Andy Cutting (born 18 March 1969) is an English

folk musician Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has bee ...

and composer. He plays

melodeon Melodeon may refer to: *Melodeon (accordion), a type of button accordion *Melodeon (organ) The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reed aerophone, free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal ...

and is best known for writing and performing traditional English folk and his own original compositions which combine English and French traditions with wider influences. He is three times winner of the Folk Musician of the Year award at the

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British rad ...

and has appeared on around 50 albums, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians. He was born in Harrow, London and is married with three children.

Career

Starting playing the melodeon in his early teens, Cutting was invited to join a local ceilidh band, Happenstance, when he had been playing for only a few months. In 1988 he joined the influential and innovative band Blowzabella (which also featured Nigel Eaton, with whom Cutting has since collaborated). Cutting made one album (''Vanilla'') with Blowzabella before they broke up in 1990. Their repertoire, blending English traditional music with that of central France and Eastern Europe, had a great influence on Cutting.''Blowzabella – New Tunes for Dancing'' (by Andy Cutting, Nigel Eaton, Jo Freya, Paul James, Ian Luff, Cliff Stapleton, David Shepherd, Jon Swayne), Blowzabella, Glastonbury (2004) Blowzabella subsequently reformed; they celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2003, with Cutting once again an official member. They released the album ''Octomento'' in 2007. In 1989 Cutting formed a partnership with Chris Wood, whom he had met two years earlier at Sidmouth Folk Festival. They toured extensively over several years, reuniting in August 2010 for the

Towersey Village Festival Towersey Festival is an annual festival of folk, world music and traditional dance, previously held in the village of Towersey, relocated to neighbouring Thame in Oxfordshire, England through 2019. It moved to the Claydon Estate Middle Clay ...

and have made five albums together. Wood introduced Cutting to a wealth of Québécois music and shared his love of English and French dance music. Wood & Cutting, together with

Karen Tweed Karen Tweed (born 1963'Karen ...

and

Ian Carr Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus (band), Nucleus, and was an associate professor a ...

, make up the Two Duos Quartet, who have made one album, ''Half as happy as we''. Tweed & Cutting have also worked as a duo; they have made one album together and contributed to a live CD, ''Across the Waters'', recorded at

Cork University University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Colleges located in ...

in 1994. Cutting works regularly as a session musician, with artists as diverse as

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. ...

and

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () was a British anarcho-punk band who formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1998. Other singles include "Amnes ...

. He has been a member of several bands, including Fernhill and Tanteeka. As well as the Wood & Cutting duo, he is part of the trio 1651 (with Mark Emerson and Tim Harries), the

John McCusker John McCusker (born 15 May 1973) is a Scottish folk musician, record producer, and composer. McCusker was a member of the Battlefield Band in the 1990s and worked as a band member and producer for folk singer Kate Rusby. He has produced and ...

Band, the

Kate Rusby Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the be ...

Trio and the Kate Rusby Band.Andy Cutting's website: Home
Accessed 15 January 2010 He is also a popular workshop tutor and has taught at summer schools for

Folkworks Folkworks is a non-profit organisation based at The Glasshouse (formerly The Sage Gateshead) and a part of the North Music Trust. It runs many workshops, summer schools and festivals to promote and encourage the furtherance of folk music. It w ...

. He is the diatonic accordion tutor at the Burwell Bash. In March 2011, Cutting was part of the Cecil Sharp Project, a joint commission between

Shrewsbury Folk Festival Shrewsbury Folk Festival is an annual festival of folk and world music and traditional dance held in the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. It takes place over four days on and around the UK Late Summer bank holiday weekend (usually th ...

and

EFDSS The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS, or pronounced 'EFF-diss') is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance. EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dan ...

that saw him and seven other modern folk musicians take part in a week-long residential project to create new works related to life and works of folk collector

Cecil Sharp Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was a key figure in the folk-song revival in England dur ...

. Andy Cutting is part of Leveret, with

Sam Sweeney Sam Sweeney (born 27 February 1989 in Nottingham) is a multi-instrumental English folk musician. Career Sweeney was introduced to folk music as a child via his parents' record collection and taught himself to play traditional pieces by ear. ...

on fiddle and Rob Harbron on concertina. The trio formed in 2014 and have been described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' as "magical", and Cutting as a "melodeon and accordion virtuoso". In 2018 ''

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

'' named Leveret's album, ''Inventions'' one of their top 3 albums of the year, describing them as creating "strikingly new English instrumental music." Cutting also performs and records as ''Simpson Cutting Kerr'' with guitarist

Martin Simpson Martin Stewart Simpson (born 5 May 1953) is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in Britain, Ireland, America and beyond. He builds a purposeful, often upbeat voi ...

and fiddle player

Nancy Kerr Nancy Kerr (; born 1975) is an English folk musician and songwriter, specialising in the fiddle and singing. She is a Principal Lecturer in Folk Music at Newcastle University. She was the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards "Folk Singer of the Year". ...

. Their debut CD ''Murmurs'' was well received with ''The Telegraph'' naming it one of the best folk albums of 2015, describing them as "three of Britain’s finest musicians and interpreters of songs and tunes, each an acknowledged virtuoso in their own right". Cutting formed a new Anglo-French band, Topette!! in 2015. Cutting has won the Folk Musician of the Year award at the

three times: 2008, 2011 and 2016.

Compositions

Cutting has composed many tunes, several of which have been recorded by other artists. Some have passed into the music session repertoire. His compositions include: *A Habit of Hills *A Pound Off a Haircut *Alltfechan *At Halsway *Brakes *Commoner's Lot *Flatworld *Greenfield House *Heidi Hendy *Henry Blogg *Horseshoe Harbour *Hunger Hill *In Continental Mood *It's a Square World *I Like You, You're Common *I Only Want a Snack *Isleworth Bridge *It's a Square Word *Jacques Covemaker *Josephine's *Lady Grey *Le Petit Chien *Lola Flexen *Long Legs *Milford *Miss Lindsay Barker *Never Knowingly Underfed *New Pneus *Oakleigh *Old Light *Oliver's *Potato *Ricer *Ricer II *Round the Corner *Seven Years *Simon and Candy's Halsway Jig *Spaghetti Panic *St Michael's Mount *The Abbess *The Bay Tree *The History Man *The Long Drive *The RSB *The Walled Garden Waltz *Theatre *There are Angels *To The Edges *Turner's *Two Beers *Two Ladies *Uphill Way *Waltz Harry Lane *Waiting for Janet *Venture

Partial discography

His recordings include:Andy' Cutting's website: CDs
Accessed 15 January 2010 *Vanilla ( Blowzabella) – Special Delivery – SPDCD 1028 (1990) *Chris Wood & Andy Cutting – RUF Records RUFCD01 *Lisa (Wood & Cutting) – RUF Records RUFCD02 *Live at Sidmouth (Wood & Cutting) – RUF Records RUFCD03 *Lusignac (Wood & Cutting) – RUF Records RUFCD04 *Half as happy as we (Two Duos Quartet) – RUF Records RUFCD07 *Knock John (Wood & Cutting) – RUF Records RUFCD08 *A new tradition (Tanteeka) – Osmosys Records OSMO CD013 (1997) *Panic at the Café (Andy Cutting and Nigel Eaton, (1993) – Beautiful Jo Records BEJOCD-27 (1999) *Ca' Nôs ( Fernhill) – Beautiful Jo Records BJOCD-14 *Llatai (Fernhill) – Beautiful Jo Records BJOCD-23 *Whilia (Fernhill) – Beautiful Jo Records BJOCD-30 *Cast a bell (1651) – Beautiful Jo Records BEJOCD-33 (2001) *One Roof Under (Tweed & Cutting) – Fyasco Records FYC004 (2002) *Across the Waters (contributor, with

Karen Tweed Karen Tweed (born 1963'Karen ...

and others) – Nimbus NI5415 (1994) *Pandemonium ( Nigel Eaton) – Beautiful Jo Records BEJOCD-39 (2002) *10 (

) – Pure Records PRCD10 (2002) *Apples (

) – Topic Records TSCD 568 * Hold Your Horses (

Ella Edmondson Eleanor Rose "Ella" Edmondson (born 22 January 1986) is an English singer-songwriter. Her primary instrument is the guitar although she can also play the piano.Interview with Judi Spiers on BBC Devon, 16 February 2009. Early life Eleanor Rose Edm ...

) – Monsoon MONMUCD001 (2009) *Andy Cutting (Andy Cutting) – Lane Records LANECD01 (2010) *New Anything (Leveret) (2015) *Murmurs (

and Andy Cutting) —

Topic Records Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken ...

(2015) *In The Round (Leveret) (2016) *Inventions (Leveret) (2017) *Two Score (Blowzabella) (2018) *Diversions (Leveret) (2019) *Variations Live (Leveret (2020) *Bourdon (Topette!!) (2022) *Tilham (Blowzabella) (2022) *Forms (Leveret) (2023) *Duo Niepold Cutting (Anne Niepold and Andy Cutting) (2023) *Conversations (Gudrun Walther and Andy Cutting) (2023) *ON - Live at the Jam Jar (Topette!!) (2024) In 2009 ''Fulmine'' from ''Vanilla'' was included in

70-year anniversary boxed set ''

Three Score and Ten ''Three Score and Ten: A Voice to the People'' is a multi-CD box set album issued by Topic Records in 2009 to celebrate 70 years as an independent British record label. The album consists of a hardback book containing the seven CDs and a pa ...

'' as track twenty one on the seventh CD.

Books

Cutting contributed tunes and a biographical essay to: *''Blowzabella – New Tunes for Dancing'' (by Andy Cutting, Nigel Eaton, Jo Freya, Paul James, Ian Luff, Cliff Stapleton, David Shepherd, Jon Swayne), Blowzabella, Glastonbury (2004) Cutting contributed tunes to: *''The Waltz Book IV'' (collected & edited by Bill Matthiesen), (2013)

References

External links

*
Cutting playing original compositions on melodeonBlowzabellaReview of album: "Andy Cutting" (2010)
on

Folk Radio UK ''KLOF Magazine'' is an independent online music and culture magazine launched in 2004 by Alex Gallacher. Content ''KLOF Magazine'' primarily features writings on music as well as interviews with a wide range of notable artists and musicia ...