Chatterbox with Mel Biggs

Frankie Insley is a multi instrumentalist based in Newcastle who has a deep love for the one-row melodeon and fiddle. After discovering folk through Morris dancing as a teenager, and completing the Newcastle University Folk Music Degree, she has become a passionate advocate for the joy of folk.Frankie is an absolute force for community folk music and dance. She is the founder of DIY Ceilidh, a chaotic, joyful and hugely popular monthly ceilidh series that is volunteer-run and queer friendly. When she’s not calling ceilidhs she is also heavily involved with Newcastle’s punk scene, performing in her band Bitchfinder General. She also performs with the Newcastle drone folk collective Powtes. Frankie will be guest tutoring alongside Mel and Lucy Huzzard on the inaugural Folk Unbound: The Gathering folk music summer camp for women and marginalised gender musicians looking to gain confidence and explore group music making in a celebratory way.Frankie's LinksInstagram | YouTubeJoin my PATREON for extended episodes, guest tutor Melinar tutorials & learning resource archive:www.patreon.com/melbiggsmusicLearn melodeon with Mel at The Stables, Milton Keynes June 28th 2025:https://stables.org/workshopsApply to join Folk Unbound: The Gathering 14-18th July 2025www.melbiggsmusic.co.uk/folkunboundMel's workshop/session/concert at Birmingham Accordion Centre 5th July:https://melbiggsmusic.co.uk/calendarVisit my website for on demand classes, courses, live dates, merch & more:www.melbiggsmusic.co.ukIntro & outro music:'Dream Big' by Mel Biggs. All rights reserved.Listen to the full track on my album 'From Darkness Comes Light':www.melbiggsmusic.bandcamp.comGet in touch: chatterbox@melbiggsmusic.co.ukDon't forget to like/subscribe/follow:YouTube | Instagram  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join me this month as I sit down to chat with Archie Churchill-Moss who has worked as a session musician for some of the UK's top folk acts (Seth Lakeman, Sam Sweeney, Cara Dillon, Eliza Carthy, Blair Dunlop, Jim Moray) and producers (Andy Bell, Ed Harcourt). Performing with trio 'Moore, Moss, Rutter' saw him receive the coveted BBC Radio 2 Folk Award in 2011.Archie has toured extensively across western Europe and perform at some of Europe's top music festivals, including headline slots at Colours of Ostrava (Czech Republic), Tønder festival (Denmark), Cropredy Convention (UK) and Cambridge Folk Festival (UK). With a contemporary approach to composition and arrangement, Archie has developed a style of playing that draws as much influence from the tradition as it does modern popular music. His engaging teaching style comes from a wealth of experience in his position as principle lecturer at Leeds College of Music and teaching on the National Youth Folk Ensemble.Listen in to find out more about our teaching approaches, why G Major is the centre of both our musical universes, his new collaboration and forthcoming album with Irish player Moya Sweeney, his working relationship with Tom Moore and more.Archie's Links:Website | Instagram | BandcampJoin my PATREON for extended episodes, guest tutor Melinar tutorials & learning resource archive:www.patreon.com/melbiggsmusicVisit my website for on demand classes, courses, live dates, merch & more:www.melbiggsmusic.co.ukIntro & outro music:'Dream Big' by Mel Biggs. All rights reserved.Listen to the full track on my album 'From Darkness Comes Light':www.melbiggsmusic.bandcamp.comGet in touch: chatterbox@melbiggsmusic.co.ukDon't forget to like/subscribe/follow:YouTube | Instagram  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne is well known on the English folk scene for his work with the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominated trio ‘Granny’s Attic’ and as a soloist. Originally from Birmingham, Cohen developed a keen love for melodeons and concertinas while still at primary school. Cohen’s main passion is for English traditional music and song, but his musical interests run broader than that, into Baroque music, ragtime, and Victorian popular music and he has been known to throw all of these into his performances and teaching.Join me this month as I sit down to chat with Cohen about his route into English folk music, how his journey through the education system all the way up to Leeds University School of Music has shaped his approach to the work, the evolution of Granny's Attic and the working relationship with Lewis and George, how he developed his distinctive style of singing and playing, and the importance of Black Music acknowledgement in the history of English folk music, and the influences that go between cultures. Cohen's Links:Website | Facebook | Instagram | BandcampJoin my PATREON for extended episodes, guest tutor Melinars & learning resource archive:www.patreon.com/melbiggsmusicMel's Improver melodeon workshop at The Stables, Milton Keynes Mar 1st 2025:https://stables.org/workshopsFolk Unbound: The Gathering 2025 - Applications open 14th Feb!www.melbiggsmusic.co.uk/folkunboundVisit my website for on demand classes, courses, live dates, merch & more:www.melbiggsmusic.co.ukIntro & outro music:'Dream Big' by Mel Biggs. All rights reserved.Listen to the full track on my album 'From Darkness Comes Light':www.melbiggsmusic.bandcamp.comGet in touch: chatterbox@melbiggsmusic.co.ukDon't forget to like/subscribe/follow:YouTube | Instagram  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin Ellison is a gem of the traditional English folk music scene. Hailing from Leyland in the industrial North West of England, he's had an affinity with Southern English Country Music since his early teens. Growing up through the revival of the late 60s and 70s he was exposed to a variety of influential folkies including Bernard Wrigley "The Bolton Bullfrog", Shirley and Dolly Collins, Mike Harding, John Kirkpatrick, Reg Hall, Roger Edwards, Oscar Woods, Bob Cann among many others. He went on to form his ceilidh band Ran Tan Band and played for The Threlfall Sisters.Join us for a cosy, wholesome conversation between two generations of traditional English folk musicians comparing notes on session etiquette, the positives and negatives of sharing on social media, and opening up about our personal battles with mental health and performance anxiety.Martin's Links:YouTube | FacebookReplay Martin's Melinar: A Masterclass With The Maestro:https://www.patreon.com/posts/116906019Mel's Festive Melodeon workshop & concert Birmingham Accordion Centre 7th December 2024:https://accordioncentre.com/acb/whats-on/Mel's melodeon workshops at The Stables, Milton Keynes Jan & Mar 2025:https://stables.org/workshopsSign up to the Folk Unbound mailing list for more information about mine & Lucy's folk camp in July 2025:https://pages.melbiggsmusic.co.uk/fsuf83bapjJoin my PATREON for extended episodes, guest tutor Melinars & learning resource archive:www.patreon.com/melbiggsmusicVisit my website for on demand classes, courses, live dates, merch & more:www.melbiggsmusic.co.ukIntro & outro music:'Dream Big' by Mel Biggs. All rights reserved.Listen to the full track on my album 'From Darkness Comes Light':www.melbiggsmusic.bandcamp.comGet in touch: chatterbox@melbiggsmusic.co.ukDon't forget to like/subscribe/follow:YouTube | Instagram | Facebook   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a player of an instrument, have you ever thought to take musical inspiration from another? How would you go about doing that? Do beards make you a better bird watcher? How does Rapper dance culture differ from the rest of the Morris/English folk dance world? These questions and more covered in this month's episode!Will Allen is an English melodeon, fiddle, and banjo player. Having gained quite a solid reputation as one of England's busiest and most in demand folk musicians, he can turn his hand to most things dance including ceilidh, contra, Irish, Scottish, Morris, Rapper and more. He can be seen playing with duo Brown Boots with Martin Clarke on fiddle, Quebec inspired Club Débris, Contra/Set Dance duo WillPower with Will Chamberlain on keys, and his two solo English Fiddle albums, recorded with Rowan Piggot.A young head on old shoulders, this month's chat illuminates Will's approach to music and life, how he takes sanctuary in the Great Outdoors, and firmly believes in not boxing yourself into a culture corner when it comes to finding inspiration. I hope you find joy in his wisdom and enjoy listening!JARGON BUSTER:Border - a style of Morris dancing from the border counties of England & WalesRapper - Rapper Sword Dancing - lively trad. NE England dances with flexible steel 'rapper swords'DERT - Dancing England Rapper TournamentIrons/rubbers - the wooden sole of a NW Morris dancer's clogs are shod with iron or rubberWill's Links:Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | YouTube | Club Debris | Brown BootsReplay Will's Melinar: It's Not *Just* A Melodeon - how to take influence from other instruments:https://www.patreon.com/posts/112800836INFO Absolute Beginner Melodeon Workshop with Mel 10-3pm October 12th 2024 (hire boxes available):https://stables.org/workshopsJoin my PATREON for extended episodes, guest tutor Melinars & learning resource archive:www.patreon.com/melbiggsmusicVisit my website for on demand classes, courses, live dates, merch & more:www.melbiggsmusic.co.ukIntro & outro music:'Dream Big' by Mel Biggs. All rights reserved.Listen to the full track on my album 'From Darkness Comes Light':www.melbiggsmusic.bandcamp.comGet in touch: chatterbox@melbiggsmusic.co.ukDon't forget to like/subscribe/follow:YouTube | Instagram | Facebook   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever considered what it's like to grow up as a woman on the English folk scene? How can you evolve as an artist and learn to own your artistic voice? How can we collectively empower other women and young girls to take up leading roles in creative careers? And why are good reels so hard to find for the melodeon?! My guest this month is singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist Hazel Askew. She's one third of full throttle fempowered folk band Lady Maisery, works with her sister Emily Askew, has won several music awards including Best Album for 2017 folk supergroup Songs of Separation, and appears with Awake Arise - a collaboration between Lady Maisery and Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith - for their midwinter tour, and leads regular music workshops for the EFDSS and other regional organisations. Our conversation flows through influences in younger self, to balancing time for education projects and perfomance opportunities, working in film, TV and theatre, including Fisherman's Friends: The Musical where we both shared the stage.Hazel's links:Website | Facebook Page | InstagramReplay Hazel's Melinar tutorial on accompanying songs:https://www.patreon.com/posts/108784848VLOG: 1 YEAR WITH MY CASTAGNARI HANDRY - Theatre update:https://youtu.be/4zq3VpbnZlQ?si=TsA5I7q4NLd5d_1NVLOG: WHAT IT WAS REALLY LIKE WORKING IN MUSICAL THEATRE | First Time Actor-Muso:https://youtu.be/Q9_p2UtqTTw?si=JEgj6KJbr3OMEdMpVLOG: English Folky's First French Festival - Le Son Continu 2023:https://youtu.be/PuY3pK4a6xs?si=ee_0fHnfz5Ya2mFYJoin my PATREON for extended podcast episodes, guest tutor Melinars & learning resource archive:www.patreon.com/melbiggsmusicVisit my website for on demand classes, courses, live dates, merch & more:www.melbiggsmusic.co.ukIntro & outro music:'Dream Big' by Mel Biggs. All rights reserved.Listen to the full track on my album 'From Darkness Comes Light':www.melbiggsmusic.bandcamp.comGet in touch: chatterbox@melbiggsmusic.co.ukDon't forget to like/subscribe/follow:YouTube | Instagram | Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wondered what the record is for how many tunes someone can compose in a day?! Well, I'm not sure of the official answer to that, but I'm sure Toon could give the winner a run for their money! His iconic melodies have travelled far and wide across the Euro-dance music scene over the last two decades and more. Toon Van Mierlo is a Belgian musician of many talents including diatonic accordion, bagpipes, saxophone and whistles. He is best known for his work with multi award winning folk duo Naragonia, and for his playing with Hot Griselda, Novar and Duo Decombel-Van Mierlo, among many others. In this episode, we discover how a life-long fascination with biology and the natural world has lead to the birth of many tunes and projects for Toon over the years, both musically and otherwise. Join me this month as I sit down with a very good friend to get to know them and their outlook on music and life a little better.Naragonia's links:Website | Facebook | YouTube | InstagramWatch Toon's Composing In Real-Time Melinar on my Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/posts/104719753TurboBal UK Tour June 2024:https://melbiggsmusic.co.uk/turbobal-uk-tour-2024/Join my PATREON for extended episodes, guest tutor Melinars & learning resource archive:www.patreon.com/melbiggsmusicVisit my website for on demand classes, courses, live dates, merch & more:www.melbiggsmusic.co.ukIntro & outro music:'Dream Big' by Mel Biggs. All rights reserved.Listen to the full track on my album 'From Darkness Comes Light':www.melbiggsmusic.bandcamp.comGet in touch: chatterbox@melbiggsmusic.co.ukDon't forget to like/subscribe/follow:YouTube | Instagram | Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.