They are one of the strangest folk acts on the scene, but their blend of rich baroque strings and dark vocals is unbeatable, as Tim Hughes discovers

AS a staple of the English folk scene, John Dipper is used to playing impressive venues.

As half of the duo Dipper Malkin, a third of The English Acoustic Collective and a member of string quartet Methera, the viola player is a fixture at folk festivals up and down the land.

But, he says, it is the intimate shows which really get him excited. And that includes tonight's show with guitarist and singer Dave Malkin at the White House, in Oxford's Abingdon Road, where they perform for Oxford Folk Club.

"We are really excited to return to Oxford,” he says.

"While we have spent the festival season performing on big stages, it’s the small venues that we enjoy the most, where the audience are close and they can hear every nuance of the performance.

"Our music was originally created and developed to be played acoustically in intimate settings, so the Oxford Folk Club is a perfect fit.”

Dipper Malkin are a lean but punchy folk act with classical sensibilities, John teasing out rich melodies on his viola d’amore – a baroque instrument boasting more strings than the usual variety – while Dave accompanies on guitar and dark, gritty vocals.

No strangers to local folkies, the duo played at The Oxford Folk Festival this year to a packed house, sharing the bill with The Emily Askew Band. They have also performed at Christ Church and Oxford Contemporary Music events at Warneford Chapel alongside award-winning local author Elizabeth Garner, discussing how they interpret music from old manuscripts and create new work informed by the rich resources of the folk tradition.

"We always like to give the audience a background to the material, where we learned it and what it means to us.” says Dave.

At the heart of Dipper Malkin’s approach to music is a respect and admiration for their cultural legacy. John explains: “The greatest compliment we could think to pay to our ancestors, those responsible for this rich and fascinatingly idiosyncratic tradition, is to explore the repertoire they’ve provided for us.”

Dave adds: “It’s also important to us that we look outwards for inspiration. We aim to create work on a par with contemporary classical music in terms of its intrinsic artistic value, as thrilling and accurately executed as improvised jazz, but most importantly rooted in our tradition.”

Their recently released album Tricks of the Trade also features BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician of the Year, Corrie Dick on two of the album’s 10 tracks, contributing percussion which ranges from dexterous and spacious to frenetic. Tom Dennis plays flugelhorn on the track King Storm. Producer Ben Corrigan has enabled the duo to explore sonic possibilities and production values not necessarily associated with folk music.

John admits the viola d’amore – which has seven bowed and seven sympathetic strings – is an unusual instrument for a folk duo. “I began investigating ways to play more complex polyphonic accompaniments," he says.

"I’ve developed a new tuning system for the instrument, which has allowed new compositions to flourish. This range enables us to swap the traditional roles of melody player and accompanist, so we can both take whichever role suits the tunes, allowing the music to be spoken through both voices.”

All of which makes for lavish tales, beautiful melodies, blistering reels and impassioned songs with timeless lyrics mixed with modern day musings.

A real treat for the ears then.

Dipper Malkin play Oxford Folk Club at The White House, Abingdon Road, at 8.30pm tonight. Call 01865 768128.