Chris Brain on an Exciting Year of Tours and Long Drives, Folk Sessions and Drawing Inspiration from a Good Tree

From his increasingly popular and unendingly beautiful content on social media, to being able to sell out in towns he’s never even been to, folk singer and songwriter Chris Brain is having one hell of a year so far. Only two years into an already glittering career, his stellar songs—influenced heavily by nature and walking in his native Yorkshire—bring to mind the folk greats of the sixties and seventies while with a raw power that propels them into the modern day. Ahead of his upcoming performance at St George’s on Fri 10 May, we caught up with him to find out more about his songwriting processes, influences and relationship with the natural world around him.

What first sparked your interest in folk music?

Going to folk clubs around ten years ago. I went to my first folk club and it was just the most wholesome thing ever and it’s so hard to go back from that. I was mostly playing folk revival songs—Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Donovan and music like that—and I was busking pretty much full time on the street and someone told me about this folk club in Leeds where people actually listen to you! I went there and it was just so nice. People listen and people would get up and sing a song—there was no ego and it was just really lovely. So I just kept going back every single week for ages.

Your songwriting and voice bring to mind the likes of Nick Drake and John Martyn. How did you first begin to discover and develop your sound?

I actually discovered Nick Drake and John Martyn only about six years ago—I was writing songs long before that. I think I’ve just always sounded the way I do without even realising. Then I discovered open tuning and those two players use a lot of open tunings. As soon as I heard their songs—as anyone who does—I just thought ‘bloody hell, this is amazing!’ I’m self-taught—I don’t know any theory at all—and I just find it is really refreshing. Then I just started writing songs more in those styles. I guess you listen to artists like that and go further into more hardcore folk and it all starts seeping in without you realising.

Your sophomore release, Steady Away, has been lapped up by critics and consolidated your place as one of our finest emerging folk artists. Can you tell us a little more about the narrative of this album?

It was written over a very short period of time of about a month and I think because of that, it’s quite cohesive and it feels like everything fits together. It was also a time when I was contemporising my sound a little bit. I feel like, more and more, I’m becoming a contemporary folk singer-songwriter. I still play trad songs but I’m slowly bridging that gap and trying to traverse into Adrianne Lenker territory. So, I feel like this has been a really good bridge for me to slowly change

my sound into something that feels more contemporary. Whereas my first album was written over around eight years. This second album was also influenced by my own experiences a bit more. My first was just about birds and a nice walk up a hill or a good tree.

What inspired you most during the writing process?

I always fall back on lyrics that are based on nature. It’s very easy to visualise and it influences all of us all of the time. But I don’t really think about it that much, to be honest. I just like to pick up the guitar and play.

How do you feel your interpretation and presentation of nature influences the listener’s understanding of it?

It just forces you to think about it all in a deeper manner and be present with it. I read a lot of Laurie Lee and other authors who write about nature and I feel like you can write reams and reams about just a blade of grass dancing in the wind or something like that. But in terms of other people perceiving it, maybe it makes them look at it in a different way or maybe they just listen to it and think it’s a nice tune!

Following the released of your recent album, you’ve just finished a major tour of the UK, performing at some of our finest folk venues. How did you find the tour and what were your highlights?

It was unbelievable really. I just still can’t believe I get to play to a room of people. Every time I just think ‘how do you even know about me?’ I’m just from a small town in Yorkshire! Especially because I was just busking for so long. I’ve only been doing this for two years and it still feels really strange. The highlights are just meeting people—it’s so nice. I also go on my own and just travel around and drive up and down so it’s a lot of long drives but that’s actually really peaceful. But the best thing is just meeting people and connecting with people—that’s what you remember, I think.

We can’t wait to welcome you to the stage here at St George’s! What can our audiences expect?

New songs! I can’t wait to play loads of new songs! That was one of my biggest reasons for going on tour really—to practice new songs and new sounds.

As we look ahead further into 2024, what’s in store? What are you looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to recording actually. I’m playing quite a few festivals which will be really nice. But actually taking my time to record new music—I’ve always just recorded over a very intense three or five days because I’ve never had the money to do it but doing this tour means that I’ve been able to save up a bit of money. So now I can put that all into recording. Hopefully this snowball continues!

If you could choose one desert island track, what would it be?

Can it be an album? I have a CD player in my car and don’t listen to the radio but I’ve been really binging that new Adrianne Lenker album—it’s unbelievable. It’s really raw and that’s the sound and style of recording I’d like to explore. I’m pretty sure everything was also one take!

Words by LouiseGoodger