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Penni McLaren Walker

My introduction to folk music was in 1991, I was invited to the Cambridge folk festival with my friend Lucy who thought it would be a great place to go with the children for the weekend. So off we went with Rhiannon who was then 2 Alice 1 and Jess 3 and a tent. I had never been to a folk club and hadn’t a clue what to expect on the music front at all. I did possess a Clannad album but didn’t know that there was so much more.

I clearly remember sitting in a marquee with a heap of enthusiastic relaxed people of all ages who seemed really exited about the act that was due on. The act duely arrived, two blokes, one who played the fiddle and one who played the guitar and sang. I was amazed to see the fiddle player who played live music like I had never heard before and had a roll up sticking out the corner of his mouth. The guitarist was playing this battered looking thing and singing in a style that had a sense of honesty. I had never heard any of the songs but the audience seemed to know every word and sang along. The songs were about real people, old stories in song and I was blown away.. I knew there and then that I had to be part of this. I later found out that the two blokes were Dave Swarbrick and Martin Carthy. I was very fortunate to support Dave Swarbrick a few months later.

This was my inspiration to write music in the folk idiom. Over the years I have sung and played as a solo performer, in duo's and in various bands with some fantastic musicians and engineers.

Recordings include:

'Out of Order' produced and engineered by Jon Adams (solo)

'The Skippers Daughter' produced and engineered by Mike Johnson 101 Records featuring Phil Hare, Joe Broughton, Alan Rhees Jones, Chris Lee and Mike Johnson

'Venture' produced and engineered by the late Russell Heffer Humblebum Records (duo with Bryan Causton) Sadly, Russell died suddenly before the project was completed.

"Fen Song" is a haunting sequence inspired by the East Anglian landscape and in the best tradition of the acoustic ballad. The result of a collaboration between poet Clare Crossman and singer songwriter Penni McLaren Walker it has been described as 'a meditation on the natural world' 'beautiful' and inspirational'

I have also been involved as a musician and writer on other artists albums including Sacred Mountains, and The Rodreguez Guest Project.

Photo: John Ramirez