Indulge me while I write about a really exciting event I attended last week, won’t you?
At the moment it seems as if about 50% of my social calendar is taken up by
various events involving Johnny Flynn and/or Robert Macfarlane, and
last week I had the incredibly good fortune of attending their book launch.
Or, more accurately, of blagging my way onto the guestlist… those joint
bookshop manager and music blogger perks coming to the fore for me!
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| Robert Macfarlane, Emily Sutton and Mouse |
The duo have just published, via Magic Cat, a gorgeous picture book
version of The World To Come, a song from their collaborative album
Lost In The Cedar Wood, illustrated magnificently by Emily Sutton. It was a joy to be there
to celebrate the publication day with Johnny, Rob and Emily, in a room full of so much
love.
I’ve been a fan of Johnny for such a long time, and after his recent
Hammersmith Apollo show I found myself reflecting that he might
actually be my favourite all round artist. I adore his music, and his writing
therein, I’ve enjoyed various TV and film performances of his, scores and radio
adaptations, and have been moved to tears (lots of them) by his performances
on the theatre stage. I don't think there is another artist whose work I’ve enjoyed so much
across so many mediums, and who beyond all of that seems to be a generally
good egg.
In a roundabout way, my love of Johnny’s music was the catalyst that started
me on the road to caring far more deeply about nature, and particularly about
nature writing as a genre. I happened across a copy of
Dara McAnulty’s book Diary Of A Young Naturalist, and took a
chance on it based almost entirely on the fact that there was a passage of
Johnny’s track Bottom Of The Sea Blues in the back of the book. I loved
the book and started to head out on walks and to look for birds wherever I
could find them. It was through an interview with Dara that I first really
found Robert. There are some mycelium-like connections drawing all of these
brilliant people together, I’m sure.
I started to explore Rob’s work, notably losing myself in Underland and
falling for The Lost Words, and the news of his collaboration with
Johnny was incredibly welcome. The Lost In The Cedar Wood album was an
immediate favourite, and the album I’ve listened to most across the past four
years (thanks last.fm for that statistic). Arriving when it did, the album
acted as a shining light through a fairly dark time, and it is a beautiful
collection of tracks that continues to mean a lot to me.
Fast forward a couple of years, through meeting both Johnny and Rob at a few
different events, a few of which I’ve written about here, through a second
collaborative album, and we’re entering exciting new territory - a book! The
book lover and bookseller in me was ridiculously excited at the news that
first album track The World To Come was to be made into a children’s
book, with the lyrics of the song sitting alongside illustrations by
Emily Sutton.
On the surface it is a fairly simple project - song becomes book, and takes on
a new life, finding itself a new audience. Delve in and you’ll find that the song, and
now the story, has a beautiful meaning, and Emily’s art brings it to life so
magically. I got sent an early copy by the publisher, and took a first read
while listening to the song. I cried, of course I did.
As you can imagine, I was absolutely thrilled to get the opportunity to attend
the launch. I dashed across from work, hopping on a train from bookshop to
bookshop, braving the many stairs and finding my way to the fifth floor of Waterstones Piccadilly, to a room buzzing with
activity and excitement, and a few familiar faces. A couple of minutes after
arriving I met Susan Cooper, author of children’s classic
The Dark Is Rising, which I read last year after Rob & Johnny
worked on a radio dramatisation of the story.
I had hoped there might be music, but was not expecting to be treated to a
small set from Johnny and a small band, unplugged and just in front of me - a
far cry from the Hammersmith show just last month. I even locked eyes with
Emily’s dog Mouse during The Water... evening made all over again. The
set ended with a spot of karaoke, with Rob leading us on ‘big lyric sheet’
duty, while the band (now brilliantly joined by Johnny’s son Gabriel on guitar
and an assortment of children on percussion) played a superbly wild and joyous
rendition of The World To Come. If you’d like a taste, I posted a
clip of the song
to my instagram page here, which I think captures just some of the electric atmosphere in the room.
A signing followed, and the room continued to buzz with love and excitement
for the project.
I’ve already sold a couple of copies of the book in my shop, and can’t wait to
continue doing so across the festive period and beyond. If you’re a fan of
Johnny, Rob or Emily you’ll find a lot to love here - whether you’ve a child
in your life to buy the book for or just want to treat yourself. It is
generally lovely to look at, and such a beautiful and tangible representation
of this most lovely of creative friendships between Rob and Johnny, and of
Johnny’s relationship with his son. A relatable story, an appreciation of
nature and the changing seasons, and encouragement for us to hold onto hope of
a world to come. I adore it, and I hope you will too.
If you’d like to hear Rob talking about The World To Come, he’ll be at
London’s Southbank Centre on Saturday 26th October in a family friendly
event.
Tickets are available here.
Elsewhere - a couple of BBC Sounds nods for Johnny -
an episode of Peel Acres I was listening to on a journey to work recently, and
an appearance on The Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe where he talks about the book (listen from around 28 minutes.)
While I'm at it - Hayden Thorpe just released Ness, essentially a musical adaptation of Rob's book of the same name. I'd recommend a listen!
Now, I’m off to find a blackbird perched in a silver birch.
The World To Come is available wherever you get your books - get yourself to your local bookshop (it is Bookshop Day this Saturday, after all!) - and is for sale online here.
