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Nat Brookes
Accordionist | Composer | Arranger
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My
Story
I'm Natalie. I'm a composer, an accordionist and a trans woman. Both my playing and my writing are driven by a desire to create rich and compelling harmonies and interweaving countermelodies.
I was the showcase coordinator for QOFF: The Queer Online Folk Festival that ran during various Covid lockdowns. I'm a co-founder of queer function band 'The Rainbow Folk and I've played for all of the Queer Ceilidh Dance Parties (hosted by Queer Folk) at Cecil Sharp House in London. My tunes have formed the backbone of our setlists and I'm so grateful to be working with such vocal supporters of my creative output.
New Projects
I'm currently beavering away on two projects. I'm not yet ready to announce them, but one involves collaborating with lots of other LGBTQIA+ people.​
Check back in June 2025 for more info...
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If you're interested in keeping updated on queer led projects then you could sign up to my mailing list.
(I really don't send many emails out, so it won't be clogging up your inbox, I promise!)
Cormorant
my debut album
I think that Cormorant was an incredibly ambitious first album, I'm really proud of the result but I definitely took some risks.
It is built on the tune forms of British and European folk dance, but it treats them to exacting arrangements designed to feel reactive that were actually conceived well in advance. My accordion is joined by Fiddle, Flute & Guitar in precisely mapped out compositions that are routed in gentle inertia.
Praise for Cormorant
'Absolutely gorgeous arrangements of new and old tunes played with wonderful sensitivity and freshness.' Folk Inspiration
I strongly advise that you lose yourself in this music and go along for the ride.' Bob Fish, Folk Radio
'From the beginning I was mesmerised by the arrangements and the atmospheric “conversations” between the accordion and the other instruments.' Pal Carter, Folk London
Composing
In addition to writing folk tunes, gently stretching the definition or tweaking the formula of jigs, polkas, mazurkas, hanter dros and what have you, I also compose works for various classical ensembles and I arrange pop music for string quartets.
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It's rare for me not to have something bubbling away on a back burner, gradually forming. For me the most exciting of which is a suite for string sextet called 'Echoes of Clouds' that I originally composed just after finishing university and I reworked in 2024.
I've been playing for ceilidhs since around 2012. I adore playing for dance, I love the challenges that it brings and the way it shifts focus to things that you just don't tend to think about when playing for a concert. Don't get me wrong, I love playing for concerts too, but I appreciate the variety.
In 2022 I was asked by George Sansome and Sophie Crawford of 'Queer Folk', to play for their first 'Queer Ceilidh Dance Party' at Cecil Sharp House and I've been doing it ever since. To my knowledge this was the first ceilidh in London specifically for queer people and it was a roaring success. We usually sell out, so it's always best to buy your tickets in well in advance.
These have been some of the best gigs of my life. The audience is engaged and enthusiastic and it's always an absolute delight to play with George and my partner Beth to a room full of queer people. It warms my little queer heart!
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Lisa Heywood has also been involved since the first Queer Ceilidh at C#. Lisa is one of the most inclusive ceilidh callers on the scene and has been a pioneer in introducing positional, gender neutral calling to UK ceilidhs. Back in 2023, she and I decided that queer people were being let down by the ceilidh bands available for weddings and we decided to fix that. We formed 'The Rainbow Folk' to fill the gap in the market and deliver inclusive, LGBTQIA+ friendly ceilidhs for people celebrating their wedding, an anniversary or a birthday. We're a queer led band for queer people and as a trans woman, I'm so proud to be flying the flag for queer inclusion in folk music and dance.
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For both the Queer Folk Ceilidh band and The Rainbow Folk, my tunes form the core of what we play. I feel so grateful to be in a position where tunes written by a queer woman (me, keep up! Yes I am usually this sassy!) get such frequent airings to such enthusiastic crowds.
Chronic
Pain
I've had chronic pain for a long time and this is partially due to, or at least exacerbated by, playing the accordion. Playing the accordion and experiencing back pain is far from an uncommon combination, so I've created a series of resources that show, to the best of my understanding, how playing an accordion affects your body and changes you can make to reduce the risk of back pain developing.
