The Fernweh

The origins of The Fernweh can be traced back to a hill at Glastonbury Festival 2007 where three young musicians - Jamie Backhouse, Ned Crowther and Austin Murphy, then part of the acclaimed Candie Payne band, bonded over a shared love of English folk and psychedelia. Inspired by how Fairport Convention took the more arcane aspects of English culture and fused it with an electric rock & roll sound and a canny ear for a great tune to create something fresh and exciting, the three set out to make their own 21st Century Liege and Leaf; a record which would be made on their own terms, without compromise. Three years in the making, their eponymous debut brings together a collection of songs that examine childhood nostalgia, memory and loss through a distinctly British lens - a creative strand that runs through many of the group’s influences: Anne Briggs, The Zombies, Frederick Delius, Basil Kirchin, Fairport Convention… The Fernweh was released in 2018 on Skeleton Key Records, enjoying huge support from BBC 6Music through Cerys Matthews, Guy Garvey, Radcliffe & Maconie, Steve Lamacq and Gideon Coe. Their eagerly anticipated follow-up, ‘Torschlusspanik!’ was released in 2022 on Winterlude Records.