The Unthanks – How Wild the Wind Blows

April - May 2017

Performing the Songs and Poems of Molly Drake

A wistful mother in the 1950s makes some simple home recordings in her family sitting room. Little could she have known that decades later, her son would become one of the most poetic and influential songwriters ever, or that more than sixty years later, the dust would be blown off her own songs. On the surface, the 2013 release of Molly Drake’s work could easily have been perceived as just a curious footnote and jigsaw piece in explaining the enormous talent of Nick Drake. In the eyes of The Unthanks however, and increasingly amongst others, Molly’s work is extraordinary enough to rank alongside and independently of her brilliant son.

The songs of Molly Drake certainly share plenty of common ground with Nick’s – charming and bittersweet, yet dark and pensive. Never intended for public release, the quality of her recordings was modest, and the ideas more like sketches than fully formed results. In a climate where films, stories and music are being rehashed for spurious repeat exploitation, if ever a body of work actually merited reappraisal and fresh presentation, surely the work of Molly Drake is it.

With active encouragement from the Drake estate and with the full blessing and enthusiasm of celebrated actress Gabrielle Drake (Molly’s daughter and Nick’s sister) The Unthanks are bestowed with the responsibility and honour. The Mercury nominated mavericks of British folk music are bound to treat the challenge with the same love and diligence for their subject as they did when reinterpreting the work of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnson’s. This tour of her reimagined work will be accompanied by an album release of Molly Drake’s work – Diversions Vol 4. – the latest in a growing line of intrepid projects by The Unthanks.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the intimate nature of the music, the tour travels to venues that are mostly smaller than for an Unthanks tour. Book early to avoid disappointment!