Rachel Unthank
Singer
Songwriter
Rachel Unthank is a singer and songwriter. She was born in Ryton, Gateshead, into a musical family surrounded by folk song and storytelling. With her sister Becky, she released her debut album in 2005, Cruel Sister, and in 2008 was nominated for Mercury prize with her album, The Bairns.
She has released many albums since then including Mount the Air, which won best album at the 2016 BBC Radio 2 folk awards. She is currently collaborating with Paul Smith from Maximo Park releasing a new album, Nowhere and Everywhere, under the name Unthank: Smith.
Rachel describes herself as a ‘magpie-like folk singer’, with her approach to music being that of collecting treasures in songs, stories and giving voice to forgotten history. Her music is a mix of tradition freshly presented with a left-field tip. Alongside her singing, Rachel plays cello and is a clog dancer, and has an unmistakable Geordie sound when performing.
Activities
Watch Rachel’s interview:
Activity – Collecting Treasures
Listen to the track below:
These activities relate to the idea that folk singers are like magpies collecting treasures. They are incredible source of oral history, sharing stories and knowledge from the past through music.
Task 1 – Musical Time Capsule
This task is about your local environment and the area you live and thinking about what you want to make sure never gets forgotten. Complete the mind map below, thinking what makes your area special and unique, and remember special is different for everyone and sometimes the most mundane thing can be the most important.
Task 2 – Collecting stories from others
A really important part of folk traditions is oral history and the passing on of knowledge through generations.
Step 1
Write a list of all the elders in your life. Think about people who you are close to, who you respect and who you want to take wisdom from. This could be parents, grandparents, people who care for you or family friends.
Step 2
Write down a list of questions you might want to ask these people. What do you want to find out?
Here’s some ideas:
- Tell me about what you were like at school?
- Tell me a story that your parents told you?
- Do you have any ditties or sayings from your childhood or that your parents used to say? (e.g. Magpies – one for sorrow, two for joy)
Step 3
Choose some of the people from your list in step 1 and interview them using the questions from step 2. From the answers and stories you’ve found out think about which ones you’re going to share in the future with your children or the next generation of children.
Task 3 – Inheritance Tracks
Learn a song from your parents that they used to sing when they were your age.
What song that you listen to now are you going to pass on to the next generation?