Thankful Villages Volume 3

Description

Released on 9 November, to coincide with the hundredth anniversary of the end of the First World War, Thankful Villages Volume 3 is the final instalment of Darren Haymans epic study of rural British life. A Thankful Village is one where every soldier returned alive from the Great War. Darren has visited all 54 of these villages and made a sound recording, painting and film in each one.

Thankful Villages doesnt concern itself exclusively with the War, however. It is an exploration of rural communities, including collected stories, interviews, folk songs, soundscapes, field recordings and new original songs. The record takes the form of a fantastical radio show as Darren unearths lost human stories from hidden rural idylls.

Since the dissolution of his first band, Hefner, Darren Haymans work has increasingly explored location and history. Thankful Villages Volume 3 is the beautiful and poignant culmination of this process; tiny, human vignettes plucked from Britains blanket of green. Thankful Villages Volume 3 was completed with generous funding from the Arts Council of Great Britain. Previous volumes of Thankful Villages have been extensively covered in features in the Financial Times, The Guardian, The i and the New York Times. Darren has appeared as a guest discussing the Thankful Villages project on BBC Radio 4s PM and Loose Ends, and The Verb on Radio 3. He has filmed a segment about Thankful Villages for a documentary to be shown on ITV on 11 November. He is available to write and talk as a musical guest and also as a historical expert on the subject of Thankful Villages and British rural life.

Praise for Thankful Villages:

Enchanting and oh so English in execution and eccentricity. fRoots

An intoxicating collection of folk songs, dreamy instrumentals and poignant interviews set to music, layered with sounds harvested from his visits. The Financial Times

Listening to Thankful Villages is to hear a range of stories stretching across history. The Independent I

The project resembles a fascinating, occult history of the British countryside, filled with largely forgotten rural stories. The Guardian