Ancient Hostility perform close harmony folk singing to tell vivid, poetic stories of resistance, vulnerability and sadness. Interspersed with minimalist instrumental soundscapes and drawing on the irreverence of the 60s folk revival, these are songs rooted firmly in the present.
Their debut album Sing As Loud As You Can is all lush three part harmonies; Simon Barr and Ash Ludd are joined by Dandy for the recording process, together their voices explore new ways to keep our radical histories alive, spanning the stories of the levellers and the diggers to very recent accounts of direct action, proving that folk music is very much a living tradition. Emotional tellings of relationships ending or the death of friends are told in their signature way of finding new routes through difficult terrain, constantly breaking free of the constraints of conservatism. The unflinching honesty of their lyrics has seen them captivate rooms full of anarcho punks as well as traditional folk clubs across the UK and mainland Europe; this is music for ordinary people who recognise the growing darkness but refuse to give up on the remaining light.
“debut album Sing As Loud As You Can is a direct assault of group singing in the vein of Swan Arcade or The Young Tradition, linked together by scratchy drones of violin and concertina.” – The Quietus
