Jayne Dent is a British interdisciplinary artist, singer and composer and I was absolutely delighted to explore ideas around  a creative and playful life with her. You’ll be hearing clips of music from Me Lost Me, with inspirations from folk culture old and new. She opened my mind to what folk creativity and community can mean in the 21st century.You’ll also hear about community music making,  collaborations with dancers,  experimentation with e-textiles, and the challenges and joys of her career path.  I was really struck by her creative and curious spirit and you’ll be hearing about some of her chance-based writing tips andher varied interests from creating costumes to medieval sword fighting. 

Martha Redbone Interview: A Creative Life Rooted in Afro-Indigenous Identity and Appalachian Traditions

Martha Redbone is acclaimed for her powerful performances as a singer, as well as her prize-winning song-writing, composition and arranging. For over 30 years she’s been in a successful collaboration with her partner Aaron Whitby and we talked about some of their new theatrical projects including Black Mountain Women, The Sex Variants of 1941, and Guardian Spirit: The Words of bell hooks.  Throughout this episode you’ll be hearing clips from Martha’s powerful album The Garden of Love  which sets the poetry of William Blake to the diverse music of Appalachia, written with Aaron and John McEuen of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Many people think of the music, culture and history of Appalachia in terms of the blend of white settlers in the area, but Martha’s family heritage from Harlan county Tennessee include African-American, Cherokee, and Choctaw. She shared her experiences growing up with her grandparents as part of a coal-mining family, as well as the dramatic changes she has witnessed in Brooklyn over several decades. 

In this wide-ranging episode, you’ll also hear Martha’s great advice for self-care, maintaining boundaries and working collaboratively.  

 We started this conversation with Martha’s collaborations with clarinettist Tasha Warren and cellist Dave Eggar and if you missed my interview with Tasha last year it’s linked to this one in the show notes. 

Linked are the podcast, video and transcript.