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Offa Rex On World Cafe

Offa Rex
Shervin Lainez
/
Courtesy of the artist
Offa Rex

Portland, Ore.'s The Decemberists and British singer-songwriter Olivia Chaneyhave teamed up to cover traditional English (and Irish and Scottish) folk songs under the name Offa Rex.

It's a match made in harpsichord heaven. Colin Meloy of The Decemberists has always dreamed of recording an album of British folk songs, and found the perfect English collaborator in Chaney. For Chaney, Meloy's slightly-less-reverent American perspective was the push she needed to cover the traditional songs she loves.

As you'll hear in my chat with Chaney and Meloy, the collaboration was definitely a balancing act — and it kind of still is. We'll also talk about how the idea for an old-timey album began with a tweet.

This episode also features a performance by Offa Rex of "The Queen of Hearts," recorded live on stage at the XPoNential Music Festival in Philadelphia. Hear it all in the player above.

Copyright 2017 XPN

Talia Schlanger
Talia Schlanger hosts World Cafe, which is distributed by NPR and produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. She got her start in broadcasting at the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. She hosted CBC Radio 2 Weekend Mornings on radio and was the on-camera host for two seasons of the television series CBC Music: Backstage, as well as several prime-time music TV specials for CBC, including the Quietest Concert Ever: On Fundy's Ocean Floor. Schlanger also guest hosted various flagship shows on CBC Radio One, including As It Happens, Day 6 and Because News. Schlanger also won a Canadian Screen Award as a producer for CBC Music Presents: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions, a cross-country rock 'n' roll road trip.