Golden Samphire Band
“They introduced me to [Sandy Denny] and I have to admit that I can see the similarities.”
Golden Samphire Band may sound as fresh as a spring morning, though there’s a history to this new progressive folk trio that’s attached to an older band. Critically acclaimed Southend-on-Sea duo Junkboy, aka brothers Mik and Rich Hanscomb, invited singer Hannah Lewis to join them on their 2023 album 'Littoral States' for several tracks, and the chemistry was so incredible that they ended up forming a whole new band out of it.
Named after a wild flower that grows in the vicinity of the East Sussex Downs where they’re all based these days, Golden Samphire Band’s first album, 'Dream Is The Driver', is a fascinating work of renewal and consolidation. “I think it’s a debut album because it's a different name,” suggests guitarist Rich Hanscomb, “but certainly, thematically, there's a continuation of some of the stuff that was on the 'Littoral States' album.”
“It started out as another Junkboy album,” admits his brother, Mik, who also plays guitar, as well as other duties. “Because we collaborated with Hannah previously, we were under the impression that we were making a new Junkboy album, but then Hannah featured prominently across all of the tracks and so we thought that rather than calling it a Junkboy album with a special guest vocalist, we’d make it a new project.”
Hannah Lewis came into the picture when the Hanscombs met her at a psychedelic club night in 2022. Lewis was performing with a duo, and the lads were knocked out by her voice. “And then a few months later, they just randomly popped me an email asking if I wanted to do a song,” says Lewis, laughing at the fact that one song has turned into many more.
The bright, clear, emotionally expressive quality of Lewis’ vocals on songs like Harbour Waves are redolent of folk legends like Jacqui McShee of Pentangle or Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention, so it’s a surprise to learn that this is the first time she’s performed as a folk singer. “I'm from my own world,” she states. “Vocally, I do classical training, and there’s choir stuff and also jazz stuff. It’s all quite structured, but then you've got the freedom of improv and whatnot, so now I can explore the folk stuff. Which for me, is a whole new world.”
Was she aware of the similarities between her voice and that of the late, great Sandy Denny? “Well, they seem to think so,” says Lewis, chuckling. “They introduced me to her and I have to admit that I can see the similarities.”
Old English folk and the land upon which they stand is important to the Golden Samphire Band, and there are plenty of prog roots in the soil too. “Mik and I are Genesis fans across the board,” declares Rich Hanscomb. “I am well into 'Duke' and 'Turn It On Again'-era Genesis. We both like Genesis’ early albums with Peter Gabriel, and Mik even has a fondness for the very first [self-titled] Genesis album. Should I say an inexplicable fondness for the very first Genesis album that doesn't sound anything like them?” he adds. “That's the one that they disowned, isn't it?”
- Jeremy Allen
Prog File
Lineup: Hannah Lewis (lead vocals, engineering on vocals), Rich Hanscomb (guitars), Mik Hanscomb (guitars, bass, engineering, mixing:
Sounds like: Vivacious pastoral folk with technicolor Sandy Denny-liked multitracked vocals
Current release: 'Dream Is The Driver' is out now via Wayside & Woodland Recordings
Website: https://waysideandwoodlandrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/dream-is-the-driver Dream Is The Driver | Golden Samphire Band | Wayside & Woodland Recordings