UNTHANK:SMITH

Image by Ivan Jones

ALI WELFORD TALKS TO RACHEL UNTHANK AND PAUL SMITH ABOUT THEIR BURGEONING FRIENDSHIP FORGED THROUGHTHE MEDIUM OF SONG

After five years lying on the back burner, a gap in The Unthanks and Maxïmo Park’s schedules has finally allowed Rachel Unthank and Paul Smith to unveil their best-kept secret… “Our management kept saying ‘put it out, get it out the way’, but we wanted to do it properly,” Paul reveals, discussing the pair’s magnificent collaboration, Nowhere And Everywhere. “We think it’s a really good record and we wanted to give it its time in the sun – to play it to people and not do things halfheartedly.”

The roots of this surprising yet seamless collision between two of the North East’s most recognisable voices were sewn back in 2018, when the pair performed together as part of the Great Exhibition Of The North, having initially met backstage at an Africa Express show at Middlesbrough Town Hall. “Tamsin [booker at Sage Gateshead, now based at Sunderland’s Fire Station] asked if there was anything I’d like to do for the festival, and I said I’d love to work with Rachel.” Paul recalls. “We didn’t know each other very well, and singing together in such an intimate way felt quite daunting – but I had a love of folk song and a number [The Natural Urge] which didn’t fit with anything else I was doing, so we at least had something!”

“Singing in harmony with somebody other than Becky was nerve-wracking for me as well!” Rachel affirms. “It was trial and error, but that’s how we work in The Unthanks too. We did a lot of chatting, which helped, and I think we realised quite quickly that we were coming from the same place.”

We didn’t know each other very well, and singing together in such an intimate way felt quite daunting

“The real catalyst was when I started singing some of the traditional songs,” continues Paul. “I felt comfortable doing them, and Rachel must have felt comfortable on The Natural Urge. It had a natural energy which made us want to do more.” Produced by David Brewis (Field Music), with added contributions from clarinettist Faye MacCalman (Archipelago) and drummer Alex Neilson (Trembling Bells, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy), the resulting record is a timeless snapshot of the pair’s mutual passions – for traditional song and writers such as Lal Waterson, Tom Pickard and Graham Miles; but also for the rich history and linguistic diversity of their native region. On album standout Seven Tears – a rare Unthank original – those core elements even come with an additional hint of mythological flair…

“Songwriting’s a new foray I’ve been trying to push myself into recently,” Rachel notes. “Seven Tears was inspired by a time I saw a bob of seals off a Northumbrian beach, and ballads about selkies – seals which remove their skins and take on human form. I love the fantastical side of folk music, and the specifics of tales like ‘if you cry seven tears, then your selkie lover will come back to you,’ so it became a bit of a vehicle.”

In a sense, however, the finest advert for Nowhere And Everywhere is its trio of a capella numbers. Showcasing the duo’s chemistry in its purest form, Captain Bover, Red Wine Promises and The King are nonetheless wrought with imperfections – the kind of raw charm that’d be all too easy to forfeit in multiple takes or bouts of studio trickery. Moreover, they document a burgeoning friendship being forged through the medium of song – a delightful sound for both fanbases, and for folkies of any generation.

Unthank:Smith release Nowhere And Everywhere on 17th February. Unthank:Smith play Wylam Brewery, Newcastle on Sunday 2nd April.

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