While folk music conjures up images of fiddles and chunky Arran sweaters, The Singing Loins couldn't be further from the bearded stereotype. Delivering raw, brutally honest songs with all the passion and fire of punk, Chris 'Brod' Broderick and Chris 'Arfur' Allen are content to play the music they love, despite the fact that folk fans hate them and the mainstream is oblivious
to their glorious racket.

You released two albums on Billy Childish's Hangman label in the 1990s, then disappeared. What went wrong?

Arfur: We had a punch-up. We'd been getting on each other's nerves and tensions came to a head during a gig. We ended up twatting each other. We got back in touch earlier this year.

You play folk with the intensity of punk. How do the beard brigade react?

A: They hate us!
Brod: The folk crowd give us a hard time because they think we shouldn't be tampering with traditional music. We had a squeezebox player walk out of a recording session once because he didn't like what we were doing.

I'm not sure if it's punk or folk. Folk punk, trash folk - I don't care to pigeonhole it. All I know is it that annoys the hell out of some people.

Where does your inspiration come from?

B: I just write about people I know. We come from Rochester, which is a strange place. Most of the people used to work in the dockyard, until they closed it and 24,000 people became unemployed overnight. That's why there's a strong tradition of performance in the Medway area, because people have time to put on shows. You don't get a thing five miles away in fucking Maidstone.

The Complete And Utter Singing Loins compilation is available from Damagedgoods.co.uk. For more go

to Singingloins.co.uk