Mercury Prize folk artist Sam Lee discusses his new project A Time and Place, an evening of music inspired by the folk song, stories and poetry of the First World War, which he will present with fellow musicians Rachel and Becky Unthank at The Barbican to park the centenary of World War I. 

You’re coming to the Barbican with A Time and Place, which commemorates World War I.  Can you tell me about the show?

It’s a musical meditation, a purge of stories, memories and experiences and firsthand accounts that we’ve gathered. Tales from the people who went through the real hardship, not historical analysis by any means, but one that really taps into the day-to-day experiences. The massive occurrences that happened on a day-to-day basis. 

What did you discover?

The proximity of the war. One hundred years seems like an eternity, but it’s so close in living memory, in that there are people we met that remember the war. The impact of that war on people who are very much alive and who grew up in that shadow of their parents’ experiences. There was as sense of agony that hasn’t been shared, the silence surrounding the war, that burden that wasn’t shared by those who lived through it. It’s something that we as a country  haven’t really acknowledged enough. 

I take it then you think it’s important to remember the sacrifices made during that time? 

Absolutely. There are so many people who grew up in the presence of somebody who made that sacrifice, or saw that sacrifice on a visceral level. Because so little was talked about it, it was the elephant in the room. We’re not doing anything radically different to anyone’s else commemorations, but we are exploring the emotional expression through poetry, song and story, which wasn’t a common occurrence when it comes to healing. 

Why do you think there was this ‘elephant in the room’?
Because men didn’t talk about their emotions. Maybe women were much more capable of discussing loss and hardship, but what went on and the emotional questions and experiences were not often communicated. A common line was dad came back from the war, but he never spoke about it. 

How easy was it to get people to share their stories with you then. Did you encounter any difficulties?
Nope. People were really keen to share. There’s a pride in knowing they were ikn close proximity to it. And hand-in-hand with that, there was this sense that if I do’t shre it now, it’ll never be heard. 
Was there any story that stuck with you, that particularly moved you? 
There is yes. One woman called Stephanie, who is in a nursing home, we used her story in a song called Bideford Bridge. She’d grown up in Devon and as a little girl she remembers a soldier who she used to see quite regularly who would always talk about Bideford Bridge, and how he remembered the first time he crossed the bridge, was with all his comrades. But the second time he crossed he was alone as he was the only one to have survived the front. How he was thereafter unable to look in the eyes of the mothers of his friends, the guilt of being the only one to saurvive. 

Have any of the stories changed your outlook on life?
Oh yes, the sense of gratitude for the scrfice made. I went it appreciating that I would feel in some way how present the war is and how we mustn’t forget it. It’s been very impacting for me, it’s been a very emotional journey. A lot of music projects I do they are joyful about celebrating love, connection and international collaboration, but this is about recovering from the great international rift that tore so many families apart. It makes you grateful for living in the relative stability we live in today. 

Given what you’ve learnt, how do you feel about modern day conflicts?
I wouldn’t want to delve too deeply into politics, the wars we have today are immensely complicated and ingrained with decades, hundreds of years of cultural instability.  It’s difficult to write off war as all bad, there’s so much belief system, trying to honour people’s way of life. I  never want to reject it. It’s a difficult one to answer, it’s not without its motivation. But I believe there are ways to resolve conflict which I believe are beyond just violence. 

 A Time and Place is at The Barbican, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS, on Thursday, September 18 from 7.30pm. Details: Barbican.org.uk, 020 7638 4141