The world's very first Questival with Keston Cobblers Club

Image: Keston Cobblers Club 

Continuing to break boundaries, Keston Cobblers Club visions expand much further than their contemporary take on folk music that's earning them plaudits on the live circuit.

Compromised of five members wielding all kinds of instruments, they've garnered plenty of admirers including Radio 6's Steve Lamacq. They also possess a quirkiness that's something of a rarity when it comes to album releases, and it's nothing you'll have experienced before.

To launch their imminent album Wildfire, they're rolling out the world's very 'Questival' named Wildfire from 19th - 21st June. Leaving no stone unturned, we hooked up with the band for a chat, deciphering what exactly a 'Questival' entails and a whole lot more. 

Hi guys. So first, who are Keston Cobblers Club and what do they represent?  

We are a band that formed in 2009 after hearing the folklore of the Cobbler of Keston. Like most bands our primary existence is to make music, write, record and perform it to people, but we like to try a bit of everything and get people involved in all sorts of weird and wonderful projects. We are Matthew, Julia, Tom, Bethan and Harry. 

You're about to release your second album, Wildfire, tell us about that?  

We always find it hard to stamp one genre on our releases. As ever, this album is a fusion of folk, orchestral, pop and indie-rock influences. We're very greedy when it comes to our selection of instrumentation and genres without aiming for a specific style. We like to just call it Cobblers' style. There's definitely some natural progression in sounds on this album from the last though and we had a lot of fun creating it. 

We understand that you'll launch it at your very own Quest-ival, named Camp Wildfire. What exactly is a Quest-ival?  

Well, a Questival is an adventure festival. Literally a festival where you participate in quests. There are over 80 adventure activities and quests all ready for you. Combine this with music, arts, food and a beautiful forest and you’ve got Wildfire (see the trailer above).

How did that idea come about, and do you think it will catch on?  

It came about from my (Julia's) need to adventure. I was sitting at my desk one day, and kept thinking, “I should learn how to do silversmithing”, “I want to go on a zip wire” or “I want to learn first aid” and realised there's nowhere that adults can do all of that without kids. If you signed up to all these things individually, you’d spend a small fortune, so what better way than to put them all on over one weekend?

We also understand there'll be a 'Digital Detox', what is your reasoning and how will you enforce it?  

The main reason for this is because people are so distracted by their phones, me included. We want people to really experience being out in the forest, and, say, climb a giant climbing wall, rather than just seeing it through a lens. All of those people who film a gig on their iPads instead of watching are crazy.

We won’t be 'strictly' enforcing it, as we don’t want to be rude or mean to anyone, but we will really encourage it. We think it’ll be a better experience for all involved, and once your brain has had two days to switch off, you’ll see just how creative you become. 

After a busy festival season, you launch straight into an album tour, that's pretty exhausting stuff. What do you all enjoy about touring as a band?  

I know it's an old cliché but touring is simply amazing. You get to travel around the country, playing your songs (listen to 'Won't Look Back' above) to venues full of your fans. Even if you are exhausted - which at times you can be - the moment you walk on stage and start playing it all goes away. There's five of us plus a couple of crew on tour, and we just make sure we enjoy it. 

Would it be fair to categorise Keston Cobblers Club as contemporary folk, and what can an accustomed cobbler expect from one of your shows?  

It's hard to categorise our genre, we definitely take massive influence from folk music and it's definitely what you'd class as contemporary.

There's a few different expectations from ours shows, we like to make the balance between emotional moments of peace and all out dancing in our sets. Often we don't write down a set for the show. I (Matthew) shout it out as we go and this means we can be quite flexible in style as we go and play off the audience.  

And lastly, if you could recruit a sixth band member dead or alive, who would it be and why?  

(Matthew answers) Ha, Hmm hard one. As the lead singer of a lot of the tracks, I wouldn't want to be overshadowed by amazing singers like Freddie Mercury, Paul Simon or Justin Vernon. I'd have to go for Miles Davis smashing the trumpet, we always need more trumpet, or perhaps Sting on bass guitar (We have no bass guitar), we'd let him sing some backing vocals as well. Even Bach or Paganini on violin would be great on tour. 

Thanks guys!

Their festival schedule includes Folk By The Oak, Underneath The Stars, Nozstock, Forgotten Fields and Belladrum.

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