Henry Parker is currently my most listened to artist and this is his latest album, Chasing Light, a collaboration with fellow guitarist David Ian Roberts. Unlike his previous releases this is a purely instrumental album steeped in the acoustic psychedelic/folk scene of the late 60s and early 70s.

Parker, from Yorkshire and Roberts from Cardiff first met in 2019 during a series of co-headlining performances and their friendship grew into the synchronicity displayed on this album. The music and the influences behind each composition are born from their respective landscapes. Old Peculiar, track two of side one is a nod to their then beer of choice of the same name brewed on the Yorkshire Dales border whilst Wedber Wood refers to the woodlands around Malham and one of my favourite places, Janet’s Foss Waterfall apparently named after a faery queen who is said to live in a cave at the back of the fall.

The inner sleeve notes give an appreciation to the influence of Syd Barrett, Nick Drake, Steve Hackett and John Renbourn on this album. But the music is their own, the influence of others respectfully subtle, at once both a homage to the past and a celebration of the now and the new generation of folk inspired artists combining traditional forms with new and exciting tunings and perspectives.

This is an album of harmony, not two guitarists trying to outdo the other. The playing is accomplished and technically brilliant but not at the expense of soul. It has a warm feel which resonates throughout, flowing like the seasons and the clear waters of the Gordale Beck.

See also: Lammas Fair