Sweet England

Having already bagged more than a little silverware at the BBC Folk Awards, 21-year-old Jim Moray (pronounced Murray) is on a mission. Styled as a 'techno-traditionalist' for his love of the latest studio hardware and for spending long nights flicking through the English traditional songbook, he's pulling folk music by the beard into the 21st century. Using contemporary tools on age-old songs makes perfect sense to Moray (he performs in folk clubs using his laptop) and the results are far fromgregarious gimmickry. Stand-out songs on this debut full-length release include the jaunty title track, along with Moray's reading of the normally rousing Raggle Taggle Gypsy, here substituting the usual fiddles and squeezebox in favour of just trumpet and electric guitar, an arrangement that's nothing short of visionary. On first hearing, Sweet England is startling. By the tenth listen, it's a revolutionary experience. Just the kind of release that pricks the ears of the Mercury Music Prizepanel. Remember the name and buy this album. Now.