The Decemberists' Colin Meloy & Olivia Chaney Talk About New Collaboration, Reimagining British Folk

If you've never found a way to experience the bliss and tragedy of traditional British folk music, this is your chance. The Queen of Hearts is a stunning new album by Offa Rex, the project of English singer Olivia Chaney and The Decemberists. It's a record The Decemberists' leader Colin Meloy has wanted to make for years, to honor that great British tradition and also the way bands in the '60s and '70s, like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, rocked it. On this edition of All Songs Considered, a transatlantic conversation with Offa Rex's Olivia Chaney and Colin Meloy. Both artists are well-versed in the folk tradition — easily identified in Colin's writing with The Decemberists — something he learned as a young lad growing up in Helena, Montana, while Chaney came to it through studying voice and piano in Oxford, England. On The Queen of Hearts, produced by Oregon-based producer Tucker Martine, you'll hear their unique takes on classic records from Anne Briggs, Martin Carthy, Ewan MacColl, Phoebe Smith, June Tabor and more.