Electric Eden

Rob Young investigates how the idea of folk has been handed down and transformed by successive generations, including song collectors, composers, Marxist revivalists, folk-rockers, psychedelic voyagers, free festival-goers, experimental pop stars, and electronic innovators.

In a sweeping panorama of Albion's soundscape, Electric Eden takes in the pioneer spirit of Cecil Sharp; the pastoral classicism of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Peter Warlock; the industrial folk revival of Ewan MacColl and A. L. Lloyd; and the folk-rock of Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Nick Drake, Shirley Collins, John Martyn, and Pentangle.

The narrative stretches further to the bucolic psychedelia of The Incredible String Band, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd, as well as the acid folk of Comus, Forest, Mr Fox, and Trees. It encapsulates the essence of The Wicker Man and occult folklore, recalls the early Glastonbury and Stonehenge festivals, and embraces the visionary pop of Kate Bush, Julian Cope, and Talk Talk.

Electric Eden maps out a native British musical voice that reflects the complex relationships between town and country, progress and nostalgia, radicalism and conservatism.

An attempt to isolate the 'Britishness' of British music—a wild combination of pagan echoes, spiritual quest, imaginative time-travel, pastoral innocence, and electrified creativity—Electric Eden will be treasured by anyone interested in the tangled story of Britain's folk music and Arcadian dreams.