Banter are: Simon Care on melodeon & concertina, Nina Zella on keyboards & vocals, Tim Walker on drums, percussion, brass, guitar, bass & vocals and Mark Jolley on bass, fiddle, guitar & vocals.
Four fine musicians whose roots are firmly in the traditional English genre, but who enjoy stretching the limits.
Formed in 2015, they realised that a common love for the living traditions of English song and dance music was at their core and began to pursue it’s evolution, bringing in flavours from a wider palette of musical influences.
They have gained a reputation for being powerfully unique in the English traditional music genre. Their popularity has placed them in great demand to perform at many of the UK’s largest festivals including: Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival, Broadstairs Folk Week, Sidmouth Folk Festival, Whitby Folk Week, Folk East, Oxford Folk Week, Wickham Festival, Gate To Southwell Festival and Towersey Festival as well as internationally at European festivals such as Rudolstadt (Germany) and Costa festivals in Portugal and Ibiza.
With the release of their first two albums, YES and DARE, between 2017 and 2019, they received rave plaudits in the music press including 4 and 5 star reviews in FATEA, Songlines and RnR Magazines and performed a Valentine’s Day live session on Mark Radcliffe’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Show.
Their third studio album THREE, explored and reimagined a selection of well loved traditional songs as well as their usual hearty take on some romping dance tunes. John Spiers and Phil Beer appear as guest musicians on two of the tracks and more critical acclaim came from the print and broadcast media.
Their most recent album HEROES has firmly established them as leaders in the genre of contemporary English folk, bringing fresh reworkings to and breathing new life into of a number of well known English repertoire songs. Their version of Lay Me Low has been described by it’s legendary writer, John Tams, as “The new definitive version” of his song and the album has received airplay and admiration around the world.
Although just four people, they create a huge sound and have been described as the world’s smallest big band.
“Unmistakeable pumping melodeon, screaming brass and visceral vocals..!” – Jack Rutter (Seth Lakeman Band)
“Funky brass, unexpected jazz chords, thought-provoking songs..” – Jude Abbott (Chumbawamba)
“Elegant and epic! Carried us to all the places you want music to take you.” – Merry Hell