Lisa Knapp (born 1974 in Balham, south London) is an English folk singer, s… Read Full Bio ↴Lisa Knapp (born 1974 in Balham, south London) is an English folk singer, songwriter, fiddle player and multi-instrumentalist.
While growing up in London, Knapp was fed on a music diet which lurched from house to dance to pop, through The Waterboys to Van Morrison, finally landing her in the unlikely environs of folk music by way of a friend’s record collection.
What followed were several years of musical exploration which included countless days rediscovering recordings and books of traditional singers and songs from early 20th century through to the folk revival of the ‘60s and ‘70s, by way of the folk music archives at Cecil Sharp House in Camden.
Meanwhile, Knapp became more involved in the traditional folk scene, singing and playing fiddle at folk clubs, including regular performances at Court Sessions Folk Club and a first solo show at Lewes Arms Folk Club. She also played at Irish sessions and guested for Irish fiddler/multi-instrumentalist Gerry Diver at his show at Hammersmith Irish Centre in London.
In 2003, Knapp began recording her own material. The first track she put down was ‘Blacksmith’, a York Broadside ballad published in 1825 and most famously recorded in 1971 by Steeleye Span. The track caught the ear of producer Youth (winner of two Brit Awards and producer/remixer to The Verve (Urban Hymns), U2, Crowded House, INXS, Paul McCartney and more) who offered to remix the track. The result was a powerful and unforgettably renewed version of this song of unrequited love. The track was released in 2006 on Youth’s folk compilation album titled 'What The Folk Vol. 1' (Butterfly Records).
In autumn 2005, Knapp and co-producer Gerry Diver put down the skeleton of what would become her debut album. Early tracks were put up on a Myspace page and interest in her began to grow.
The result was the debut album Wild And Undaunted (Ear To The Ground Records - available in most stores/Amazon/iTunes) which was released on March 26th 2007 following radio play on Radio 1, 2 and 3 and greeted by a host of outstanding reviews including being Mojo 's Folk Album of the Year. She went on to reach no 5 in the iTunes chart and was HMV Choice's album of the month in May/June 2007. Summer 2007 saw her in demand with more than twenty festival appearances including The Greenman Festival, The Larmer Tree Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival.
Journalist Colin Irwin gave her 2013 album Hidden Seam, which included contributions by Martin Carthy and Kathryn Williams, five stars in a review for The Observer. The lyrics of the album's opening track, "Shipping Song", derive from BBC Radio 4's Shipping Forecast. Another song from the album, "Two Ravens", took the award for Best Original Song at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2014.
Till April is Dead – A Garland Of May, Knapp's 2017 concept album about the month of May, received a five-starred review in The Guardian newspaper.
While growing up in London, Knapp was fed on a music diet which lurched from house to dance to pop, through The Waterboys to Van Morrison, finally landing her in the unlikely environs of folk music by way of a friend’s record collection.
What followed were several years of musical exploration which included countless days rediscovering recordings and books of traditional singers and songs from early 20th century through to the folk revival of the ‘60s and ‘70s, by way of the folk music archives at Cecil Sharp House in Camden.
Meanwhile, Knapp became more involved in the traditional folk scene, singing and playing fiddle at folk clubs, including regular performances at Court Sessions Folk Club and a first solo show at Lewes Arms Folk Club. She also played at Irish sessions and guested for Irish fiddler/multi-instrumentalist Gerry Diver at his show at Hammersmith Irish Centre in London.
In 2003, Knapp began recording her own material. The first track she put down was ‘Blacksmith’, a York Broadside ballad published in 1825 and most famously recorded in 1971 by Steeleye Span. The track caught the ear of producer Youth (winner of two Brit Awards and producer/remixer to The Verve (Urban Hymns), U2, Crowded House, INXS, Paul McCartney and more) who offered to remix the track. The result was a powerful and unforgettably renewed version of this song of unrequited love. The track was released in 2006 on Youth’s folk compilation album titled 'What The Folk Vol. 1' (Butterfly Records).
In autumn 2005, Knapp and co-producer Gerry Diver put down the skeleton of what would become her debut album. Early tracks were put up on a Myspace page and interest in her began to grow.
The result was the debut album Wild And Undaunted (Ear To The Ground Records - available in most stores/Amazon/iTunes) which was released on March 26th 2007 following radio play on Radio 1, 2 and 3 and greeted by a host of outstanding reviews including being Mojo 's Folk Album of the Year. She went on to reach no 5 in the iTunes chart and was HMV Choice's album of the month in May/June 2007. Summer 2007 saw her in demand with more than twenty festival appearances including The Greenman Festival, The Larmer Tree Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival.
Journalist Colin Irwin gave her 2013 album Hidden Seam, which included contributions by Martin Carthy and Kathryn Williams, five stars in a review for The Observer. The lyrics of the album's opening track, "Shipping Song", derive from BBC Radio 4's Shipping Forecast. Another song from the album, "Two Ravens", took the award for Best Original Song at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2014.
Till April is Dead – A Garland Of May, Knapp's 2017 concept album about the month of May, received a five-starred review in The Guardian newspaper.
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Hidden Seam
Lisa Knapp Lyrics
Shipping Song Rockall, Faeroes, Tyne Fair Isle, Cromarty, Forth South Utsi…