A Casual Invocation

George Hoyle aka Cunning Folk is a folklorist, storyteller, folk artist, magical ritualist, a former member of Gay Dad and Circulus, and bassist with London folk band Stick in the Wheel, as well as the guiding force behind the Bermondsey Folk Festival and the South East London Folklore Society. His latest album, mixing electronica with a powerful rhythm section and his own guitar work, is very different to his recent acoustic albums, 2018's Constant Companion and 2017's Ritual Land, Uncommon Ground. Sonically, it's closer to the likes of German Kosmische legends Can or Popol Vuh than it is to conventional acoustic folk, with Hoyle on bass and guitars, supported by drummer Sam Kelly and keyboardist Olly Parfitt (both former Circulus members) and Norfolk singer Gemma Khawaja. It's a powerful, incantatory set that mixes folk with techno, psychedelia