What is folk music really? A simple explanation, by Sam Genders of the UK group Tunng.

1. On beards and jumpers.
Several members of our band do in fact own one or more of each of these. It’s often said that the close proximity of the two items creates a harmonic resonance audible only to waif-like girls in flowery dresses. Research to date has been inconclusive.

2. On pop and telly.
Folk music and folklore is really just pop music and telly from before 1936. Humanity falls into the same old traps and revels in the same joys across generations. It’s just that, these days, the chords are harder.

3. On pissing off the old school.
I think someone who once owned a Cecil Sharpe memorabilia tea towel said they didn’t like our album, and the next thing we know, we’re at the heart of a full-on blazing journo-war in the tradition of Dylan vs. Seeger. Except it never happened. Live and let live is our moto, and there are only two types of music: good and bad.