Jim Causley
Jim Causley | |
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Causley at Sidmouth Folk Week in 2009 | |
Background information | |
Born | 2 November 1980 |
Origin | Devon, England |
Genres | Traditional folk music |
Years active | 1999 – present |
Labels | WildGoose Records, Navigator Records |
Jim Causley is an English folk singer, songwriter, and musician.
Biography
Jim Causley is a folk singer and musician from Devon who specializes in the traditional songs and music of the West Country. Hailing from the village of Whimple in East Devon, Causley was born in Exeter and is a relative of the Cornish poet Charles Causley.
Causley grew up surrounded by traditional music from his family, his village in the heart of Cider Country with its thriving wassailing tradition, its close proximity to Sidmouth and Dartmoor folk festivals and being a long-standing member of the Pennymoor Singaround. After studying Performing Arts and Jazz & Popular Music at Exeter College, Causley went on to study Folk and Traditional Music at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was during this time that he began gaining a reputation as talented singer on the wider UK folk scene.
Causley released his debut album, Fruits of the Earth, on WildGoose Records in 2005. Noted for his rich, fruity bass voice and cheeky stage presence, Causley guested with Martyn Wyndham-Read on his Song Links 2 (Fellside Records) album which linked English traditional songs with their American variants.
In 2006 Causley was nominated for a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award under the Horizon Award (best newcomer) category and in 2007 his vocal trio, The Devil's Interval, were nominated for the same award again.[1] With The Devil's Interval, Causley has toured with Waterson–Carthy as part of their annual Frost and Fire tour for six consecutive years and in 2006 collaborated with them on their album Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man (Topic Records). The Devil's Interval also released their debut album in that year, Blood & Honey (WildGoose Records), to good reviews and a cover article in fRoots magazine.
After graduating from university, Causley returned home to Devon where alongside performing across the UK he worked with the Wren Music, a community music organisation which was set up to encourage traditional arts and music in Devon and to reconnect people with their local heritage. Causley is the official leader of the singing and musicians in the annual Whimple Wassail ceremony. Recent projects include working with Scottish fiddle player John McCusker in his Under One Sky project uniting the English and Scottish traditions and also touring with Essex instrumental quartet, Mawkin as Mawkin:Causley.
His 2013 album Cyprus Well is based upon poetry by his distant relative Charles Causley, who died in 2003.
Discography
- Jim Causley – Fruits of the Earth (2005 WildGoose)
- The Devil's Interval – Blood & Honey (2006 WildGoose)
- Jim Causley – Lost Love Found (2007 WildGoose)
- Mawkin:Causley – Cold Ruin (2008 Navigator)
- Mawkin:Causley – The Awkward Recruit (2009 Navigator)
- Jim Causley – Dumnonia (2011 WildGoose)
- Jim Causley – Cyprus Well (2013 Folk Police Recordings)[2]
- Jim Causley - Forgotten Kingdom (2016 Hands On Music)
- Jim Causley & Luke Thompson - The Clay Hymnal: Poems of Jack Clemo (2016 WestWords Publishing)
- Jim Causley & Friends - Charles Causley's Poems for Children (2017 WildGoose)
Guest appearances
- Paul Cornwall – Fortune's Wheel (2005 Aragon Mill)
- Various – Song Links II (2005 Fellside)
- Waterson–Carthy – Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man (2006 Topic Records)
- Various Artists – The Mother of all Morris (2007 Talking Elephant)
- Jackie Oates – The Violet Hour (2008 Chudleigh Roots)
- Jim Moray – Low Culture (2008 NIAG)
- Bill Murray & Friends – Dow 'pon Ole Dartymoor (2008 Wren Music)
- Mick Groves – Still Spinning (2008 Exe Records)
- John McCusker – Under One Sky (2009 Navigator Records)
- Ella Edmondson – Hold Your Horses (2009 Monsoon Records)
- Show of Hands – Arrogance Ignorance and Greed (2009 Hands On Music)
- David Rotheray – The Life of Birds (2010 Proper)
- Phil Beer – Box Set One (2010 Chudleigh Roots)
- Michael Morpurgo – In Tune With the World: The Poetry of Seán Rafferty (2010 Brown Label)
- The Woodbine & Ivy Band (2011 Folk Police Recordings)
- Mawkin – Crow (2012 Good Form)
- The Imagined Village – Bending the Dark (2012 Real World)
- Kate Rusby – 20 (2012 Pure Records/Island Records)
- Richard Trethewey – Dig Where You Stand (2012 self release)
- Gavin Davenport – The Bone Orchard (2013 Haystack)
- Show of Hands – Centenary: Words & Music of the Great War (2014 U.M.T.V.)
- Maggie Duffy – Closer to Home (2015 PFRD Records)
- Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage - Before the Sun (2016 Sungrazing)
- Tony Dean - Last Orders (2016 Estate of Tony Dean)
- Geoff Lakeman - After All These Years - 2016
- Chris Foster (folk singer) - Hadelin - coming 2017
Compilations
- Various – 2006 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (2005 Proper)
- Various – 2007 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (2006 Proper)
- Various – Folk Rising (2007 Proper)
- Various – 2009 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (2008 Proper)
- Various – Folk Rising 2 (2008 Proper)
- Various – Beginners Guide to English Folk (2008 Nascente)
- Various – 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (2009 Proper)
Awards and nominations
- 2006 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards - Horizon Award (best newcomer)
- 2007 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards - Horizon Award - The Devil's Interval
- 2009 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards - Best Group - Mawkin:Causley
- 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards - Best Group - Mawkin:Causley
- 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards - Best Traditional Song - Mawkin:Causley
- 2013 The Telegraph Top Ten Folk Albums of the Year (Cyprus Well)
- 2014 Spiral Earth awards - Male Singer of the Year winner
References
- ↑ Irwin, Colin. "Biography: The Devil's Interval". Allmusic. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ↑ Jim Causley to release new album ‘Cyprus Well’ Folk Radio UK