Description
Filkin’s Drift reimagine traditional melodies through pizzicato grooves, intricate guitar tunes, and boundless improvisation. Their original compositions are sophisticated, yet rooted in tradition. From delicate Welsh folk-songs to traditional English dance tunes, the duo blend fiddle and guitar with their close vocal harmonies.
Seth Bye and Chris Roberts are fast gaining recognition for performances that are “utterly mesmerising” (Bristol 24/7) and “hugely entertaining” (RnR). Previous shows include FolkEast, Warwick Folk Festival, St George’s Bristol and Llangollen International Eisteddfod.
Filkin’s Drift are constantly seeking out unconventional approaches to making music. The duo’s latest ventures include forming a 15-piece orchestral-folk band (Filkin’s Ensemble) and releasing their debut EP with an 870-mile walking tour of the Welsh coast.
Filkin’s Drift are proud to be Help Musicians-supported artists, and are affiliated with Fusion Gig Bags.
“They are utterly mesmerising. Hovering around a single microphone with tunes full of waterfall guitar and fabulous violin” – Bristol 24/7
“Amazing musicians, singers and lovely chaps all rolled into one” – Black Train Music
“Hugely entertaining” – Rock’n’Reel Magazine
About the CERDD // ED project
CERDD // ED, an 870-mile walking tour of the Wales Coast Path, is a radical approach to sustainable touring. With the climate emergency sharply in focus and people looking for new ways of connecting post-covid, it is clear that the music industry needs fresh and imaginative approaches to touring. Folk duo ‘Filkin’s Drift’ have found an answer in the ancient Welsh bardic tradition. In the Welsh language, ‘Cerdd’ means music and ‘Cerdded’ means to walk. To Filkin’s Drift, this suggests an intrinsic connection between the acts of roaming and creating music.
To release their new record ‘Rembard’s Retreat’, Seth Bye and Chris Roberts are walking the entire Wales Coast Path, performing every night on the journey. Along the way, the duo will collect songs, stories, and tunes to incorporate into their gigs, weaving together a tapestry of shared experiences of the Welsh coast.
CERDD // ED solves a global problem in a local way. It will be a pioneering voice as the music industry changes its approaches to touring; It will bring communities closer together; and it will bring Wales to the fore, as the country pioneering this change.
The project is supported by Help Musicians and Fusion Gig Bags. It is also raising money for the charity Live Music Now.
Photo credit: Tegan Foley
