{{Short description|British folk musician}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} '''Lisa Knapp''' (born 1974 in Balham)<ref name="Strong">{{cite book |url=http://thegreatrockbible.com/portfolio-item/lisa-knapp-biography/ |title=The Great Rock Bible |last=Strong |first=Martin C|access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref> is an English folk singer, songwriter, fiddle player and multi-instrumentalist. Her singing voice has been described as "crystal clear" and reminiscent of Anne Briggs or Jeannie Robertson.<ref name="Strong"/> Two of her three albums have received five-starred reviews in the British national press.
==Early life== Lisa Knapp was born in 1974 in Balham in South London<ref name="Strong"/> and raised in Tooting, also in South London.<ref name="Wilks">{{cite web |url=https://www.grizzlyfolk.com/2017/05/11/lisa-knapp-interview/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512161342/http://www.grizzlyfolk.com/2017/05/11/lisa-knapp-interview/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=12 May 2017 |title=Lisa Knapp on "Till April is Dead", collaborating with guitar legends and the immortal importance of the shipping forecast |last=Wilks |first=John |date=11 May 2017 |website=Grizzly Folk |access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref>
==Albums== Her debut album, ''Wild and Undaunted'', released in 2007, was ''Mojo'' 's Folk Album of the Year. It includes a cover version of Lal Waterson's song "Black Horse".<ref name="Eccleston">{{cite magazine |last=Eccleston |first=Danny |date=14 October 2013 |title=Premiere: Lisa Knapp's Black Horse Gets Spooky Video |url=https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/7794/premiere-lisa-knapps-black-horse-gets-spooky-vid |magazine=Mojo |access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref>
Colin Irwin gave her 2013 album ''Hidden Seam'', which included contributions by Martin Carthy and Kathryn Williams, five stars in a review for ''The Observer''.<ref name="Irwin 2013">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/22/lisa-knapp-hidden-seam-review |title=Lisa Knapp: Hidden Seam – review |author= Irwin, Colin |author-link= Colin Irwin (journalist) |date=22 September 2013 |work=The Observer |access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref> The lyrics of the album's opening track, "Shipping Song", derive from BBC Radio 4's Shipping Forecast.<ref name="Shipping">{{cite web |url=http://www.navigatorrecords.co.uk/tag/lisa-knapp/ |title=Track of the Week: Lisa Knapp – Shipping Song |date=14 October 2015 |publisher=Navigator Records|access-date=29 November 2017}}</ref> Another song from the album, "Two Ravens", took the award for Best Original Song at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2014.<ref name="Irwin 2014">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/feb/20/bbc-folk-awards-2014-colin-irwin |title=Folk is growing up but it still has a lot to learn |author= Irwin, Colin |author-link= Colin Irwin (journalist) |date=20 February 2014 |work=The Guardian |access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref>
''Till April is Dead – A Garland Of May'', Knapp's 2017 concept album about the month of May, "twists tradition... mixing in interviews about May Day rituals and samples of birdsong, buzzing flies and cuckoo clocks".<ref name="Rogers Observer">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/18/lisa-knapp-review-folk-served-with-lust-and-menace-wyeside-arts-centre |title=Lisa Knapp review – folk delivered with lust and menace |author= Rogers, Jude |author-link= Jude Rogers |date=18 June 2017 |work=The Observer |access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref> It received a five-starred review in ''The Guardian'' from Jude Rogers who described it as "overflowing with warmth, light and waywardness". "Knapp’s voice throughout", she said, "is a revelation, both pure and wild, springing free".<ref name="Rogers Guardian">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/apr/27/lisa-knapp-til-april-is-dead-a-garland-of-may-review |title=Lisa Knapp: 'Til April is Dead – a Garland of May review – dazzling folk wit |author= Rogers, Jude |author-link= Jude Rogers |date=27 April 2017 |work=The Guardian |access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref> Writing in ''The Observer'', Neil Spencer gave four stars to ''Till April is Dead – A Garland for May'', which he described as completing "a trio of extraordinary albums".<ref name="Spencer">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/apr/30/lisa-knapp-till-april-is-dead-a-garland-of-may-review-fearless-folklore |title=Lisa Knapp: A Garland of May review – fearless folklore |author= Spencer, Neil |author-link= Neil Spencer |date=30 April 2017 |work=The Observer |access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref> Thomas Blake, for Folk Radio UK, said that the album "seeks to understand old songs and traditions in modern and often highly original ways. It is a real step forward from a genuinely groundbreaking artist".<ref name="Blake">{{Cite news |url=http://www.folkradio.co.uk/2017/05/lisa-knapp-till-april-is-dead-2/ |title=Lisa Knapp : Till April is Dead – A Garland for May |last=Blake |first=Thomas |date=1 May 2017|access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref>
==Personal life== Knapp is married to musician Gerry Diver, who co-produces her albums.<ref name="Irwin">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lisa-knapp-mn0002015573 |title=Artist Biography: Lisa Knapp |author= Irwin, Colin |author-link= Colin Irwin (journalist) |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref>
==Discography== ===Albums=== * ''Wild and Undaunted'' (2007), Ear to the Ground Music ETTGCD 001 *''Hidden Seam'' (2013), Navigator Records NAVIGATOR 084 *''Till April is Dead – A Garland Of May'' (2017), Ear to the Ground Music ETTGM 003CD *''Hinterland'' (with Gerry Diver) (2025), Ear to the Ground Music BODQTSR7S6
===EPs=== * ''Hunt the Hare – A Branch Of May'' (2012), Ear to the Ground Music
==Other musical contributions== Knapp sang "The Blacksmith" and "Bonnie at Morn" on Gerry Diver's album, ''Diversions'' (2002)<ref name="Irwin"/> and also performed on two of the tracks on David Rotheray's 2013 album ''Answer Ballads''.<ref name="Zierke">{{cite web |url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/folk/records/davidrotheray.html#answerballads |title=David Rotheray: Answer Ballads |last=Zierke |first=Reinhard |date=19 May 2017 |website=Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music |access-date=27 November 2017}}</ref> She also sang "A Promise That I Keep" for the theme song for the ''Wolfblood'' series 1–3. She is also a member of the trio Hack-Poets Guild; their album ''Blackletter Garland'' was named one of the ten best folk albums of 2023 by Jude Rogers of ''The Guardian''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rogers|first=Jude|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/dec/27/the-10-best-folk-albums-of-2023|title=The 10 best folk albums of 2023|date=December 27, 2023|work=The Guardian|access-date=January 20, 2024|language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.lisaknapp.co.uk/ Official website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Lisa}} Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century English musicians Category:English women singer-songwriters Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English folk musicians Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:People from Balham Category:21st-century English women musicians Category:21st-century English women singers Category:21st-century English singers Category:Musicians from the London Borough of Wandsworth Category:Singers from the London Borough of Wandsworth Category:People from Tooting