Filmmaker insights: ‘The Broadside Hack’ and new age Folk at WOMEX
‘The Broadside Hack’, directed by British Underground’s Crispin Parry, shot by the Northern Cowboys and made in collaboration with Broadside Hacks founder Campbell Baum is screening at WOMEX 2024.
This short documentary film observes the evolution of traditional Folk and new musicians against the backdrop of the UK emerging from the 2020 pandemic. Capturing musical performances, dances and conversations, ‘The Broadside Hack’ first premiered at SXSW in March 2022, was funded by Arts Council England and PRS Foundation and features Shovel Dance Collective, Thyrsis, caroline, Broadside Hacks and Boss Morris.
Ahead of the screening of "‘The Broadside Hack’ at WOMEX next week, British Underground speak with Campbell and Crispin, diving into their filmmaking journey and why Folk is both a tale as old as time and a new world that will never go out of style.
Who are you and what was your role on this project?
CB: I’m Campbell, one of the co-founders of Broadside Hacks. I was responsible primarily for the programme of musicians and bands in the documentary.
CP: I’m Crispin, CEO of British Underground, and I was the director and producer of the documentary.
The Broadside Hack poster, by Luke Drozd
How did the project come about?
CB: I think Crispin caught wind of a bunch of indie musicians in the midst of a pandemic with too much free time on their hands! In summer of 2020, I rallied together some people whom I knew had even the most basic level of interest in Folk music. I asked each of them to record a song on their phones for a compilation called ‘Our Singing Tradition’, compiled in tribute to the field recordings of the early 20th Century from which many of these songs had first found an audience. Putting that into the world was enough for Crispin to call me up and ask whether I wanted to make a film! It was as simple as that.
CP: I had a hunch for a while that something new was happening in Folk music and one day a British Underground colleague came back from a summer solstice event in south London and said there were loads of alternative bands there. We tracked some of them back to The Brixton Windmill and Tim the promoter made an introduction to Campbell.
Set the scene. How did experiencing the pandemic shape this project?
CB: The pandemic was responsible for our project starting in the first place. We were picking up new instruments and had the time to practice together while everyone was free of their usual touring/work schedules.
Who were the key people involved in the film and why were they important?
CB: British Underground were responsible for the whole thing happening in the first place. Northern Cowboys were responsible for the film and edit. And well, it wouldn’t have been what it is without the musicians: Shovel Dance Collective, caroline, Broadside Hacks, Thyrsis and Boss Morris.
CP: Aside from the BU team, Northern Cowboys and the musicians, it was amazing to film and record the whole thing in Peter Gabriel’s Real World studios.
Filming ‘The Broadside Hack’ at Real World Studios, 2020
Why do you love folk?
CB: Folk allows you to engage with people of a specific time or place in history. I think the locality of Folk music is certainly an aspect. People will always want to connect to the place they’re from, and engaging with Folk traditions can be a big part of that.
CP: Folk music has been one of the sound tracks of my life since growing up in deepest rural Herefordshire.
What are common misconceptions about folk?
CB: That Folk is defined by a certain instrumentation or stylistic approach.
CP: That there is a right way to do it.
How do you feel about the film being selected to screen at WOMEX 2024?
CB: It feels great to still be sharing the film with new like-minded people. It’s a great snapshot of a “scene” in its infancy.
CP: Screening The Broadside Hack at WOMEX 2024 is a great opportunity to show the world a glimpse of the dawn breaking on this new Folk scene and hear the raw thoughts of the musicians as they bring it to life.
What are your top 3 tracks that encapsulate the spirit of ‘The Broadside Hack’?
CB: Doc Watson, Fred Price & Clint Howard - Daniel Prayed: I remember we tried to learn this once, and it’s so hard to learn something that feels so off the cuff. But this sums up the spirit of Broadside Hacks, I think: rough around the edges, but precision is not the priority. You’re striving for something more than note accuracy in a performance, and they capture it in this recording.
Obray Ramsey - Rain and Snow: I’m going to say this, because we played it at the Real World sessions for the doc and it was the first song we ever learnt as a group. Plus the recording is just so good.
Milkweed - The Snake in Chinese Belief: We put this out on our label, and I’m just so excited to hear what they do next. I love people engaging with folk in their own unique ways, in their case it’s setting text from Folklore journals to music.
CP: I’m a big fan of Irish band Lankum and going further back Christy Moore albums like Prosperous. I’m also a fan of anything produced by Joe Boyd and current acts like The Young Uns and John Smith.
What do you want people to take away from watching this film?
CB: For anyone still in discovery mode when it comes to Folk music, hopefully this points them in the right direction.
CP: Every generation finds its own way into Folk music and the more it changes the more it stays the same.
Broadside Hacks live at the MOTH CLUB, 2023
What is the future of Folk?
CB: Well, in some form or another it will always be around. Whether it captures the zeitgeist like it did in Britain in the 1960s is dependent on whether we see Folk music re-enter what can loosely be described as the “mainstream”. There are always people who will dispute a resurgence in Folk, whenever the press decides it has come back around. But, when people outside of the Folk scene are engaging with the music, I think it being coined as such is validated. No one is ever disputing whether or not it went away entirely.
I always think it’s worth acknowledging that widespread interest in something is usually what’s responsible for producing a stronger body of work. The 1960s are a prime example of that.
CP: All music is Folk music so the question could be what is the future of music? Let’s go find out.
Where can people find Broadside Hacks in 2024?
CB: We’re really focused on our events and the Folk Club at the minute. We mostly operate out of the MOTH Club, Hackney, so come and say hi.
The Broadside Hack is screening at WOMEX 2024 at the WOMEX Film Library Manchester Central, Oct 24th-26th, 11AM-5PM. Find out more here.
‘The Broadside Hack’
Director Crispin Parry
Production Country UK
Year 2022
Produced by British Underground
Director of Photography Thomas Dibb
Editor Thomas Dibb
Sound Mark Lewis
Music Shovel Dance Collective, Thyrsis, Caroline, Broadside Hacks and Boss Morris
