The Water Rats
328 Gray's Inn Road, King's Cross
London, United Kingdom, WC1X 8BZ
The Water Chorus are Ali Lawrenson (fiddle, banjo, melodeon), Jack Saville (guitar, bouzouki, bodhran) and Caitlin Chalmers (vocals, shruti box) – three friends who decided that, with so many weird instruments, there was no excuse not to form a folk band.
Their music ranges from the raucously celebratory to the eerily affecting. Punky upbeat arrangements of traditional songs feature Ali’s virtuosic musicianship on fiddle and banjo, whilst atmospheric re-imaginings of almost-forgotten ballads are made hauntingly beautiful by Caitlin’s uniquely emotive voice, all underpinned by Jack’s driving, rhythmic lines on guitar and bouzouki.
With a repertoire that ranges from Irish ballads to Glasgow street songs via Swedish polskas and compositions of their own, they play the music that they love, rooted in the singaround/session traditions that they grew up with.’


