Jim Causley - The Georgic

Accordionist, pianist, composer, and singer songwriter Jim Causley is the most famous folk musician from Devon. In his twenty year career he has explored his county and portrayed it from different angles, receiving excellent responses from the audiences in Britain and further afield. His twelfth album The Georgic is a celebration of everything rural and, despite its roots in Devon’s fertile soil, has a message with world-wide resonance.

As one could expect from the title, a direct reference to Virgil’s work, the backbone of this release is made up of self-penned songs centred on current themes related to everyday life away from big cities and conurbations. Topics like the risks for the environment posed by the increase of population and the housing crisis are presented in a thoughtful and powerful way in songs such as The Imagined Village and This Darkened Land.

They are side by side with three versions of the song that kick-started this project, the Halstow Wassail, recorded in different locations with local people, a celebration of old traditions related to cider making.

The new feature of this album is the presence of field recordings of sounds, singing, and chats by people, both indoors and outdoors, discussing relevant themes for rural communities, a feature that provides an ideal bridge between Causley’s work and the early 20th century folk collectors.

Piano, accordion, and singing are pretty much centre-stage, but the land is the main character in this release. To emphasise this, the last studio track The Hidden Source, an ideal follow up to the tracks celebrating rustic life and its atmospheres, praises the resilience of nature and of rural communities, their adaptability and key role in shaping society in often unexpected ways.

Earthy and yet refined, definitely grounded in English heritage, but relevant to a broader audience, The Georgic adds a new shade of colour in Causley’s depiction of Devon and in general, of British folk culture.