Jim Ghedi (UK) at Folken

Grottene

Doors 19:30
Concert starts 20:00
Age limit 18 or with guardian
Event on Facebook

The acclaimed and critically praised British folk musician Jim Ghedi brings a full band to Grottene!

"Tim-Buckley-meets-Richard-Thompson-at-the-end-of-the-universe vibe. Colossal." – MOJO

"Ghedi's combination of intensity and sublimity recalls Lankum to some extent, yet where that band's doom descends like a thick black cloud, there is something more earthy in Ghedi's work – the horrific, terrifying beauty of a collapsing planet, turned into sound." – The Quietus

"Yorkshire folksmith's ruminative, storm-tossed masterwork." – 9/10 Uncut

Jim Ghedi hails from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and although he clearly knows folk music history well, he stands out as a potential torchbearer for a new generation of performers who both respect tradition and dare to experiment. His album Wasteland, released in March 2025, received widespread acclaim and was described as a bold statement, among the most complete, far-reaching, and ambitious works in the folk genre, challenging the boundaries of what folk music can be.

A highlight in Jim's band is Owen Spafford, a highly respected fiddle player and composer from Yorkshire, emphasising their progressive approach to pushing boundaries and creating cross-genre expressions.

On his latest album, Jim Ghedi has created something grand: intense, meditative, bold, at times apocalyptic, and remarkably expansive. Wasteland is an album unafraid to explore the darkness of the modern world, embracing its strange, sharp, and unsettling moments. It captures the grandeur of life from the micro to the macro, moving closely through the personal while reflecting broader social issues.

"Wasteland is about the idea of a place once familiar, now decayed and unrecognisable," says Ghedi. "It explores the process of watching someone’s environment collapse." Within this, much occurs: "It also deals with death, personal loss, grief, mental health, and how nature offers comfort and meaning in the face of loss, with these worlds interweaving."

Yet the album is not solely about decay. It is also a bold statement, some of Ghedi’s richest and most ambitious work to date. The opening track Old Stones sets the tone, unfolding with finely tuned instrumentation and Ghedi's gentle vocals, before exploding as his voice cries out amid a swirling storm like a man lost at sea. It perfectly encapsulates an album that, however dark and dramatic, is also imbued with beauty, tenderness, and strong emotional power. "The record is raw and vulnerable, with a lot of emotion," says Ghedi.

Ghedi has always been an artist encompassing folk in its purest form, yet he often pushes the genre’s boundaries, never more clearly than here. As in his previous albums – A Hymn for Ancient Land (2018) and In the Furrows of Common Place (2021) – Ghedi uses traditional folk songs as a foundation to explore contemporary themes through modern, experimental music.

The melancholic What Will Become of England draws on a recording of English singer Harry Cox found in the Alan Lomax archive; Newtondale and Blue John are hornpipe melodies written by Sheffield fiddler Dave Shepherd from the LP English Fiddle Players; elsewhere are versions of songs from Hull and Liverpool, while Trafford Road Ballad is by Ewan MacColl, about a worker from Salford refusing to go to war.

"With the traditional material on this album, I sought songs with content that resonated with me," says Ghedi. "But also rooted in Northern England." This is a central theme: feelings of loss, decay, and decline are often most visible in working-class communities, which he wanted to incorporate. "There’s a strong working-class narrative and representation in both the traditional and original songs," he explains.

Some of the most striking pieces are Ghedi’s own compositions. Wasteland is magnificent: rooted in a crumbling environment – "there’s violence on these hills," he sings mournfully – yet also beautiful and soaring, with strings weaving through his resonant electric guitar. His choice of fuller soundscapes, like electric guitar and big drums, marks a clear shift. "The lyrics needed a more band-driven, loud delivery," he explains. "Using electric guitar opened the soundscape and pushed me vocally, forcing greater use of falsetto and allowing larger arrangements."

The album was recorded over two years at Tesla Studios in Sheffield, with David Glover as engineer and producer, and a wide range of contributing musicians: David Grubb (fiddle), Daniel Bridgwood-Hill (fiddle), Neal Heppleston (bass), Joe Danks (drums), Dean Honer from I Monster (synth), Cormac MacDiarmada from Lankum (vocals), Ruth Clinton from Landless (vocals), and Amelia Baker from Cinder Well (vocals). "Everyone involved shaped the album into what it is," says Ghedi.

What Ghedi has created is a remarkable space where deeply personal emotions coexist with reflections on environment, place, and society, while historical lines are traced through traditional material. Wasteland is as much a world to enter as it is an album, with Ghedi carving out a distinct musical language to explore this landscape.

When he began working on the album, Ghedi felt somewhat lost, detached, and unsettled. "I was very frustrated with England after moving back to Sheffield from Ireland," he says. Yet despite stemming from a difficult period, the album contains glimpses of hope and beauty amid decay. "It was a dark period while writing, but also joyful and uplifting," he reflects. "There was positive energy, and it felt cleansing, with much enthusiasm put into the work. I believe this album comes closest to the sound I’ve long aimed for, and represents me fully." Amid the turbulence, Ghedi has found a musical place he can now call home.

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