Counter's Creek

LIVE REVIEWS

Brian Dalton - Croydon Folk Club

“Each member of the band is a quality act in their own right, but when combined add up to a considerably greater combined total. The programme of traditional and original music and song provided a variety to grab the interest of all those present and delivery was top notch, both instrumental and vocals of the highest calibre…A truly magical gig…look out for them down your way.”

Joe Whittaker - Dartford Folk Club

“The four musicians who make up Counter's Creek came to play for the first time at the folk club I have been attending for 40+ years and showed us all what fine musicians they were…plus they can all sing too. Check them out and book them as they are sure to rise.”

Feedback from promoters on Highlights (Northumberland/Cumbria) Rural Touring Scheme

“It was a delight to host Counter's Creek in Lesbury recently as part of the Highlights Rural Touring Scheme. Our audience was captivated by their musical craftsmanship, beautiful original songs and tunes, and their friendly, witty chats. Our audience feedback was universally positive. Examples: “brilliant musicians/singer”; “great music and brilliant chat”; “they were AMAZING”. The band also initiated unusually pro-active and helpful communications with us in the weeks before the show.”

“This Counter's Creek show provided a thoroughly entertaining evening, delivered with a mix of humour and thoughtfulness reflecting the deeply felt music. A combination of the new and the familiar in folk music, performed on an array of (sometimes new and intriguing!) instruments, and delivered with contagious enthusiasm. A highly recommended show!”

Feedback from promoters on Artsreach (Dorset) Rural Touring Scheme

“Charming, honest, funny and all excellent musicians - the whole show was uplifting and very beautifully performed.”

“Counter's Creek were musically brilliant.”

“Wow, what a brilliant Artsreach event we have just had with Counter's Creek! The packed out audience was absolutely mesmerised by the beautiful playing and haunting melodies of these four very talented musicians. It was such a treat. Thank you all for a very memorable evening!”

“Counter's Creek - a group of extremely talented musicians who gave us an evening of light humour, fabulous creativity and amazing music.”

“Thank you Counter's Creek for a wonderful concert in Winfrith last night. The music was sensational and even people who openly claim not to be ‘folk fans' tell me they really, really enjoyed it!”

Feedback from promoters on Pound Arts (Wiltshire) Rural Touring Scheme

“Counter's Creek are an absolute musical treat. They had our village audience captivated from the start and we'd welcome them back anytime. Their music invites you in and transports you to the wilds, to the ocean, to your own heart and soul.”

ALBUM REVIEWS

MY TREASURED LAND (2025)

FATEA Magazine - January 2026

Counter's Creek have always felt like a band rooted in place, and My Treasured Land deepens that connection with striking clarity. Named after one of London's lost rivers-an underground waterway that once flowed from Kensal Green to the Thames-the group continue to channel that sense of hidden history and quiet movement through their music. On this new album, they refine their blend of contemporary folk, jazz inflected notes, and chamber like intimacy, creating a record that feels both grounded and exploratory.

The core line up remains wonderfully cohesive: Jonathan Taylor on flutes and whistles, Ben Cox vocals and harmonium, Tom Newell on fiddle and guitarist Moss Freed. Their interplay is the album's heartbeat. Each musician brings a distinct sound, yet the magic lies in how those sounds braid together, never competing, always conversing.

The opening tracks set the tone with a sense of gentle forward motion, like the river the band is named after. Taylor's flute lines glide with lyrical ease, while Newell's provides both a rhythmic anchor and harmonic lift. That gives a freed to both vocal and guitar to play the currents and direct the flow.

What stands out across My Treasured Land is the band's commitment to storytelling both with and without words. Tunes unfold like scenes: some pastoral and reflective, others bustling with urban energy. There's a cinematic quality to the arrangements, yet nothing feels overwrought. Instead, the album invites the listener into a world where tradition and modernity coexist where folk roots meet contemporary composition, and where songs feels like a natural extension of the written tunes, both new and from the tradition.

The production is clean and spacious, allowing every nuance to breathe. It's the kind of record that rewards close listening, though its melodic generosity makes it instantly appealing too.

My Treasured Land is Counter's Creek's most assured work to date: a thoughtful, beautifully crafted album that honours the hidden river in its name while carving out its own distinctive musical landscape. It's a place worth returning to often.

Angie Ingrams

Bright Young Folk

Six years on from their debut album The Careful Placement of Stones, London quartet Counter’s Creek release My Treasured Land, a collection of largely original tunes and songs describing life in London in the last five years, including during the lockdown period, but also evoking the joy of a rural escape to places such as Suffolk or the Lake District.

As in their previous artistic endeavour, the band’s distinctive woodwind and fiddle combination is the driving force behind their instrumentals. Tracks like the opening jig Birds Without Wings, the foot-tapping reel Woodshedded Rollercoasters, and the slow reel and jig set The Quiet Night Inn / Return to Benslow showcase a stunning array of musical talent; the latter notably introducing, alongside the low whistle, the sound of the wooden flute to the band’s repertoire.

Many titles, including the ones of the songs, particularly the title track and the two parts of Home at Last, tell the story of the multiple inspirations for these composition: climate crisis and environmental concern (The Gilded Cage), civic pride (March Hare Cherry Blossom), desire for a simpler and less frantic world (Unexpected Blessings), and the innocence of childhood (Brand New World) are just some of the themes behind the compositions on this album.

These tracks are side by side with a couple of traditional songs, namely Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy and seafaring song Bold Riley, presented in the sensitive and colourful style of this eclectic quartet.

As the title suggests, this work is a multi-faceted celebration of British traditional music. Despite being firmly rooted in the capital, it presents a wide variety of sounds, time signatures, and atmospheres, evoking distant times and different scenery, from the mountains of Cumbria to the open skies of East Anglia, from the Highlands of Scotland to the Thames Valley.
My Treasured Land is a sophisticated yet accessible album, technical and deeply emotional at the same time. Its sound and quality provide a natural step up from the band’s previous work, establishing Counter’s Creek as one of the most intriguing voices of the London folk scene.

Michele Mele

World Music Central

My Treasured Land Turns Cabin Fever Into Celtic Folk Joy

Counter’s Creek’s dazzling new album, My Treasured Land, summarizes five years of life spent in London, including periods under COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, through joyful songs and splendid Celtic-infused instrumental pieces. The album also points to the desire to escape to rural locations, specially the Lake District and Suffolk. The record travels smoothly through British and Irish folk traditions and further. You’ll find evocative Irish low whistles and flutes alongside traditional English songs such as “Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy” and “Bold Riley.” On top of that, the album connects Celtic reels with American bluegrass on “Americana” as well as Indian music influences on “Brand New World.” The heartfelt lyrics point to entrapment on “Birds Without Wings” and “The Gilded Cage,” while “Earthrise” focuses on environmental concern. Elsewhere, the title track and “Home At Last” lean into longing for a simpler countryside life. The album also portrays lighter scenes, from a Waltham Forest Council cherry tree planting to childhood themes on “Brand New World” and “That’s Not My Unicorn.”

The recording took place at Cowshed Studio, a small space in North London, on the hottest day of 2024.

Overall, My Treasured Land reveals a rising star in the world of Celtic music.

Angel Romero

Le Peuple Breton

The name Counter's Creek refers to one of London's ancient rivers, which once flowed into the Thames.
It is because they are from the English capital that the four musicians in the band chose this name. Counter's Creek is a folk band that composes and plays original songs inspired by the folk music of the British Isles. But that's not all, as their repertoire also includes jigs, reels and rhythms from Eastern Europe and West Africa.
These four Londoners came together around Jonathan Taylor (flute, whistles and keyboards), who wrote nine of the fourteen tracks on the album. Jonathan has been interested in many musical styles and was previously known as a jazz pianist. Alongside him is singer Ben Cox, who also plays the flute and harmonium. He too studied jazz and has performed at major festivals with his own band.
Violinist and bouzouki player Tom Newel also performs regularly at British folk festivals and with the Ceilidh Liberation Front. Finally, guitarist Fred Moss plays in a jazz/folk band. These four musicians from di"erent backgrounds met by chance at concerts and were brought together by their love of acoustic folk music, catchy melodies and danceable rhythms.
My Treasured Land is their second album, the first dating back to 2019. It is a collection of instrumental compositions and a few songs that find their origins in their daily lives in London. These musicians seek to escape through their quest for a simpler rural life and environmental aspirations.
Very varied in style, the album delves into British tradition, notably the traditional songs Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy and Bold Riley. These four friends fuse distinctly Celtic tunes with American bluegrass, Americana and a pinch of Indian music, Brand New World.
A highly original style of music that successfully harmonises completely different styles. The melodies are catchy, revealing a definite swing.

Philippe Cousin

THE CAREFUL PLACEMENT OF STONES (2019)

FATEA Magazine - January 2020

I remember one summer in Ibiza, lying on the beach at Es Cavallet and watching a group of people building rock stacks at the water's edge - vertically balanced columns of pebbles of varying shapes and sizes. I had a go myself. The process is simple, and is both satisfying and relaxing. By carefully selecting the right pebbles, the stacks can bring together a variety of colours, contours and textures, all carefully arranged to create one harmonious structure. 

'The Careful Placement of Stones' is the debut album from London based quartet Counter's Creek. It brings together jazz pianist (and member of leading tango ensemble, Tango Siempre) Jonathan Taylor, violinist Tom Newell (founding member of folk trio Effra), guitarist Moss Freed (from jazz-punk band Let's Spin, and also jazz collective Moss Project), and drummer Andy Tween (who has worked with numerous folk, jazz and pop musicians, as well as with choreographer Michael Clark). Counter's Creek is named after a stream that once flowed from Kensal Green and into the Thames. Like many of London's 'forgotten' rivers it has since become incorporated into London's canal and Victorian sewer system, but remaining an imortant part of the city's underground infrastructure. 

Listening to this album reminded me of those rock stacks in Ibiza. Each of the twelve tracks has been created by bringing together distinct individual facets of shape and form, and by balancing and arranging them together to create a unique musical structure. Taylor himself compared the writing process to placing stones in a Zen garden - the various elements must be selected and combined to create an apparently natural and organic composition. 

The result is a collection of highly original tunes that feature strong elements of jazz and blues, but also incorporate a keen sense of swing as well as bursts of both East European and African dance energy. But, essentially this is a contemporary folk album with melodies inspired by locations throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. These include the gentle 'Ullapool' from the Scottish Highlands; Celtic rhythms of 'Caer Llan' from Monmouthshire and 'The Ballymagarvay Wedding' from County Leath in Ireland; and incorporating a dichotomous beat that was inspired by the village of 'Once Brewed, Twice Brewed' in Northumberland. 

Further inspiration comes from the nation's capital city. 'Fish Out of Water/The Walthamstow Reel' is an ironic, but spirited, reaction to hipster migration into districts of North East London; 'First Snowfall/The Lord of Misrule' is a wintry flashback to London's first daytime snowfall in five years, as well as a traditional celebration of December's Feast of Fools. Even the salubrious riverside community of 'Richmond' is celebrated in a curious tripling that juxtapositions it alongside 'Fidel's Farewell' (written on the day of Castro's passing) and 'The Path of Least Resistance'. 

Whilst the skill mix of this talented quartet cannot be overstated, special mention needs to be made of Taylor's charismatic whistle playing, and of the rich sonorous tones emanating from Newell's octave violin. The Careful Placement of Stones is probably the best jazz-folk album that you will hear this year. I fervently hope that the busy schedules of the four individual cornerstones of Counter's Creek can somehow be arranged together for a live tour some time soon. 

David Auckland