Rob Curry's guest appearances

Rob Curry

Pantheon - Home of Music Podcasts

Directors Notes

See Hear 

Ben Timlett

Scott Crawford

Harry Nilsson

Tom Surgal

Daniel Johnston

Shirley Collins

Johan Von Sydow

Allan Arkush

Boaz Goldberg

Isabelle Raynauld

Colm Forde

Tamara Saviano

Steve Berlin

Skizz Cyzyk

Kevin Hosmann

OwlTail

An English woman and an American man drive through the American south in 1959. Their mission is to record folk songs for the Library of Congress, but they also record what peoples' lives are like at that time. How did this bode for the future?Welcome to See Hear podcast episode 78.The man was ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, and the woman was folk singer Shirley Collins. Their travels came on the cusp of the civil rights movement, and Alan had returned to America after an extended time away avoiding HUAC. The journey should have just been a study in peoples' living conditions and preserving a wealth of songs previously passed down from generation to generation. The fact that Lomax had been responsible for recording music from Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger meant that anything he did was considered a political act – not a safe thing in 1950s America.Bernie and Maurice had the pleasure of speaking with English film director Rob Curry about two of his films – 2017's The Ballad of Shirley Collins and 2020's Southern Journey (Revisited). The two films are intertwined with each other, so it made sense to discuss both. The Ballad of Shirley Collins reveals its subject in the 21st century living her life in Sussex. She hadn't been able to sing for over 30 years, something she struggled with as singing was at the core of her being. Southern Journey has Rob and his co-director Tim Plester taking the same journey in 2018 that Lomax and Collins did in 1959. They meet up with many people in the same regions – some are actual descendants of the people recorded in 1959, others are part of the spiritual lineage. In 2018, this may be just as political, but presents a very different picture to those on our news programs.Like Lomax and Collins, Rob and Tim were also travelling in a politically charged time. We speak to Rob about both films, the differences between the roles of folk music and commercially popular song, southern hospitality, the ties of community,.....and Morris dancing. We also discover that a popular rap artist of the early 90s lifted his biggest hit from a traditional drum-and-fife tune. Who was it???? You'll have to tune in and find out.Unfortunately, Tim Merrill was unavailable this month, but Bernie and I are hugely grateful to Rob for taking the time to speak with us. We recommend both of these magnificent films for your viewing pleasure. The Ballad of Shirley Collins is available at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/shirleycollinsmovie. Southern Journey (Revisited) is currently on limited cinema release, but will hopefully be available to stream in 2021.If you’ve been enjoying the show, please give us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists.Proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.comSend us feedback via email at seehearpodcast@gmail.comJoin the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcastCheck out the Instagram page at www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=enYou can download the show by searching for See Hear podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher…..or whatever podcast app you favour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An English woman and an American man drive through the American south in 1959. Their mission is to record folk songs for the Library of Congress, but they also record what peoples' lives are like at that time. How did this bode for the future? Welcome to See Hear podcast episode 78. The man was ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, and the woman was folk singer Shirley Collins. Their travels came on the cusp of the civil rights movement, and Alan had returned to America after an extended time away avoiding HUAC. The journey should have just been a study in peoples' living conditions and preserving a wealth of songs previously passed down from generation to generation. The fact that Lomax had been responsible for recording music from Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger meant that anything he did was considered a political act – not a safe thing in 1950s America. Bernie and Maurice had the pleasure of speaking with English film director Rob Curry about two of his films – 2017's The Ballad of Shirley Collins and 2020's Southern Journey (Revisited). The two films are intertwined with each other, so it made sense to discuss both. The Ballad of Shirley Collins reveals its subject in the 21st century living her life in Sussex. She hadn't been able to sing for over 30 years, something she struggled with as singing was at the core of her being. Southern Journey has Rob and his co-director Tim Plester taking the same journey in 2018 that Lomax and Collins did in 1959. They meet up with many people in the same regions – some are actual descendants of the people recorded in 1959, others are part of the spiritual lineage. In 2018, this may be just as political, but presents a very different picture to those on our news programs. Like Lomax and Collins, Rob and Tim were also travelling in a politically charged time. We speak to Rob about both films, the differences between the roles of folk music and commercially popular song, southern hospitality, the ties of community,.....and Morris dancing. We also discover that a popular rap artist of the early 90s lifted his biggest hit from a traditional drum-and-fife tune. Who was it???? You'll have to tune in and find out. Unfortunately, Tim Merrill was unavailable this month, but Bernie and I are hugely grateful to Rob for taking the time to speak with us. We recommend both of these magnificent films for your viewing pleasure. The Ballad of Shirley Collins is available at <a href="https://vimeo.com/ondemand/shirleycollinsmovie" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/ondemand/shirleycollinsmovie</a>. Southern Journey (Revisited) is currently on limited cinema release, but will hopefully be available to stream in 2021. If you’ve been enjoying the show, please give us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. Proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at <a href="http://pantheonpodcasts.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://pantheonpodcasts.com</a> Send us feedback via email at seehearpodcast@gmail.com Join the Facebook group at <a href="http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast</a> Check out the Instagram page at <a href="http://www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en</a> You can download the show by searching for See Hear podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher…..or whatever podcast app you favour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

See Hear 78: Interview with Rob Curry

An English woman and an American man drive through the American south in 1959. Their mission is to record folk songs for the Library of Congress, but they also record what peoples' lives are like at that time. How did this bode for the future? Welcome to See Hear podcast episode 78. The man was ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, and the woman was folk singer Shirley Collins. Their travels came on the cusp of the civil rights movement, and Alan had returned to America after an extended time away avoiding HUAC. The journey should have just been a study in peoples' living conditions and preserving a wealth of songs previously passed down from generation to generation. The fact that Lomax had been responsible for recording music from Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger meant that anything he did was considered a political act – not a safe thing in 1950s America. Bernie and Maurice had the pleasure of speaking with English film director Rob Curry about two of his films – 2017's The Ballad of Shirley Collins and 2020's Southern Journey (Revisited). The two films are intertwined with each other, so it made sense to discuss both. The Ballad of Shirley Collins reveals its subject in the 21st century living her life in Sussex. She hadn't been able to sing for over 30 years, something she struggled with as singing was at the core of her being. Southern Journey has Rob and his co-director Tim Plester taking the same journey in 2018 that Lomax and Collins did in 1959. They meet up with many people in the same regions – some are actual descendants of the people recorded in 1959, others are part of the spiritual lineage. In 2018, this may be just as political, but presents a very different picture to those on our news programs. Like Lomax and Collins, Rob and Tim were also travelling in a politically charged time. We speak to Rob about both films, the differences between the roles of folk music and commercially popular song, southern hospitality, the ties of community,.....and Morris dancing. We also discover that a popular rap artist of the early 90s lifted his biggest hit from a traditional drum-and-fife tune. Who was it???? You'll have to tune in and find out. Unfortunately, Tim Merrill was unavailable this month, but Bernie and I are hugely grateful to Rob for taking the time to speak with us. We recommend both of these magnificent films for your viewing pleasure. The Ballad of Shirley Collins is available at <a href="https://vimeo.com/ondemand/shirleycollinsmovie" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/ondemand/shirleycollinsmovie</a>. Southern Journey (Revisited) is currently on limited cinema release, but will hopefully be available to stream in 2021. If you’ve been enjoying the show, please give us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. Proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at <a href="http://pantheonpodcasts.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://pantheonpodcasts.com</a> Send us feedback via email at seehearpodcast@gmail.com Join the Facebook group at <a href="http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast</a> Check out the Instagram page at <a href="http://www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.instagram.com/seehearpodcast/?hl=en</a> You can download the show by searching for See Hear podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher…..or whatever podcast app you favour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

See Hear Podcast Episode 78 - Interview with Rob Curry, director of Southern Journey Revisited and The Ballad of Shirley Collins

Tim Plester

Seeing that DN alumni Rob Curry and Tim Plester (who previously joined us on the podcast to discuss Tempest and Way of the Morris respectively) were premiering their new film at the London Film Festival, I jumped at the opportunity to finally get them in a room together to talk about their fruitful co-directorial work. And so, we take a deep dive into the creation of their new feature, The Ballad of Shirley Collins, a lyrical documentary about the 20th century’s most important singer of English traditional song and her battle to rise again from long silent ashes after losing the ability to sing in the prime of her career over 40 years ago.The Ballad of Shirley Collins (2017)A lyrical response to the life-and-work of folk music icon Shirley Collins, the High Queene of English Folk. A Singer and Song-Collector. Silent for almost 40 years. Ready to reclaim her voice. We decided pretty much from the get go that we didn’t want to make a traditional biopic or a ‘folkumentary’. https://archive.org/download/DN353TheBalladofShirleyCollinsRobCurryTimPlester/DN353TheBalladofShirleyCollinsRobCurryTimPlester.mp3For more, be sure to check out DN’s full 2017 London Film Festival coverage.

Seeing that DN alumni <a href="https://directorsnotes.com/tag/rob-curry/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rob Curry</a> and <a href="http://www.timplester.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tim Plester</a> (who previously joined us on the podcast to discuss <a href="https://directorsnotes.com/2012/05/31/dn247-tempest-rob-curry-anthony-fletcher/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tempest</a> and <a href="https://directorsnotes.com/2011/03/30/dn-sxsw2011-way-of-the-morris-tim-plester/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Way of the Morris</a> respectively) were premiering their new film at the <a href="https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">London Film Festival</a>, I jumped at the opportunity to finally get them in a room together to talk about their fruitful co-directorial work. And so, we take a deep dive into the creation of their new feature, <a href="http://www.shirleycollinsmovie.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Ballad of Shirley Collins</a>, a lyrical documentary about the 20th century’s most important singer of English traditional song and her battle to rise again from long silent ashes after losing the ability to sing in the prime of her career over 40 years ago.<h3>The Ballad of Shirley Collins (2017)</h3>A lyrical response to the life-and-work of folk music icon Shirley Collins, the High Queene of English Folk. A Singer and Song-Collector. Silent for almost 40 years. Ready to reclaim her voice.<blockquote> We decided pretty much from the get go that we didn’t want to make a traditional biopic or a ‘folkumentary’. </blockquote><a href="https://archive.org/download/DN353TheBalladofShirleyCollinsRobCurryTimPlester/DN353TheBalladofShirleyCollinsRobCurryTimPlester.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://archive.org/download/DN353TheBalladofShirleyCollinsRobCurryTimPlester/DN353TheBalladofShirleyCollinsRobCurryTimPlester.mp3</a>For more, be sure to check out DN’s <a href="https://directorsnotes.com/tag/lff2017/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">full 2017 London Film Festival coverage</a>.

DN353: Rob Curry & Tim Plester Herald the Rebirth of a Folk Legend in ‘The Ballad of Shirley Collins’