Stick in the Wheel

Formed in the early 2010s in east London, Stick in the Wheel develops an English folk approach that blends traditional songs, original compositions and spare electronic textures. Centered on Nicola Kearey and Ian Carter, the band performs in both compact and expanded line-ups depending on the project, while maintaining a strong grounding in London’s urban culture and the repertoires of English popular music. Their debut studio album, From Here (2015), established a direct sound focused on voice and storytelling; Follow Them True (2018) and Hold Fast (2020) extend this direction, accentuating repetitive elements, darker atmospheres and songwriting attentive to questions of social memory. At the same time, Stick in the Wheel undertook fieldwork with the compilations From Here: English Folk Field Recordings (2017) and From Here: English Folk Field Recordings Volume 2 (2019), recorded with various singers and instrumentalists from the British folk scene. The album Perspectives on Tradition (2023) continues this exploration of transmission, combining songs, spoken word, sonic experiments and reinterpretations of traditional motifs. Active both in concert halls and in more intimate settings, Stick in the Wheel sits at the intersection of contemporary folk, experimental music and electronic culture.