Winchester Folk Club

Black Peak are Darren Black and Deborah Peake. They came together in early 2009 as a result of bumping into each other at gigs and festivals in Hampshire where they are based. They recorded their debut EP ‘Tales we might know’ soon after, earning them a nomination for ‘Best Debut’ in the 2010 Spiral Earth Awards (for which they were runners-up). Since then they have gone on to play numerous folk clubs, gigs and festivals, including main stage appearances at Stokes Bay and Gosport Folk Festivals. They have also supported artists from Seth Lakeman to Eliza Carthy.

They are also respected musicians in their own right. Deborah spent 3 years with folk-rockers ‘Bluehorses’, gigging and festivaling at home and abroad, including Glastonbury and the Skaagen Festival in Denmark. She was also one half of the award-winning ‘Amalthea’, who released their stunning debut album “Blame it on the stars” in 2006. Having recorded his first album “Silent Poetry” at Swarb’s home studio in 2007, Darren released his acclaimed second solo album “Thinkers & Fools” (also distributed through Proper), in 2008. Produced by Joe Broughton, and featuring guest musicians including Joe, Kevin Dempsey and Dave Swarbrick, it was launched in Winchester with his trio featuring Kevin Dempsey and The Old Dance School’s Helen Lancaster.

Autumn 2011 saw the release of their debut album ‘In Times Back When’. Recorded over the summer of 2011, it is receiving rave reviews from the folk/roots press, and is a collection of poignant and uplifting original songs and tunes, including a rousing version of the trad Irish slip jig ‘An Phis Fhliuch’. Darren’s penchant for contemporary social and ecological commentary, coupled with Deborah’s creative fiddle arrangements, gives them a unique sound which straddles the boundary between contemporary and traditional folk. The album also features talented guest multi-instrumentalist Chris Gatland, who adds an invaluable spark and depth to five of the tracks, with bass guitar/percussion and classical guitar. Chris will be accompanying them live at Winchester Folk Club on June 12th.