Music: O’Hooley & Tidow

The folk duo chat musical inspiration

The Yorkshire duo of Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow have released three albums, and were nominated for Best Duo at the 2013 BBC 2 Folk Awards. Brought up on traditional Irish music, last year’s The Hum album saw the pair branch out further from their folk roots, mixing traditional with contemporary sounds and subject matters, helped by the production wizardry of Gerry Driver. Songs about industry, beer, migrant workers and war, along with a tribute to Pussy Riot, won them rave reviews across the board. Their highly complimentary voices and a large reservoir of great songs have marked the duo as one of the best on the circuit.
“I met Heidi while I was still in The Unthanks,” says Belinda. “I happened to go to a gig where she was singing and thought she was fantabulous. We’re getting married next year. We’ve been together ten years next year. We’ll have a bit of a do … any excuse for a do,” laughs Belinda, in those dry Yorkshire tones.

Although Yorkshire born and bred, the girls have taken a strong interest in their heritage: “Heidi was born in the area, and I was born in Leeds. Heidi’s family come from Country Galway, her uncle was an accordion player. She’s also half German and she listened to a lot of German folk music growing up. My background is in traditional Irish music. My dad is still alive and we still have sing-a-rounds; he has taught us so many songs. Some of the traditional jigs and reels that he does, they feature in our songs, like ‘Summat’s Brewin’ which is based on an old Irish reel called ‘The Swallow’s Tale’.”
One of the highlights of The Hum, and a live favourite, ‘Summat’s Brewin’ is a joyful celebration of the resurgence of micro-brewing in the Colne Valley area where they live. “We noticed that the last time we were in Lewes, people were getting more interested in beer and it’s wonderful.” As for the name The Hum: “We’ve got an old mill that has been converted into a factory just below our house. It’s still producing textiles. That humming you can hear, we’ve got so used it, it’s very comforting. And when you don’t hear it’s a bit weird,” she laughs.

Belinda’s dad emigrated to England from Ireland, and was a navvy, helping to build England’s burgeoning road network. With Belinda’s mum being German, it’s not surprising to find out that migration and immigration are themes throughout their oeuvre. “For the next album we’re going to be looking more at immigration,” says Belinda, “in terms of the way immigrants are either accepted or not accepted. My dad was one of those people that saw a lot of prejudice when he first came over – “No Irish here”, and all that kind of stuff – and I can see from his point of view how hard it must have been, to just get on and work…”
Con Club, Lewes, Sat 21 March, 7.30pm, £10 advance