The summer of 2022 was a brave and remarkable period for Simon Emmerson, who enlivened the English festival scene by appearing with two celebrated bands, both of which he had co-founded. There were performances by Afro Celt Sound System, joyous veterans of global fusion music, in which electronica is matched against African instruments, the balafon and kora, played by a griot, N’Faly Kouyaté and the pounding Asian dhol drumming of Johnny Kalsi. And there were appearances with the Imagined Village, a band that set out to update traditional English music for a multicultural nation, in which Simon played cittern, joined by a cast that included the sitar player Sheema Mukherjee, singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, and folk stars Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy and Jackie Oates. He was on impressive form, although he had recently finished a course of chemotherapy.
Simon, who has died aged 67 of cancer, was a musical trailblazer who delighted in exploring the similarities between different genres and bring musicians together. He was a bandleader, composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and DJ whose interests ranged from rock, jazz, funk, soul and British folk to musical styles from Africa, Latin America and Asia. According to Bragg, who lived near him in Dorset, he was “a visionary leader of projects that inspired many”.
