The Big Eyes Family Players / Big Eyes Family are a group from

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, UK, formed in 1999 by multi-instrumentalist James Green. They initially recorded experimental music under the name Big Eyes, but in 2006 they changed their name and began to venture more into folk and traditional music. They are best known for two albums of traditional material: ''

Folk Songs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

'', which they released in collaboration with the Scottish singer-songwriter

James Yorkston James Yorkston (born James Patrick Yorkston Wright; 21 December 1971) is a Scottish folk musician, singer-songwriter and author from the village of Kingsbarns, Fife. He has been releasing music since 2001. As well as recording as a solo artist, ...

on Domino Records in 2009; and the follow-up, '' Folk Songs II'', featuring a variety of guest vocalists and released on

Static Caravan Recordings Static Caravan Recordings is an independent record label based in the North West of England, whose artist releases include singles and albums by Darren Hayman, the Hornblower Brothers, Hannah Peel, Erland & the Carnival, Shady Bard, the Yel ...

in 2012.

Formation and early recordings as Big Eyes

Multi-instrumentalist James Green formed Big Eyes in Sheffield in 1999 as a solo experiment, making experimental instrumental music. Under this name, and with a rotating line up of other musicians, notably guitarist David Jaycock, he released the albums ''Big Eyes Songs'' (2000), ''Clumsy Music'' (2001), ''Love Is Gone Mad'' (2002) and ''We Have No Need For Voices When Our Hearts Can Sing'' (2004), as well as the three-track EP '' I See Creatures'' (2003), all via the

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

-based label, Pickled Egg Records.

''Do The Musiking''

In 2006, the group expanded their name to the Big Eyes Family Players and released the ambitious 29-track album ''Do the Musiking'', featuring guest musicians such as

, Rachel Grimes (

Rachel's Rachel's were an American chamber music group that formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1991. Former Rodan guitarist Jason Noble played music individually and referred to himself as Rachel's but then began collaborating with core members violist Chr ...

) and Jeremy Barnes (

Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock ...

A Hawk and a Hacksaw A Hawk and a Hacksaw is an American folk duo from Albuquerque, New Mexico, currently signed to L.M. Duplication. The band consists of accordionist Jeremy Barnes, who was previously the drummer for Neutral Milk Hotel and Bablicon, and violinist H ...

). A mixture of avant-garde and folk music, the 78-minute collection drew the attention of

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

, who said, "One ... benefit of the Family Players' ever-shifting strategy and personnel is that none of ''Do the Musikings weaker ideas is able to linger for long, allowing each new track to present another open range of almost limitless possibility."

''Folk Songs'' and ''Folk Songs II''

In August 2009, the Big Eyes Family Players collaborated once again with James Yorkston on the album ''

''. As the title suggests, all of the tracks are traditional British and Irish

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

songs (along with one from Galicia,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

). Many of them are versions of songs recorded by singers in the 1960s

British folk revival The British folk revival incorporates a number of movements for the collection, preservation and performance of folk music in the United Kingdom and related territories and countries, which had origins as early as the 18th century. It is particul ...

, such as

Nic Jones Nic Jones (born Nicolas Paul Jones; 9 January 1947) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Regarded as a prominent figure of the British folk revival, he has recorded five solo albums and collaborated with various musicians. Biography ...

Anne Briggs Anne Patricia Briggs (born 29 September 1944) is an English folk singer. Although she travelled widely in the 1960s and early 1970s, appearing at folk clubs and venues in England and Ireland, she never aspired to commercial success or to achiev ...

and

Shirley Collins Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on ...

. The album received generally positive reviews from the music press. Writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'',

Robin Denselow Robin Denselow is a British writer, journalist, and broadcaster. Education Denselow was educated at Leighton Park School, a boys' Quaker boarding independent school (now co-educational) in Reading, Berkshire, followed by New College, Oxford, wher ...

called it, "One of the more intriguing folk albums of the summer", commenting, "It's an album of strong songs, and may well prompt a new audience to check out the earlier recordings." The website

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

said the album was, "a fine tribute to the folk tradition of a musician taking long established songs, putting his own mark on the tested formulas and then passing them on for consumption by whoever encounters them along the road." In 2012, the group released a follow-up album entitled '' Folk Songs II'' on

, credited to The Big Eyes Family Players & Friends and featuring a variety of guest vocalists including Yorkston, Alasdair Roberts, Elle Osborne and

Adrian Crowley Adrian Crowley is a singer, composer, songwriter, lyricist from Galway, based in Dublin and was born in Sliema, Malta. Crowley has released eight albums to date, with his debut ''A Strange Kind'' arriving in 1999. He followed this with ''When ...

. The Quietus described it as "a richer and more varied listening experience" than the first album, ascribing this to the variety of vocalists on the songs.

Other Big Eyes Family Players releases

As well as the two ''Folk Songs'' albums, the Big Eyes Family Players have continued to release other albums, including ''Warm Room'' (2009) and ''Family Favourites'' (2011), the latter featuring reworked versions of some of their old songs. In 2015, a new album entitled ''Oh!'' was released, with songwriting shared by Green and vocalist Heather Ditch. In a very positive review,

Folk Radio UK Folk Radio UK, is an online Independent Music Journal covering a broad range of Folk music, Global music, Independent music, American Primitive Guitar, Drone Music and other alternative offerings. Established in 2004 by Alex Gallacher. the websi ...

said, "They have never been a straight folk band, despite the traditional albums of the past. Rather, they have a pop sensibility and an individuality that allows them to appropriate many genres without being in thrall to any of them ... it becomes clear that they are at the very top of their game, and that ‘Oh’ is perhaps their finest album to date."

Discography

Big Eyes

*''Big Eyes Songs'' (Pickled Egg Records), 2000 *''Clumsy Music'' (Pickled Egg Records), 2001 *''Love Is Gone Mad'' (Pickled Egg Records), 2002 *''I See Creatures'' (Pickled Egg Records), 2003 *''We Have No Need For Voices When Our Hearts Can Sing'' (Pickled Egg Records), 2004

Big Eyes Family Players

*''Do The Musiking'' (Pickled Egg Records), 2006 *''Donkeysongs'' (

Rusted Rail Rusted Rail is an Irish independent record label that was started in 2006 by Keith Wallace. Rusted Rail have released albums by artists including Phantom Dog Beneath the Moon, United Bible Studies, The Declining Winter. Music for Dead Birds an ...

), 2008 *''

'' ( Domino Records), 2009 (with

) *''Warm Room'' (Pickled Egg Records), 2009 *''Family Favourites'' (Karate Body Records), 2011 *'' Folk Songs II'' (

), 2012 (as Big Eyes Family Players & Friends) *''Oh!'' (Home Assembly Music), 2015

Big Eyes Family

*''The Disappointed Chair'' (Sonido Polifonico), 2020

References

{{reflist English folk musical groups