Folk Roots Radio Episode 503: feat. Plumhall In Conversation – The Ghost Of Noise

Apr 08 2020

Michelle Plum and Nick Hall are from Bradford in England and make music together as Plumhall. They join us on Episode 503 of Folk Roots Radio for an in-depth conversation about their second album, “The Ghost Of Noise”, a wonderful Americana / Folk recording that also includes a little electronica and some found sounds. It’s a great album, and the follow up to the very well received “Thundercloud” from 2014 – one of our favourite albums of that year. Michelle and Nick are always a great interview, so kick back and enjoy Plumhall in conversation on Folk Roots Radio. Check out the full playlist below.

Interview

Michelle Plum (Chumbawamba / Chris Norman Band) and Nick Hall (Magna Carta / The Hall Brothers) worked with producer and multi-instrumentalist David Crickmore (who also produced Thundercloud) and drummer Andy Peacock on the new recording.

The new album has a bit of a different feel from their debut, which was more of a straight up Americana / Folk album. This time around, they’ve included some synths and found sounds to give the tracks more of an atmospheric and otherworldly feel. That’s partly due to the influence of David Crickmore, who was part of 80s synth-pop pioneers Fiat Lux, who have recently reformed.

The songs on the record move between the personal and global, tied together by the themes of conflict and communication, and reflected by the Napoleonic watch tower and ruined Marconi signal station on an Irish headland included on the cover, and the Morse code woven into the title track.

The final track, “Closing Down”, deserves special mention, as it was commissioned for the recent British family adventure film, The Runaways. Plumhall not only wrote the song (with director Richard Heap), but they also curated the live traditional folk tunes used in the film and provided some vocal coaching for the young actors. They also perform a live version of Closing Down with BAFTA award-winning actor, Molly Windsor in the movie.

For more information about the music of Plumhall, visit plumhall.co.uk.

Photo credit: Viceversarobbi Fotografia.

Listen

You can listen to this episode again on Soundcloud by following the link below. You can also listen to episodes of Folk Roots Radio, on demand, via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Tune-in Radio. (Click on the highlighted link to reach your chosen platform.)