07 August, 2023
By combining minimalist musical forms with traditional-inspired material, Tarren produce music that draws the listener in.
Made up of Bristol-based artists Sid Goldsmith (Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith, Awake Arise), Alex Garden (The Drystones, Harriet Riley & Alex Garden) and Danny Pedler (Pedler // Russell), they combine cittern, concertina, fiddle, and accordion to create their beautiful music.
Ahead of their Campfire Club show with us on 11th August, we had six questions for them…
Your debut album, Revel, was released last August; what were your biggest influences when creating the album?
We’re really proud of Revel and we feel it inhabits a unique space on the UK folk scene twinning traditional English music with modern themes, new musical ideas and intricate rhythms and textures. We are definitely influenced by the English Acoustic Collective, the Danish string quartet, Leveret, Spiro, Dreamers Circus, Lau and the like. We love what all these people have been doing within the tradition but then we wanted remain open to bringing in other music that we enjoy. Four chord pop songs, minimalist motifs, four to the floor dance music, anything and everything if it serves the music.
We were very happy when someone likened Revel to Lau’s incredible first album Lightweights and Gentlemen!
You’ve been described as a ‘mini folk supergroup’ – if you could play with any supergroup, which one would it be and why?
Ha! We’ll take it thanks. Leveret, the Olllam and Bellowhead spring to mind but we’re going with the Travelling Wilburys as we love them all and it would have been a really exciting time to be pushing music forwards.
This year you’ve been touring Revel around the UK, what have been a few highlights?
We loved the whole tour and we had our own special ones in a venue near to where we came from: Sid – Norwich – Norfolk, Danny – Colchester – Essex, Alex – Shepton Mallet – Somerset. Then we had a massive turnout for our final show in Bristol where we all live now.
Our favourite was probably Pontypridd. The gig was put on by the promoters of ‘Between the Trees’ festival which we will be at soon and it was one of those nights that felt like the whole community was in and loving it. We’ve also loved the festivals where lots of people are hearing us for the first time.
As Bristol based musicians, what are your top three music venues?
There’s some great venues in Bristol that we’ve had the pleasure of playing. The Wardrobe theatre, St Werburghs amphitheater, the Orchard coffeehouse to name a few. Primarily a sense of joy and connection, we hope to take people on a bit of a ride through empathy, dance, solace and celebration.
What would you hope The Nest Collective community takes away from your music in your upcoming performance?
This show is a unique opportunity to see us in an intimate setting without the usual gubbins like staging and lighting that gets in the way of us and the audience. We hope that people will enjoy this show as much as we’ll enjoy playing it and have a great night to some new folk music around the campfire. What’s not to like?
Lastly, what’s coming up next for Tarren?
A new album forging ahead at speed but before then…. more festival shows, a residency at C#house exploring gender in folk songs and a big tour around the country in April 2023.
