“HIDDEN PEOPLE” is an apt title for this long-anticipated debut CD from husband-and-wife duo Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman. They have been lynchpins of the UK‘s burgeoning folk-acoustic revival over the last two decades working with other artists, but are now winning critical praise in their own right. They are playing festivals in the summer and tour the UK in November as follows:
 Sun Nov 4 Exeter Phoenix
Tues Nov 6 Stroud Prince Albert
Wed Nov 7 London Putney Half Moon
Thurs Nov 8 Abingdon Unicorn Theatre
Fri Nov 9 Sheffield Cathedral
Sat Nov 10 Hebden Bridge Trades Club
Sat Nov 10 Newhampton Arts Centre
Sun Nov 11 Bridport Arts Centre
Thurs Nov 15 Brighton Komedia
Fri Nov 16 Maidenhead Norden Farm Center for the Arts
Sat Nov 17 South Petherton David Hall Arts Centre
Mon Nov 19 Wiveliscombe Silver Street Sessions
Fri Nov 23 Southampton Hanger Farm Arts Centre
Sat Nov 24 Frome Rook Lane Arts
Sun Nov 25 Truro Old Grammar School
Tues Nov 27 York National Centre for Early Music
Thurs Nov 29 Bury The Met
Fri Nov 30 Milton Keynes The Stables
 Now, at last, it’s their turn to burst out from the shadows of their siblings and former musical partners to make a big noise in their own right. This bold and superbly – crafted album includes eight self-penned songs, one traditional arrangement and a poignant cover version. With Kathryn’s sublime voice and effortless delivery, Sean’s masterly guitar arrangements and the sonic quality of the production this CD, this is one the most eagerly awaited modern folk albums of the year.
 The esteem in which they are held is reflected in the list of artists who queued up to make a contribution: Sean’s famous brother Seth Lakeman; the award-winning Irish singer Cara Dillon (who is married to another brother, musician and producer Sam Lakeman); Levellers’ lead singer Mark Chadwick; veteran folk troubadour Dave Burland, singer-songwriter Jim Moray, Megson’s Stu Hanna, Caroline Herring from the USA and Greta Bondesson from Sweden’s sister trio Baskery.
 Steeped in the English tradition, Yorkshire-born Kathryn, 37, was a teenage sensation in a duo with Kate Rusby. They made the Folk Album of the Year in 1995, “Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts”, and Kathryn also won the first-ever BBC Young Folk Award as a solo singer. They both teamed up with the three Lakeman brothers to form the folk -pop “supergroup”, Equation, which was signed to Warner Music’s cool ‘Blanco Y Negro’ label. Rusby and Seth then left to begin successful solo careers.
 Equation, with Kathryn and Sean at the head, spent more than five years touring in the USA and performed at top venues from New York to Los Angeles. They played the legendary Newport Folk Festival, the Golden Gate Festival in San Francisco, the Strawberry Festival in California’s Yosemite National Park, the Rock ‘N’ Roll hall of fame in Cleveland and concerts from Arizona to Seattle, Chicago to Denver, Boston to El Paso. “We must have seen more of America than most Americans” says Sean.” An incredible experience and a unique musical education.”
 Meanwhile, Seth Lakeman wrote his seminal “Kitty Jay” album, which led to a Mercury Music Prize nomination – and a musical roller coaster ride. Sean was at his elbow, playing guitar as Seth achieved international fame with subsequent albums. Gold and silver albums sit on Sean’s walls, as producer of Seth’s groundbreaking CD’s, one of which (Poor Man’s Heaven) became the rarest of things, a folk album in the Top Ten.
 Like Kathryn, Sean’s musical pedigree is formidable. After emerging on the English folk scene as one of ‘The Lakeman Brothers’ he studied jazz and contemporary music at Leeds College of Music. But he learned more by staying at the Yorkshire home of family friend and guitar maestro, Chris Newman, and touring the UK’s folk clubs with veteran folk fiddler Tom McConville.
 Kathryn and Sean have had a low profile as a duo over the last eight years. As Sean toured the world with Seth’s band, Kathryn has been busy at their hideaway Dartmoor home raising twin girls, Poppy and Lily, who are now nearly five. Now, finally, they have found breathing space to produce “Hidden People” for the Navigator label and will be heard performing live throughout the summer and autumn at festivals and gigs.
 Kathryn’s vocals – lush, sultry and faultless – are the signature of the album. She has an extraordinary range, from husky to soaring. She also provides all the piano, keyboards, flute and woodwind. Sean contributes six-string guitar, mandolin, bass guitar, bouzouki and of all things “wooden ruler bass.”
 The sonic quality of this CD is testimony to Sean’s impressive production and recording skills and demonstrates why other folk artists and bands like the Levellers have beaten a path to his door to employ his services as a producer.
 The tracks on “Hidden People” range from Kathryn’s haunting lead vocals, to rousing a cappella harmony, mellow and heart-rending piano ballads, foot-tapping rockabilly beats, tunes with a world-music tinge and full-on folk-rock. Yet the core of the album is good old-fashioned story-telling. “These are stories, first and foremost,” says Kathryn, but she warns, “My home-life is so ‘roses round the cottage door’, that I tend to prefer music with an edginess, so some of the tracks on the album are quite dark and brooding, to say the least.” The messages and meanings behind these songs belong to the “Hidden People.”
 1 – HULDRA
Inspired by a Scandinavian folktale about a mythical being who lures men to their doom, this opens with Kathryn’s unaccompanied vocal and builds to a rich chorus of female voices. It ends, fittingly, with the chilling refrain,” Never stray far from home” intoned in Swedish.
 2 – OXFORD, N.Y.
A spooky song which Kathryn and Sean wrote after being told a legend in the hamlet of Oxford, in upstate New York, about a boy who was buried in a glass coffin.
Melodic percussion, sitar-like strings and a mantra-style chorus, ” Please don’t lay me six feet down” give this track a world music feel.
 3 – MONEY OR JEWELS.
A man tells his lover “I can’t offer you money or jewels.” An exquisite guitar riff from Sean leads you into this lilting love song with an unexpectedly sad ending. Beguiling flute, mandolin and other strings flesh out this arrangement.
 4 – HANG THE ROWAN
Straight into a belting, soaring chorus – as good as any pop single – but this is no sugary bubblegum ballad. Dark and mysterious, this is about hanging Rowan (Mountain Ash) around your door to ward off evil spirits. A driving rhythm, wonderful drums and percussion, hints of piano, subtle bass…. a mini masterpiece.
 5 – THE BALLAD OF ANDY JACOBS
Just upright piano and voice, an intensely personal song from Kathryn who lived through the miners’ strike. Her South Yorkshire village of Dodworth saw its pit close and life there has never been the same. Neighbours were torn between “standing on the line”, becoming blacklegs or scrabbling for illicit coal. “Feelings run deep and, sadly, people still cross the street to avoid each other” says Kathryn. The miners’ strike, told through the eyes of Andy and his bride, Cassie, will move you to tears.
 6 – THE WHITE HIND
An eerie supernatural ballad about ” transmigration of the soul” and a beautiful young girl who turns into a pure white doe and is hunted down. Atmospheric, ghostly choruses, Kathryn and Caroline Herring’s voices melding beautifully and recognisable characterful contributions from Burland and Moray. Sinewy sliding double bass, plus almost electronic vibes – a glorious blending of sounds.
 7 – LUSTY SMITH
Raunchy and jaunty, Kathryn learned this X-rated song from musical friends in South Carolina. It takes sexual innuendo to new hot and sweaty heights. The percussive attack on Sean’s guitar playing drives this track along. Mandolin and fiddle join in, everyone’s clapping…
 8 – THE WISDOM OF STANDING STILL
Laid-back guitar, piano and bass beckon you into this relaxed song which basically says “Chill!” A heartfelt song from Kathryn and Sean, who feel blessed to live in the contemplative peace and wilds of Dartmoor. They urge us to “Switch off, don’t say a word… slow down, make space again… see the wisdom of standing still.” It’s almost as if they are inviting us into their cosy cottage to sit by the fire and enjoy a glass.
 9 – STANDING AT MY WINDOW
A new take on the ancient “Lover’s Ghost” ballad theme in which a girl is spirited away by her spectral lover. Sean launches in with a no-nonsense, rolling acoustic guitar riff, against a shuffling drum backbeat. Leveller Chadwick pops up with a rasping, suitably evil vocal, Seth joins in with “dirty fiddle”, there’s honky-tonk piano and the whole turns into a full-blown rock-out, finishing with an echoing feedback reverb’. A truly “Ancient and Modern” folk song.
 10 -JACKIE”S SONG
A plaintive song about the futility of war. A soldier writes or sings to his sweetheart ” Jackie I said I’d take you dancing”…. but will he ever come back? He curses the gung-ho old men back home singing about the glories of warfare. Kathryn’s singing in this poignant tale is sublime and the track showcases Sean’s impeccable guitar work- delicate, mournful and a fitting finale to this shining gem of an album.