London in a very busy place and when it comes to bands and music we’re often really spoilt for choice. Some might say that emerging talent struggles in the city because it is so saturated but every now and then something claws its way up to the surface to surprise us all. So, here comes Straylings, a gothic, country duo with a haunting, earthy new record about to be released, Americana-UK caught up with Oliver Drake for a Dirty Dozen

There are probably a lot of you out there who attend your regular, local Americana/alt. country nights and this is a name that is becoming a common site on the bill. Richard Warren keeps himself to himself but seems to be everywhere, a gothic country blues, one man band who is cropping up at all kinds of venues from The Barbican to the seaside village pub. We tracked Warren down and threw him a ‘Dirty Dozen’.

Fresh from his triumphant appearance on the Jools Holland Hootenanny show Pokey LaFarge took some time out to answer our Dirty Dozen questions. He then produced what is certainly the longest list of musical influences to feature so far. But then he is very much true to his roots to the extent that his next release may well be a 78 rpm record. Pokey and the band return to the UK in March.

Tell us about yourselves and what you do?
Well for starters let’s get out of the way that I’m from Texas, based out of Dallas and I write and sing songs that come out in the form of some hybrid of folk and country and americana. Oh, what the hell – It’s alt-country, no reason to shy away from it.

Some might find it unusual for a girl born and bred in Seattle to end making country music but this is exactly the case with Zoe Muth and her Lost High Rollers. Recently out this year was ‘Starlight Hotel’ and not only a massive hit with A-UK’s very own Lynne Pettinger but also Bob Harris. Zoe and co. are now fully prepared to hit the UK hard in January with a tour top to bottom and Ireland so we thought we’d track her down for a ‘Dirty Dozen’.

Most A-UK regulars will be familiar with the wonderful Rebecca Pronsky. Since bringing us her sound she has been talked about quite a lot around our site not to mention critics all over the globe. Pronsky’s new record ‘Viewfinder’ is out and shaking it all about, what a superb record it is too. It was our absolute pleasure to catch up with her albeit very briefly to answer a ‘Dirty Dozen’.

This is exactly what the ‘Dirty Dozen’ is for, bringing you bands and artists like Skylark Song. A fantastic folky, rootsy duo from the northeast that are clearly making a name for themselves, no doubt we’ll be hearing a lot more about this band in the near future and seeing them all over the country.

Alive Records is a fantastic niche label from the other side of the pond, probably made more famous from signing bands like Two Gallants and The Black Keys in the past not to mention a string of smoking hot alt. blues bands. It is certainly a rarity for Alive to snap something up from outside of the U.S but they have with the pair of Welsh brothers that are Henry’s Funeral Shoe.
The hard rockin’ garage blues duo have already seen great success with their first record ‘Everything’s For Sale’ which has taken them extensively around Europe earning them a fierce-some reputation for their explosive performances. Thankfully, the boys were in town recently and I managed to catch up with Aled to answer an A-UK ‘Dirty Dozen’.

These four fellas from Chicago have been making records for sometime now and it would seem their reputation is building steadily too. Already they have graced our shores for a string of dates not to mention their constant touring of the States. Impressively they have been saddled next to some of America’s biggest hitters in the past few years so we thought a A-UK ‘Dirty Dozen’ would help learn a little more about these young rockers

A random residency in Nashville and discovered on the streets of London, those are the background stories of what bands are made of. No different for ahab (I don’t know about the lower case ‘a’ but it seems to be the way they like it) who are storming their way up the ranks of Americana heavy-weights. You will find them currently on tour with Bellowhead but here is what ahab’s Callum had to say when he answered our Dirty Dozen.

Born the only son to Jeremiah, a Baptist Preacher, and Susannah, a keen painter, young Jim was often the centre of attention within the family – inheriting his parents’ passion for expression via art and discussion. After buying a guitar and notebook, Jim started to write down whatever popped into his head. He worked in a local book store to pay the bills, and he performed his songs and told tall tales in local taverns for beer and peanuts. Jim took his guitar and songs on the road and by the end of the following year he declared that he planned to sit down and work on new material. We caught up with Jim and for a ‘Dirty Dozen’.

Tell us about yourselves and what you do?
“I guess you could safely say, that we are more of an event than a band! . . . A bunch of 'Americanists' who get together once or thrice a year . . . at tree felling events. . . A collective of wild, restless troubadours who delve deep in the woods, chopping down trees and courting the song fairy . . . Made up from a raggle taggle collective of folk from various bands . . . Expect banjos, chainsaws, lumberjacks, washboards, drinking and musical mayhem with lots of fun!”

Ben Folke Thomas has played pretty much every pub and club in London over the last couple of years. If you’ve been around in town then it is very likely you have come across the young Swede. His traditional finger picking guitar style and heart breaking vocals create a majestic ‘old time’ sound which has now seen him signed to the wonderful niche label Bucketfull of Brains. Surely Ben has plenty of plans for the next twelve months so we handed him the ‘Dirty Dozen’.

Banjo led Americana, what more could you possibly want? The Edinburgh band is fronted by a female duo which collide two different banjo styles and sets it aside with their tender harmonies. There is a very intense tour schedule ahead for them but we managed to catch them before it kicks off for a quick ‘Dirty Dozen’ with Debs and Clare.

Billy Barratt and David Vincent front this London based, Americana hybrid of a Rock ‘n’ Roll heart and an Americana foundation. It seems we’re seeing this more often with the younger generation of bands, especially UK acts where they are combining genres and mixing it up, throwing some ideas out there and being creative. Is this because they’re more open to suggestion and influence? Is it because they’re all looking to be different? Or, is this just simply how music progresses? None of this really seems to matter to Billy Vincent, the band are clearly doing what they love. Having been the talk of London’s Borderline this year and now with a release imminent we thought it would be a great time for a ‘Dirty Dozen’.

This is exactly one of the reasons why we decided to start ‘The Dirty Dozen’, to highlight bands like Three Blind Wolves. The sort of band that is sneaking through the ranks and undoubtedly be very much talked about in the near future. Obviously we’ll be expecting to take some kind of credit for this services we provide, something along the lines of…‘I first read about that band/artist on Americana-UK ages ago’.

I must admit that I take personal responsibility for this ‘Dirty Dozen’. I first saw Three Blind Wolves at The Dublin Castle in Camden about a year ago, absolutely superb. This is a heavy Americana band with a rockin’ country vibe but with all the roots of good old fashioned British folk. ‘Sound of The Storm’ is a tough little number to find but well worth it when you do, this will appear on a certain writers top 10 this year for definite.

London based four piece Scoundrels have just begun the early stages of their career, new album and plenty of excitement after returning from a trip to Louisiana. Was a trip to determine self discovery and influence? Not sure. But judging by their recent video there certainly seemed like a lot of sitting on verandas and drinking on the Mississippi had been done. We tried our ‘Dirty Dozen’ on Ned.

Wes is a Warwickshire based guitar player, singer and songwriter. Often playing with the revolving and evolving collective The Dirty Band, you may have seen Wes at various music venues, pubs and restaurant venues throughout the Midlands. He and the band have played at various rock and folk festivals, including Ireby Festival in Cumbria, Coventry’s Godiva Festival and Leicester’s Big Session and have shared the stage with many fellow indie, folk and americana acts.