''fRoots'' (pronounced "eff-Roots", originally ''Folk Roots'') was a specialist music

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

published in the UK between 1979 and 2019. It specialised in

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 ...

and world music, and featured regular compilation downloadable albums, with occasional specials. In 2006, the circulation of the magazine was 12,000 worldwide. (the year is matched from th
"fRoots Advertising Information"
that provides the same "readership of 40,000" data for their "2006 readership survey" as the main "around 12,000 worldwide (giving a readership of around 40,000)" claim). The magazine was also involved in live music production, as well as the

BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music The BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music was an award given to world music artists between 2002 and 2008, sponsored by BBC Radio 3. The award was thought up by ''fRoots'' magazine's editor Ian Anderson, inspired by the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Un ...

and the Europe in Union concert series.

Overview

In 1979, ''Southern Rag'' was founded by folk musician Ian A. Anderson with Caroline Hurrell and Lawrence Heath. It was renamed as ''Folk Roots'' in 1985, and in 1998 it became ''fRoots''. The headquarters was initially in

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and later moved to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. Anderson remained the editor for the magazine's entire forty-year lifespan. Since 1985, the magazine was published on a monthly basis, with compilation albums twice-yearly. After a 2017

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign, it was re-launched in April 2018 as a larger quarterly magazine, including a compilation album with every issue. On 2 July 2019, the editor announced that the magazine was suspending publication due to lack of funding, and that the Summer 2019 issue (issue 425) would be its last.

Albums of the year

The ''fRoots'' Critics Poll Album of the Year was determined by a panel of "hundreds of experts" in the UK and internationally: * 1986 ''

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

'' by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

* 1987 '' Soro'' by

Salif Keita Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali. Biography Early life Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village o ...

* 1988 ''

Amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

'' by Richard Thompson * 1989 ''

Djam Leelii ''Djam Leelii'' is the first widely distributed album of Senegalese musician Baaba Maal and guitarist Mansour Seck. Several of the tracks have been released on Baaba Maal's later releases. It was originally recorded in 1984 and released in 1989 by ...

'' by

Baaba Maal Baaba Maal ( ff, 𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤦𞤢 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤, italics=no, born 13 June 1953) is a Senegalese singer and guitarist born in Podor, on the Senegal River. In addition to acoustic guitar, he also plays percussion. He has released several al ...

and

Mansour Seck Mansour Seck is a Senegalese singer and musician born in Podor, in the north of the country. Best known for his collaboration with lifelong friend Baaba Maal, he has also toured and released several solo albums. He is blind. Biography Seck was ...

* 1990 '' The Complete Recordings'' by

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

* 1991 ''Barking Mad'' by

Four Men and a Dog Four Men and a Dog is an Irish traditional band that emerged in 1990 during the Belfast Folk Festival. The band plays Irish traditional music with a mixture of different other genres, including rock, jazz, blues, bluegrass, swing, salsa, polka and ...

* 1992 ''Lam Toro'' by Baaba Maal * 1993 ''

A Meeting by the River ''A Meeting by the River'' is an album recorded by Ry Cooder and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt; it was recorded in September 1992 and released in April 1993 through the record label Water Lily Acoustics. This improvised, collaborative album features Cooder o ...

'' by

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

and V.M. Bhatt * 1994 ''Waterson:Carthy'' by

Waterson–Carthy Waterson:Carthy were an English folk group originally comprising Norma Waterson on vocals, her husband Martin Carthy on guitar and vocals and their daughter Eliza Carthy on fiddle and vocals. They have a repertoire of predominantly British trad ...

* 1995 ''Kate Rusby and Kathryn Roberts'' by

Kate Rusby Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English English folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, an ...

and

Kathryn Roberts Kathryn Roberts is an English folk singer, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Early career Roberts' first released recordings were on the album ''Intuition'', a collection of songs by various South Yorkshire folk artists which also included her ...

* 1996 ''

Norma Waterson Norma Christine Waterson (15 August 1939 – 30 January 2022) was an English singer and songwriter, best known as one of the original members of The Watersons, a celebrated English traditional folk group. Other members of the group included h ...

'' by

* 1997 ''

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club is an ensemble of Cuban musicians established in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the gr ...

'' by

* 1998 ''Red Rice'' by

Eliza Carthy Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson. Life and ca ...

* 1999 ''

Kulanjan ''Kulanjan'' is a 1999 album by blues artist Taj Mahal and Malian kora-player Toumani Diabaté. Mahal had first visited Mali in 1979, and the title of the album comes from the track "Kulanjan" from the 1970 album of kora music, ''Ancient Strin ...

'' by

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

and

Toumani Diabaté Toumani Diabaté ( ; born 10 August 1965) is a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styles. ...

* 2000 ''Wanita'' by

Rokia Traoré Rokia Traoré (born 24. January 1974) is a Malian-born singer, songwriter and guitarist. She made six albums between 1998 and 2016. ''Bowmboï'' (2003) won the Critics Award category at the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2004 and ''Tcham ...

* 2001 ''Missing You / Mee Yeewnii'' by Baaba Maal * 2002 ''Specialist in All Styles'' by

Orchestra Baobab Orchestra Baobab is a Senegalese band established in 1970 as the house band of the Baobab Club in Dakar. Many of the band's original members had previously played with Star Band de Dakar in the 1960s. Directed by '' timbalero'' and vocalist Balla ...

* 2003 ''Bowmboi'' by Rokia Traoré * 2004 ''

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

'' by

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

* 2005 ''

Dimanche à Bamako ''Dimanche à Bamako'' ( en, Sunday in Bamako) is the fourth album by Malian duo Amadou & Mariam featuring, and produced by, French singer Manu Chao. It was released on the Nonesuch Records label on 2 August 2005. The album features guests such a ...

'' by

Amadou & Mariam Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the Bamako-born couple Amadou Bagayoko (guitar and vocals) (born 24 October 1954) and Mariam Doumbia (vocals) (born 15 April 1958). Their album '' Welcome To Mali'' (2008) was nominated ...

* 2006 '' Savane'' by

Ali Farka Touré Ali Ibrahim "Ali Farka" Touré (31 October 1939 – 6 March 2006) was a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent's most internationally renowned musicians. His music blends traditional Malian music and its deriv ...

* 2007 ''Segu Blue'' by Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba * 2008 ''Low Culture'' by

Jim Moray Jim Moray (born 1981) is an English folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Recording artist While studying classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Moray released the home-recorded ''I Am Jim Moray'' EP. During ...

* 2009 ''Très Très Fort'' by

Staff Benda Bilili Staff Benda Bilili are a group of street musicians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They used to live around the grounds of the zoo in the country's capital city, Kinshasa, and play music which is rooted in soukous, with elements of old-sc ...

* 2010 ''

Hedonism Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decr ...

'' by

Bellowhead Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical style ...

* 2011 '' Ragged Kingdom'' by

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. As ...

Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to Fiddler's Dram, and under the name "Oyster Ceilidh Band" played purely as ...

* 2012 ''Ground of Its Own'' by Sam Lee * 2013 ''Clychau Dybon'' by

Catrin Finch Catrin Ana Finch is a Welsh harpist, arranger and composer. She was the Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales from 2000 to 2004 and is visiting professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Fi ...

Seckou Keita Seckou Keita (born 14 February 1978) is a kora player and drummer from Senegal. He is one of the few champions of the lesser-known kora repertoire from Casamance in southern Senegal. Musical career Keita was born in Ziguinchor, Senegal. Thro ...

* 2014 ''The Moral of the Elephant'' by

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...

* 2015 '' From Here'' by Stick in the Wheel * 2016 '' Lodestar'' by

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 ...

* 2017 ''Ladilikan'' by Trio Da Kali &

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

* 2018 ''SOAR'' by Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita Between 2002 and 2008 the award was incorporated into the

References

Sources

External links

Official website
* Rogers, Jude (8 July 2019)
"'A big tree has fallen': the sad demise of fRoots, bible of British folk"
''

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 ...

''. 1979 establishments in England 2019 disestablishments in England British music awards Folk music magazines Magazines established in 1979 Mass media in Surrey Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Music magazines published in the United Kingdom World music awards {{UK-culture-mag-stub