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Up The Cut is Jon’s third album release and celebrates traditional songs from the Midlands, including some from a collection of street ballads from the late folk scholar Roy Palmer www.jonwilks.online / www.tradfolk.co
John’s style has been influenced by artists as diverse as Martin Carthy and Bert Jansch, to Johnny Marr and Graham Coxon
Artist: Jon Wilks
Album: Up The Cut (independent)
Jon Wilks is a folk singer from the Black Country, whose most recent album, Up The Cut, takes traditional songs from his native land and arranges them for acoustic guitar. Minimalist maybe, but Jon’s playing can be complex, fleshing out the song’s melody with technical flourishes, as he demonstrated on his most recent tour. “The live arrangements haven’t changed much from the album,” he tells us, “but the more you play songs, the more confidence you have to mess around with them. You get used to where your fingers are going and you’re more comfortable finding something different.”
Keeping With Tradition
The songs on Up The Cut were arranged and recorded quickly, a method Jon is changing for his next release.
“Some of the stuff that I’m going to record on the next album has been floating around for eight or nine months, so I know it well,” he explains. “But what it comes down to is trying to find what’s best to serve the song. I know everybody says that kind of thing and I am a guitarist, but first and foremost I’m interested in the traditional song and I want the style of guitar playing to suit that. I’ve done three albums now and I’ve certainly developed a way of accompanying songs that I didn’t have five years ago… Essentially, I’m just ripping off Martin Carthy.”
Speaking Of Influence
Jon’s music is far from an emulation of others, but he is aware of the importance of some players. “Carthy is an obvious influence in terms of how to approach a traditional song,” he says. “For pulse, following the melody and being pared down, I find him very interesting. Bert Jansch was also huge for me, and Martin Simpson and Nic Jones, both of whom are more technical and more florid in their style.” He pauses a moment: “But I grew up listening to people like Graham Coxon and Johnny Marr, so I think there are elements of that in my stuff. I think the Marr influence is there in trying to find melodic lines instead of strumming. It’s similar to Martin Simpson; you’re not just banging out chords, you’re looking for melodies to trip off your fingers and glisten.”
The Right Tools
Jon’s career has seen him use several different acoustic guitars, depending on what the song and guitar part need, with a different instrument
