Spafford Campbell + Archie Churchill-Moss

Spafford Campbell are twenty-something mould-breakers, fiddle player Owen Spafford and guitarist Louis Campbell.

The two first met as teenagers playing traditional music. The connection, they say, was immediate. The duo Spafford Campbell began playing live in 2018, prompting double takes with their delicacy, dynamism and seemingly telepathic exchanges, with the startling intimacy of musical conversations nurtured in improv-led writing sessions.

Their latest album Tomorrow Held is a visionary body of eight largely instrumental tracks that hold space, resolve into mystery, that fold in elements of jazz, post-rock and chamber classical music while raiding the folk music toolbox. Call it what you want: post-folk. Trad-noir. Folk nihilism. Then know that Spafford Campbell are blazing a trail that erases genre — and finds gold in the embers.

While redolent of Talk Talk’s moody, experimental 1988 opus Spirit of Eden, and riven with a Bon Iver-ish sense of transcendence, Tomorrow Held is a work of bold singularity. A whole greater than the sum of its parts — parts that include effects pedals, ambient cassette loops, flashes of electric guitar, electronic processing on fiddle and impressionistic accompaniment.

“Mingling traditional tunes with influences from minimalism, post-rock and jazz, they shift moods exquisitely” The Guardian — 10 best folk albums of 2025

Archie Churchill-Moss’s journey through the musical landscape is one of rich collaboration and unwavering commitment to the diatonic button accordion—a craft that has earned him widespread acclaim and reverence. A pioneer in combining folk music with live electronics and a celebrated composer, Archie’s innovative approach seamlessly blends traditional idioms with contemporary composition. His keen attention to modern influences has enabled him to create soundscapes that expand the horizons of folk music. He is ensuring that the vibrant legacy of English folk music continues to thrive in both contemporary and future contexts.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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