This has grown on me a great deal.
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I heard one of the artists interviewed and was impressed. The interview is available on BBCâs sounds and I think I posted a link to it earlier.
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A pleasant set.
Closely followed by a better collection. Somehow I prefer him playing with Swarbâ.
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After all that chat, I am still note sure who defines what is and is not folk music
I agree. Isnât country music just American folk musicâŚ. especially bluegrass for example.
Hereâs the Wiki definition:
Interesting that âFolk Metalâ gets a mention in that, whatever the heck that is 
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Thatâs suitably all-encompassing!
To me, music that does not rely on electronics to be effective, that is structured as songs with a hummable/ whistle-able tune and is not built on the structures of classical music traditions (East or West), and that could plausibly be enjoyed 50 or 100 years after creation is pretty much all folk music.
That makes bluegrass folk. Ditto the 29 songs of Robert Johnson, and all the music I heard in Ethiopia (from Hundeessa to live âprotestâ songs - think Woody Guthrie or Ewan MacColl with an Oud) or Richard Thomsonâs work or the Ms. Shockedâs Texas Campfire Tapes.
Other people use the word differently - only music from white British people that was played 100 years ago or captured by Sharp and Lloyd qualifies for some. The includes a lot of good music, and I have found some of it by looking at the comments on this thread.
A friend from the classical tradition once suggested that The Beatles may not usefully be called Folk now, but certainly will be in 100 or 200 years - perhaps it really is just a question of ageâŚ
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Thatâs not really how it works with âhand me down musicâ which is what folk is. Led Zep have covered traditional songs (brilliantly IMHO) but in 100 yearâs time they wonât be a folk band.
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Not sure why it would exclude electronics. Putting aside folktronica, which I personally find unengaging, there are lots of traditional artists from places such as India or Pakistan who have moved into electronics. Folk traditions have always encompassed new instruments etc.
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I sympathise, but it looks as if we are in a small
Minority here -, and make much smaller if you include electronics- perhaps it will take Zeppelin a lot more than 100 years after all.
If only Mr. plant had sung in Farsi or Icelandic, so fewer of us would notice the âbabyâ and âlemonâ referencesâŚ.
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Ashley Hutchings spring to mind 
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I agree. Sandy Denny singing on âThe Battle of Evermoreâ is evocative of time and place, but influenced by âLord of the Ringsâ, rather than any folk tradition.
âFolk singersâ donât necessarily make their material automatically a folk song either.
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Lots of Folk Metal in Germany, Scandinavia particularly Finland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_metal
There are folkish / pagan elements in Nightwish?
The Finland scene seems particularly well developed and wild!
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I have the first edition of this which pushes a Scots origin, sometimes via Ulster for American folk/country. When I was reading it the book seemed persuasive, in hindsight Scots is only one influence. Thereâs a CD. Personally I didnât know the song âWayfaring Strangerâ but had dipped a toe into Appalachia.
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I wasnât referring to âThe Battle of Evermoreâ which I know isnât a folk song.
Page/Plant continued the folk theme onto the âNo Quarterâ album.
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Thanks for clarification. I didnât mean to imply you would assume BofE was folk. Thereâs certainly plenty of Nordic mythology in âNo Quarterâ
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At the risk of leading this thread even further from what most here call Folk, Iâd point to Black Mountainside on LZ1 , which is obviously Black Waterside, as played by the magnificent Bert Jansch. We can include Gallowâs Pole and Nobodyâs Fault But Mine. Even without classifying Blues as the folk music of millions of black Americans, Zeppelin is surely full of folk.
To me, the LZ canon is a fine demonstration that there are no digital/ black-and-white lines about folk at all. Stockhausen and Megadeth have less Folk in them than Joan Baezâ first 3-4 albums or The Dublinersâ finest work or Zappaâs work with Tibetan/ Mongolian nose-flautists - some music has much more obvious Folk in it. However, all music worth the term has a bit of Folk in there somewhere.
However, lots of people understand all that but use the term folk in a very different way. Thatâs fair enough too, isnât it?
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I love this song, and noted the Beeb has a new series of the same name.
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I met Bert Lloyd a few times. He was an unrepentant communist internationalist. (And a poet who could invent âmissingâ verses for an incomplete song.) His approach to folk was far wider than âmusic from white British peopleâ Wikipedia catches his enthusiasmsâ âWhile Lloyd is most widely known for his work with British folk music, he had a keen interest in the music of Spain, Latin America, Southeastern Europe and Australia. He recorded at least six discs of Australian Bush ballads and folk music.â A. L. Lloyd - Wikipedia
I wonder if you are tilting at a straw man? I couldnât name anyone involved in the folk scene who thinks of it narrowly as ethnic white British music.
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Iâm happy to acknowledge Lead Bellyâs âThe Gallis Poleâ as folk. Of course, I know less about Blues than Anglo-Celtic traditions. But this Blues is recognisably part of a folk tradition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maid_Freed_from_the_Gallows
I would class Folk metal with bands like Steeleye Span and Bellowhead etc who fully encompass the use of electric instruments.
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