The Imagined Village
A lush, rhythmic collision of English folk heritage and global beats. Traditional fiddles meet dhol drums and dub bass for a modern, multicultural exhale.
A lush, rhythmic collision of English folk heritage and global beats. Traditional fiddles meet dhol drums and dub bass for a modern, multicultural exhale.
The Imagined Village sounds like a vibrant, breathing map of modern Britain. It is music where the ancient drone of a fiddle feels perfectly at home alongside the deep, resonant pulse of a dhol drum or a subtle electronic loop. There is a sense of deep soil and high-rise concrete existing in the same space, creating a sound that is both grounded in centuries of tradition and restlessly contemporary.
What makes this project distinctive is its radical inclusivity. By bringing together folk royalty like the Carthys with poets like Benjamin Zephaniah and global fusionists, they strip away the 'museum piece' stasis of traditional music. The production is rich and layered, often using dub-influenced basslines to provide a foundation for delicate acoustic storytelling, making the songs feel physically immersive.
Start with their self-titled debut for the most striking examples of this cultural alchemy. It is the perfect entry point for anyone who loves the storytelling of folk but craves the rhythmic complexity of world music and the polished textures of modern studio production.
The Imagined Village is a folk music project founded by Simon Emmerson of Afro Celt Sound System. A reflection of modern United Kingdom multiculturalism, the music collective syncretizes diverse musical traditions while featuring musicians from several cultural backgrounds. The name of the project comes from the 1993 book, The Imagined Village, by Georgina Boyes. The project started in 2004, and led to the release of an eponymous album in 2007 by a collective of artists on Real World Records. Some of the tracks on it are modern re-interpretations of traditional folk songs. Benjamin Zephaniah was awarded Best Original Song in the Hancocks 2008, Talkawhile Awards for Folk Music (as voted by members of Talkawhile.co.uk) for "Tam Lyn Retold". He collected the award at The Cambridge Folk Festival on 2 August 2008. The Imagined Village E.P. was released earlier in 2007, and is a remix of the album tracks. The 2008 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards voted "Cold, Hailey, Rainy Night" as best traditional track. In 2009, the project moved to a new record label, ECC Records, and a second album, Empire & Love was released in January 2010, followed by Bending the Dark in May 2012.
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