“The uncertain times of ecological collapse that we live in, hold within them a lot of wisdom, for not just our relationship to the land, but our relationship to each other.” Sam Lee


E186 – Sam Lee on Wilderness, Fire and Ecological Collapse

Fireside Stories


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About this interview:

How do we re-awaken and re-foster our ancient love and connection with nature?

 
“The uncertain times of ecological collapse that we live in, hold within them a lot of wisdom, for not just our relationship to the land, but our relationship to each other.” Sam Lee
 
In this special live episode coming from Wilderness Festival, Amisha talks with Sam Lee, a Mercury Prize-nominated and BBC Folk Award-winning singer, conservationist and curator. With a lifelong passion for wilderness studies and nature connection, Sam is a folk music specialist dedicated to collecting, sharing and interpreting ancient oral music from Britain and Ireland. He has been instrumental as one of the new wave of young activists shaping the landscape of the folk world and roots music in the UK. With two critically acclaimed albums, Sam works holistically in challenging the very nature of our heritage music in the 21st Century.
 
They explore
:: the magnificence and wisdom of fire and storytelling by the fire side
:: nature as our playground, teacher and elder
:: our estrangement from nature & how to connect with nature in times of ecological collapse
:: folk song traditions and their cultural significance
:: camping in wilderness and access to land
 
“The permission to be creative needs to be enforced as a right for everybody; to use their imaginations, to be playful. I think nature is a wonderful place for that.” ~Sam Lee
 

 

Sam Lee is a Mercury Prize-nominated and BBC Folk Award-winning singer, conservationist and curator. Trained in Fine Arts, but with a lifelong passion for wilderness studies and nature connection, Sam is a folk music specialist dedicated to collecting, sharing and interpreting ancient oral music from Britain and Ireland. He has combined these interests through his ‘Singing with Nightingales’ annual springtime concert series. His singing has been heard in films and TV shows, from Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword to Peaky Blinders.

Sam was musical director for the RSPB’s 2019 Top 20 birdsong single, ‘Let Nature Sing’ and his 2020 album Old Wow garnered five-star reviews. He has lectured at Goldsmiths, SOAS and Oxford University and was the first folk singer to teach at the Royal College of Music.

Sam has spent the last 13 years working with some of the most exciting British and international folk artists and industry professionals re-galvanising the London and UK folk scene through his live events challenging the ecosystem in which the music is fostered, the way it sounds and how it is presented.

Director of the Nest Collective and The Song Collectors Collective and an award-winning musician himself, Sam has been instrumental as one of the new wave of young activists shaping the landscape of folk world and roots music in the UK. With two critically acclaimed albums, his debut receiving a Mercury Music Prize nomination, Sam works holistically in challenging the very nature of our heritage music in the 21st Century.

 

To connect or work with Sam Lee, visit samleesong.co.uk

To connect or work with Amisha, visit amisha.co.uk


artwork video: Hana Katoba

 

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