blanche Rowen
Blanche Rowen
Blanche's musical tastes are eclectic, and she became a folk singer because (unlike cheesy jazz standards, which she loves) you don't need an accompanist. Then she found one, but kept singing folk anyway.
She draws on a store of old folk songs from Wales, and loves singing in different languages. She's harmonised all her life (having too low a voice to ever sing the tune!) so she devises the harmonies and counter-melodies.
She also sings and plays darabuka and recorders with Metheglin, and was formerly part of acapella quartet A Fanfare of Strumpets, as well as Brocc.
Their debut album, Sorta Kinda, was an eclectic mix of songs for listening and songs for dancing. Their shared love of the natural world, medieval music, and folk customs can be heard in their second album, The Dance Goes On. The songs of the French bal and Breton fest-noz are very much part of their repertoire too, and they're as happy to sing for a dance as a concert.
With such a wide range of material on which to draw, Blanche and Mike's concerts can be a mix of traditional and contemporary material; accompanied and acapella; English, Welsh and French; up-tempo, poignant or downright silly.
Past appearances include festivals such as Festiv'Allier and Gennetines in France, Gower Folk Festival, Cwlwm Celtaidd and Pentreffest in the UK; concerts at the Wales Millenium Centre and Kinnersley Castle; BBC radio, folk clubs, house-concerts, storytelling nights and dance events.
For more details on the range of concerts and songs-and-stories evenings, see the Shows page.
". . . Your voices are so good together, and Mike's accompaniment so subtle.
Your performance transcends folk music, and would be appreciated in all sorts of venues and events."
Tom Cunliffe, South Coast Sounds
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse