Seth Lakeman

Seth Lakeman was born in 1977, the year of punk rock and the Queen's silver jubilee, on a quiet corner of Devon's gloriously wild Dartmoor. It's still the place that he calls home, from which he refuses to be parted for long, and the place whose peculiarly English tales of dark deeds and doomed romances provide inspiration for much of his music.

Music has always been part of Seth's life; his parents were part of a touring band which included Seth and his older brothers Sean and Sam, who all played from an early age and subsequently performed as The Lakeman Brothers.

The three brothers went on to become part of the highly feted but short lived folk band, Equation, along with Kathryn Roberts, Kate Rusby and, later, Cara Dillon. Eventually, having toured the world, Seth struck out on his own; 'Kitty Jay' - made in his brother's kitchen, "with the fridge unplugged to stop interference with recording" - was put together for just £300 and was somewhat audaciously launched with a gig inside Dartmoor's top security prison.

Not long afterwards, 'Kitty Jay' was short-listed for the Mercury Music Prize. His latest album 'Freedom Fields' is another collection of soaring self-penned tales of love, conflict and mysteries. Inspired by ancient tales but somehow totally modern, Seth manages to refract personal experiences and emotions through these stories, and in doing so he has found a unique lyrical voice – one that encompasses universal themes of love and loss.