On Tuesday 4 April the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo reveal the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the March reporting period in the UK by UK and Irish artists. The chart is first announced to the public at 7pm GMT as part of the Official Folk Albums Chart Show presented by Folk on Foot via their YouTube channel.
There are eleven new releases in the March Chart, including a new number 1.
Straight in at No. 1, is the long-awaited album False Lankum (Rough Trade) by Lankum. The album was recorded across 2021 and 2022 by their longtime producer John ‘Spud’ Murphy in Hellfire Studio and Guerilla Studios in Ireland.
The Levellers Collective acoustic album Together All The Way (On The Fiddle) comes in at No. 2. Of the album and recording, Jeremy Cunningham says, “It’s a stripped back, raw iteration of the collective with deep folk leanings. As energetic as the first one but definitely different”.
The Soft Struggles (Daylight Saving), by David Brewis, comes in at No. 6. Under The Radar says, “There’s a gorgeous live feel to the recordings that gives the whole collection a rich, organic feel. Music played by human beings. It’ll never catch on”.
In at No. 7 is Blackletter Garland (One Little Independent), the high-concept debut album from the brand-new collaboration, Hack-Poets Guild. Made up of Marry Waterson, Lisa Knapp and Nathaniel Mann, the album boasts twelve fascinating interpretations and original compositions.
Daoirí Farrell comes in at No. 11 with his fourth studio album, The Wedding Above in Glencree (Daoirí Recordings). Crafted and honed over two and a half years, the album – in his own words – ‘combines the rawness of my first album, the impact of my second album and the beauty of my third album’.
Boo Hewerdine’s Flowers (Reveal), which comes in at No. 16, is a companion to his acclaimed album Understudy.
Full House For Sale (Matty Grooves) by Fairport Convention arrives at No. 22. The album was recorded live at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 2022, where they celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of our 1970 LP Full House.
Dusk Moon (Rura Music) by RURA comes in at No. 23. Their rugged yet refined blend of fiddle, Highland pipes, flute, bodhran and guitar has won a devoted following in many corners of the globe, amongst audiences and critics alike.
In at No. 24 is Ben Walker‘s second album Banish Air From Air (Folkroom). The album explores the relationship between mankind and nature. Instrumentals, traditional material and reimagined poems sit alongside Ben’s first forays into songwriting, featuring an enviable list of guest vocalists.
In at No. 31, is Petrichor (The Lost Trades) by The Lost Trades. The album has a slightly darker sound to their award-winning debut, and has themes of mourning, escape and starting afresh, swimming in lush vocal harmonies.
Salt House’s latest studio album Riverwoods (Hudson) comes in at No. 33. The album is a musical response to the feature-length documentary of the same name made by rewilding charity ‘SCOTLAND: The Big Picture’ (Channel 5).
