The Imagined Village

The Imagined Village is a folk music project founded by Simon Emmerson of Afro Celt Sound System. A reflection of modern United Kingdom multiculturalism, the music collective syncretizes diverse musical traditions while featuring musicians from several cultural backgrounds. The name of the project comes from the 1993 book, The Imagined Village, by Georgina Boyes.^[1]

The Imagined Village
The Imagined Village playing in 2010
Background information
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Contemporary folk Worldbeat Folktronica Dub Poetry World Fusion Bhangra
Years active	2004 (2004)–present
Labels	ECC
Website	theimaginedvillage.com

The project started in 2004, and led to the release of an eponymous album in 2007 by a collective of artists on Real World Records.^[2] Some of the tracks on it are modern re-interpretations of traditional folk songs. Benjamin Zephaniah was awarded Best Original Song in the Hancocks 2008, Talkawhile Awards for Folk Music (as voted by members of Talkawhile.co.uk^[3]) for "Tam Lyn Retold". He collected the award at The Cambridge Folk Festival on 2 August 2008.^[4]

The Imagined Village E.P. was released earlier in 2007, and is a remix of the album tracks. The 2008 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards voted "Cold, Hailey, Rainy Night" as best traditional track.^[5]

In 2009, the project moved to a new record label, ECC Records, and a second album, Empire & Love was released in January 2010,^[6] followed by Bending the Dark in May 2012.^[7]

Discography

The Imagined Village

The Imagined Village
Studio album by Various Artists
Released	2007
Recorded	2007
Genre	Folk, dub poetry, world fusion
Label	Real World Records
Producer	Virgin Records

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link

No.	Title	Main Artists	Length
1.	"'Ouses 'Ouses 'Ouses"	John Copper and Sheila Chandra	6:20
2.	"John Barleycorn"	Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy and Paul Weller	5:42
3.	"Tam Lyn Retold"	Benjamin Zephaniah and Eliza Carthy	9:22
4.	"Death and the Maiden Retold"	Tunng	3:48
5.	"Cold, Hailey, Rainy Night"	Eliza Carthy, Chris Wood, Transglobal Underground and The Young Copper Family	6:10
6.	"Welcome Sailor"	Sheila Chandra and Chris Wood	5:44
7.	"Acres of Ground"	Eliza Carthy	4:47
8.	"Pilsdon Pen"	The Village Band	5:17
9.	"Hard Times of Old England Retold"	Billy Bragg, Simon Emmerson, The Young Copper Family and Eliza Carthy	5:38
10.	"Kit Whites 1 & 2"	The Gloworms	4:44
11.	"Sloe on the Uptake"	Tiger Moth	3:33

The Imagined Village E.P.

The Imagined Village E.P.
Studio album by Various Artists
Released	2007
Recorded	2007
Genre	Folk, dub poetry, world fusion
Label	Real World Records

No.	Title	Main Artists	Length
1.	"England Half English meets John Barleycorn"	Billy Bragg, Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy
2.	"Acres of Ground (beats mix)"	Eliza Carthy
3.	"Welcome Sailor"	Sheila Chandra, Chris Wood
4.	"Cold Hailey, Rainy Night (It's Turned Out Nice mix)"	Transglobal Underground

Empire & Love

Empire & Love
Studio album by The Imagined Village
Released	2010
Genre	Folk, world fusion
Label	Proper

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link
The Guardian	link

No.	Title	Length
1.	"My Son John"	6:09
2.	"Sweet Jane"	7:47
3.	"Space Girl"	3:55
4.	"Byker Hill"	6:02
5.	"Scarborough Fair"	6:50
6.	"Mermaid"	6:05
7.	"The Handweaver and the Factory Maid"	5:08
8.	"Lark in the Morning"	4:09
9.	"Rosebuds in June" / "Mrs Preston's Hornpipe"	6:45
10.	"Cum on Feel the Noize"	4:12
11.	"Scarborough Fair (string reprise)"	6:50

Bending the Dark

Bending the Dark
Studio album by The Imagined Village
Released	2012
Label	ECC Records

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Captain's Apprentice"	1:25
2.	"New York Trader"	6:22
3.	"Winter Singing"	4:44
4.	"The Guvna"	6:09
5.	"Sick Old Man"	6:29
6.	"Next"	4:43
7.	"Fisherman"	4:05
8.	"Get Kalsi"	5:41
9.	"Washing Song"	3:29
10.	"Bending the Dark"	12:21

Line-ups

The Imagined Village live band have toured since November 2007. The original lineup consisted of Billy Bragg, Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy, Sheila Chandra, Chris Wood and The Young Coppers, backed by a band featuring Simon Emmerson, Johnny Kalsi, Francis Hylton, Andy Gangadeen, Sheema Mukherjee and Barney Morse Brown. They also appeared on Later with Jools Holland.

A revised lineup was announced for their 2010 tour, coinciding with the release of Empire & Love: Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy, and Chris Wood, backed by a band featuring Simon Emmerson, Johnny Kalsi, Ali Friend, Andy Gangadeen, Simon Richmond, Sheema Mukherjee and Barney Morse Brown.^[6]

In 2011 Jackie Oates replaced Chris Wood for their live performances including at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival. The musicians credited on Bending the Dark (2012) were Eliza Carthy, Martin Carthy, Simon Emmerson, Ali Friend, Andy Gangadeen, Johnny Kalsi, Sheema Mukherjee, Barney Morse Brown, Jackie Oates and Simon Richmond.^[7]