All bar one member of The Northern Folk hail from Albury, NSW, and it was in that border town they formed.
Now calling Melbourne home, the ten-piece find their music (and friendship) greeted with ever-changing positivity and adventure.For those unaware of the blended outfit, The Northern Folk source their original material from several different elements, with the ten musicians all originating from varied backgrounds of music education and performance.
A logistical nightmare for most, but not The Northern Folk. They manage to avoid an overcrowding of the soundscape, yet still indulge in a luxurious blend of indie folk and poetic pop.
Creating such a flavourful sound, the band's singer Georgie Currie says, has always been a natural occurrence. "We've been together coming on eight or nine years, with six of those consistently playing," she says.
"The logistics are a little bit of an enigma to us as well, in that it is a little bit amazing that we are still kicking. Our saxophonist is our natural leader, keeps us all together.
"The different musicianship? It just really works – a lot of our horn section have a classical background whereas me and Paul, our other singer, have far less training in that way, so that has this nice tension."
Back to thinking about the band's close-knit upbringing – and how living in a regional town helped shape not just who they are as musicians today, but as people – Georgie says it all comes through in their songs.
"Even as recently as our last record [2019's 'Watermark'], there is direct reference to Albury.
"I think it's most obvious in the relationship to more metropolitan areas within the songs. There's a song called 'Cynics', all about what it's like coming to a city after being in a regional area, and some of the more cynical lens you can have on that.
"It's competing differences. I think it comes up in storytelling and in the backdrops of the songs; the stories that we’re telling."
The Northern Folk have been steadily rolling out their stories since the release of their 2016 debut album 'Stumble On Home'. The group's last singles, 'Watermark' album cuts 'Atticus' and 'Cold' (released in 2019 and 2018 respectively) were the last new material we had from the group.
So it's safe, Georgie says, to expect the band to have some new material to showcase, material of which you might hear if you're at River Folk Festival in September.
"There will be new material, and a new record. The first piece will be out by the end of the year. We've been working on this record since 2020.
"You probably hear this all the time, but really, it's true – this is definitely the best thing we've ever made. It's the richest, most cohesive record. It tells one, whole, big story, rather than lots of little stories. That's something I'm really excited about."
Still exploring the nuances of the forthcoming album, Georgie explains that thematically it amplifies the outfit's growth.
"We've all lived a lot more," she says, "so I think the songs are maybe a little bit less – not that they were wholly this, of course not – [but] they've all come from a place that they rely a little less on troupe and caricature.
"[The songs] are really honing on our lived experiences that have happened in the last couple of years, then woven into this larger story we're trying to tell. We're coding real experiences into this story."
River Folk Festival returns to the Yarra Valley running 30 September to 2 October.
The River Folk Festival 2022 Line-up
The Northern FolkCigány Weaver
Alana Wilkinson
Monique Clare
Rich Davies & The Low Road
Ruth Hazleton
Anna Smyrk
Liz Frencham
Above The Bit
Todd Cook
Tinman
The Northern Folk 2022 Tour Dates
Sat 3 Sep - Go North Arts Festival (Swan Hill)Sun 4 Sep - Watchem Church (Watchem, VIC)
