Tunng : Twisted Folk !

While the rest of the world were going mad for the American nu-folk movement, featuring the likes of Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom. Britain's folk scene was bubbling away nicely, under the radar. The UK is always recognised as the home of psychedelic music and these influences have helped the folk scene blossom into something unique and wonderful.

Look no further than acts such as Adem, Gravenhurst and Songs of Green Pheasant to discover a world of English whimsy and Simon & Garfunkel melodies. Now London collective Tunng, are taking things a step further. This six-piece outfit combine Syd Barrett style psychedelic lyrics, with dusty electronic beats not unlike Four Tet or Boards of Canada, to provide a winning mix of genius.

A major part of the Twisted Folk movement, Tunng are not dissimilar to American duo The Books, in the way they use obscure samples from films and kids TV programs. Some of my favourite songs include :

"Stories", from their new album "Comments Of The Inner Chorus", which contains flamenco guitar, voice samples and tribal rhythm's, that makes this song 3 minutes of pure joy.

Another great song, especially If you like nice choruses is "Jenny Again", a story about a serial killer, apparently. This combines the Simon & Garfunkel melodies mentioned earlier with glitchy electronica beats and spoken word samples.

If you've ever read "The Magic Far Away Tree" by Enid Blyton, then you will find a lot to love about "Woodcat" which is about being turned into a hare!. This band could only come from one place, namely Britain.

Tunng are very unique, and will be touring the UK in the Autumn. However, a North American tour cannot be far away. I will sign off with my favorite song, from a previous album, "A Tale From Black". This is the definitive Tunng song. I hope you love them as much as I do!. There are a host of videos, live sets and other mp3's to be found on their site here.