Leading light of a living tradition returns

eliza Carthy answers the phone sounding as though she’s been hitting the bourbon the night before. The truth, it turns out, is not quite so hedonistic. “I had a baby four months ago and I’ve been sitting on the couch for the last six months and now I’m getting up at 9 o’clock every day and rehearsing and my voice isn’t used to the exercise. The only strenuous thing it’s been doing recently is shouting at Jerry Springer,” she says, apologising for her croaky voice.

Carthy’s voice, like her name, is synonymous with British traditional music. The daughter of the folk heroes Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson, she has carved out an impressive solo reputation herself, working with an array of performers including Paul Weller, Rufus and Martha Wainwright and Nick Cave.

She’s also been garlanded with awards. Last year’s album Gift, a collaboration with her mother, picked up Best Album and Best Traditional Track accolades at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

But after taking time out to have her second child she’s back with a new album, Neptune, and is about to embark on another tour. First off, though, she’s doing a charity gig in her hometown, Whitby. “The community college has a very good stage and they need to raise about £10,000 to renovate it so they can get it back into use. At the moment the students working on projects have to go off campus and one of my friends is a teacher there and she’s started a campaign to get it back into proper use, so that’s why I’m doing this gig,” she says.

Her new album relates to an astrological reading she had from a friend of the family. “The material on the album is ordered chronologically and is about the last ten years of my life. It’s basically me writing about boys,” she says, with typical irreverence. “My last album was all about German oompah music and this one definitely isn’t.”

Although she’s still only 35, Carthy sounds like a veteran. “I’ve lost count of how many albums I’ve done, I think it’s about 23, but I’ve been in the family business for over 20 years. Traditional music is what I’m known for and then I do my own songwriting as a sideline.”

Her latest album is the first released on her new record label, although it’s not the first time she’s had her own company.

“I had my own record label ten years ago when I worked with an accordion player called Martin Green but it didn’t catch on. I’m hoping this label will be permanent because I’ve been thinking I should have my own label for a while, not only for my records but to have other people on it as well.”

After years in the doldrums British folk music is enjoying a renaissance. “Whitby didn’t have a very big music scene when I was growing up, apart from the Whitby Folk Festival. One of the reasons I left was I felt there wasn’t anything there for me.

“But over the years there’s been a regeneration of the town and the music there is very healthy, there’s a lot going on.”

This is being replicated across Yorkshire. “It’s the biggest county and there’s a lot happening, especially in West Yorkshire. There’s also a fantastic folk scene in South Yorkshire, there are lots of little clubs and singing weekends,” she says.The burgeoning interest in traditional music might surprise some people, but not Carthy.

“People like variety and they don’t like to be told what to listen to. Shows like X-Factor have become more about entertainment than music and people are looking for something genuine.”

Her parents became household names during the 60s and coming from such a musical dynasty it was perhaps written in the stars that she would follow in their footsteps.

“I suppose it was, although if you’d asked me that question when I was 17 I would have scoffed and said I was going to do something different.”

She grew up immersed in the world of traditional music. “I grew up on a farm on the North Yorkshire Moors surrounded by a large family and music, it was very idyllic in many ways.

“My mum set about becoming self-sufficient and living the good life, although I’m sure when we moved the people in Robin Hood’s Bay thought ‘who are these bloody hippies?’”

Despite being part of a famous musical clan Carthy says her mother didn’t encourage her to get into the music business.

“It’s hard to not see your family, you miss out on weddings and christenings when you’re on the road as a musician. She wanted me to get an education and take care of myself, which aren’t the first things you associate with being a musician.”

However, she has been around long enough to know how the industry works and is heartened by the growing number of young, British female artists making names for themselves.

“When I started it was a bit of a boys club and it still is, but it’s good to see talented young women like Adele who take control of everything, people who can play bass and arrange their own music and aren’t just a pretty face doing what they are told.”

As for her own career, after six months of maternity leave she’s “gagging” to get back out on the road.

Following the Whitby gig, her tour gets underway at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, before wending its way round England, Scotland and Wales.

“I’m looking forward to getting some sleep again. I’m going back to work so I can get some rest,” she says, with a raspy laugh.

Eliza Carthy plays Whitby Community College on May 6, and The Greystones, in Sheffield, on May 27. Neptune is out on May 9.