Macadamia

These are links to mp3s on other people's sites. If you're one of the people who has made this material available, and you don't want me to link to it, please let me know. Alternatively, if you're a band and you'd like me to link, let me know where your mp3s are. It has to be music I like, in complete tracks (I hate 30 second samples), and it has to be downloadable mp3s or, at a pinch, videos. No streams. Readers should send recommendations, tell me about broken links, and buy music by bands that you like, go to see them live, and buy their merchandise.

My manifesto: it is a good thing for bands, particularly those who are not well-known, to put mp3s of their songs on the web. Not short or low quality samples (though low quality is much better than short). I tell if I like bands by sticking music on my iPod and seeing if it registers. I can't do that with half a track, or a stream. Don't put up every track on the album; that would be daft. One or two songs from each of your albums, up to a maximum of five songs in total should be plenty. The effect you want is to let your potential fans to work out whether or not they like your music, but not give them so much that they don't feel the need to buy more.

Bellowhead
Bellowhead is an astonishing 10/11 piece folk big band, fronted by Spiers & Boden. Only an EP so far but an album promised for 2006. Travel to see them live.
Rochdale Coconut Dance

The Blue Horses
They describe themselves as 'fiddle-driven Celtic rock dudes'. They have two more full tracks in Ogg, and a promise of more downloads if you register on the forums, which I don't seem to be able to do.
Billy Boy

Billy Bragg
This modern working man's song is on Amazon; there are three further free downloads on his website but you have to checkout through his online store (without using a credit card) to get them.
St. Monday (live)

Xosé Manuel Budiño
A lively Galician piper who we very much enjoyed at Cambridge last year. Collaborated with Martyn Bennett. Has a mate who apparently plays pizza box. There's also a 'making of A Galicia Vente Xa!' video that's almost more fun than the real one (though just a clip). More stuff on the site, which is partly in English.
Na Liña Da Maré
Roncos De Son (remix)
Aire Do Cruceiro
A Galicia Vente Xa! (video)
Galo Galán (video)

Laura Cantrell
Delicious alt.country, and she has 19 mp3s for download on her site. Here are some of my favourites.
Bees
Churches Off the Interstate
I Lost You (But I Found Country Music)
When the Roses Bloom again

Carbon Leaf
Carbon Leaf has 41 mp3s online. I discovered this US folk-rock band on hearing the recommendation "If you like Carbon Leaf, you ought to check out the Oysterband".
The Boxer
Desperation Song
A Life Less Ordinary (live)
Seven Brides for Seven Sinners (live)

Chumbawamba
Lots of legal and illegal downloads on their site. Chumbawamba are signed to a copy-control-only-label, but insisted that their new album was released without copy control. Good for them.
The Bad Squire
Good Ship Lifestyle
Pass It Along (MP3 mix)
Song of the Times

Croft No. Five
Another of those bands that mix Scottish traditional melodies with high-energy dance forms.
Crash (December 2005 Version)

The Demon Barbers
The other band you should definitely travel to see live. There are also seven demo videos on their site.
The Black Swan Rapper Firedance Video (video)
John Riley
Katy Cruel
Sir Richard's Song
Two Brothers

The Devil's Interval
So new they don't have music out to buy, but this is a great version of the Silver Dagger. This is yet another band that's a product of the Traditional Music course at Newcastle University.
Silver Dagger

Fairport Convention
Four downloads on Amazon
Bird From the Mountain
Expletive Delighted
How many Times
The Rutland Reel/ Sack the Juggler

Julie Fowlis
Winner of this year's Horizon Award at the Radio 2 Folk Awards. Delightful young Gaelic singer who also works with Dòchas.
Òganich Uir a Rinn M'Fhágail
Puirt

Great Lake Swimmers
Moody band whose first album was recorded in a grain silo. Singer thinks he's early Neil Young.
Moving Pictures, Silent Films

Horslips
The band I most regret never seeing live. Five live tracks on their website, from The Belfast Gigs.
Blindman
Dearg Doom (but this version doesn't really do their signature tune justice)
King of the Fairies
The Man Who Built America
Trouble (with a capital T)
To get a sense of what the band looked like (quote: "we were The Darkness"), you can download a video clip from The Old Grey Whistle Test of the first minute of Dearg Doom and I can honestly say I have never seen its like.

Jabadaw
Great French-style dance band that we saw at Crawley last year
Fill the Tankard/ Xiga de Mudreiros
Muineria de Froxan/ A Camposa

Benji Kirkpatrick
This is solo; he also plays with (ex)Dr Faustus, Bellowhead and Oysterband Big Session, and with his dad.
The Gypsy Laddie

Alison Krauss
There are half a dozen free downloads at Amazon
Every Time You Say Goodbye
Maybe

Ben Murray and Rosie Doonan
Nominees for the Horizon Award 2006; Ben Murray was previously in the very wonderful Tarras.
The Lusty Smith
Need You Around

Mundy-Turner
Anglo-Aussie collaboration, beloved Cropredy regulars
Refugee (Have Mercy)
Naked
Get There From Here
Somethin's Cookin'

Oysterband
I've only found one song so far, on Amazon
Uncommercial Song

Pentangle
Two downloads on Amazon
The Open Sea
Play the Game

Karine Polwart
Fine Scots singer-songwriter. Won everything at last year's Folk Awards.
Follow the Heron

Alasdair Roberts
Scottish singer-songwriter who sings traditional stuff and excels with original material with unsettling folk-like themes
Carousing (live session)
Farewell Sorrow (live session)
I Went Hunting (live session)
Lord Gregory (live session)
What Put the Blood on Your Right Shoulder, Son? (live session)
When a Man's in Love he Feels No Cold (live session)

Michelle Shocked
Glorious East Texan singer/songwriter. Her website has one, non-representative sample mp3.
Carrickfergus/The Water is Wide

Show of Hands
All oddities and outtakes, but they also have a donationware download of Crooked Man on the site.
Armadas (Pt. Isaac)
Blackwaterside (India)
The Blue Cockade (Sidmouth)
My Death (Gosport)
Seven Yellow Gypsies
Tall Ships (Pt. Isaac)

Silverwheel
Another band too new to have produced an album. Which is sort of a shame, because after hearing these tracks I was leaping for the 'buy now' button. Prog folk, and the lead singer thinks she's Maddy Prior.
Black is the Colour
Cold Haily Windy Night
Copshawholme Fair
Ye Jacobites

Spiers and Boden
John Spiers is quite the most exciting melodeon player at the moment, and Jon Boden is quite the most exciting intense broody singer.
Bold Sir Rylas
Blow the Winds
Jack Robinson
Sportsman's Hornpipe

Richard Thompson
A dozen mp3s and many streams available on his website
She Said it Was Destiny
Sights and Sounds of London Town
Vincent Black Lightning 1952 (live)

Vienna Teng
US singer/songwriter/pianist. There are six mp3s on her website, zipped to prevent streaming.
Harbor
The Tower
Gravity

Rachel Unthank & the Winterset
Their album was Mojo's Folk Album of 2005
Tar Barrell in Dale

The Wailin' Jennys
A recommendation from Erik Olson, this.
Beautiful Dawn
Come All You Sailors
Beautiful Dawn (movie)

Whisperado
Lively Americana; feels very unlike most newish bands I'm hearing here. This is Patrick Nielsen Hayden's band.
Black and Blue
Nashville

Roger Wilson
Recommended by Piers Cawley
Bello
Delia
Holy Blue
Two Sisters (live)

And some relevant links
eMusic I mention eMusic all the time, but it is by far the best way to buy this sort of music online. Tracks in bulk cost about 12p each, minimum length of membership is 1 month (40 tracks) but with your first 50 free, and it includes music by Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Oysterband, Show of Hands, Kate Rusby, Alasdair Roberts, Bert Jansch, Ewan MacColl, Joe Strummer, June Tabor, Martyn Bennett, Nic Jones, Richard Thompson, Steve Earle, the Watersons, the Poozies, Thea Gilmore, They Might be Giants, and many, many, many more. Not sure how to use your 50 introductory tracks? I've made a suggestion.

Trad Tunes and Woven Wheat Whispers are legal download services that offer mp3 downloads and are focused on traditional music. Trad Tunes in particular has some interesting material that's not on eMusic, including albums from Fellside. If you register on Trad Tunes there's a rather fabulous free album of music from the Scottish highlands & islands. Woven Wheat Whispers has a Music Companion that plays five hours of random full-length samples from the albums they sell.

Radio Britfolk is a new subscription based radio station, with both a rather good rotating payola playlist, and several new themed shows a week. Subscribers get access to the archives, including tutorials on many of the commoner folk instruments; I found the beginners' melodeon tutorial very helpful.

SXSW, which not only has a ton of cool bands playing at its festival, but also manages to solicit an mp3 from most of them. I mean, who'd have thought there'd be a complete mp3 of the Kaiser Chiefs' I Predict a Riot or Bloc Party's Banquet online for free download?

PlayTagger, which is the javascript that is producing all those cute little play links in this post and other posts of mine with music linked from them. Possibly the single best thing on the entire web ever, and I learnt about it from Kevin Lim.