About Equation

Equation were an English folk "supergroup" that formed in Devon in 1994. Initially comprising the three Lakeman Brothers Band (Sam Lakeman, Sean Lakeman and Seth Lakeman) and folk duo, Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts, they added a bassist (Darren Edwards), and a drummer (Ian Goodall) to form a folk-pop quintet Equation. In March 2006 the band announced a "pause" in their combined work. Since then Kate Rusby, Cara Dillon (who was also a member for a time) and Seth Lakeman have forged international careers. At the time they began, the band was compared to the likes of such folk greats as Fairport Convention and Richard Thompson. The bands name reflects its development as something of a folk/pop super group in the the late 1990s. The band was based around the the talents of the three Lakeman brothers, Sean, Seth and Sam to which were added the extraordinary female talents of Kate Rusby, Kathryn Roberts and Cara Dillon. The original band (minus Rusby) recorded "Return to Me" in 1996 - but record company problems meant that the album hardly saw the light of day until 2003. Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman left to set up Cara's solo career leaving Roberts, Sean and Seth Lakeman and new band members Darren Edwards (Bass) and Iain Goodall (Drums) to produce the sensational "Hazy Days" in 1998 - which together with the band's live performances - particularly on the growing UK Summer Festival scene - confirmed the band's reputation as the very best exponents of folk pop since Fairport Convention. Equation skillfully combines elements of celtic folk, rock and pop to create a unique sound. The Band followed Hazy Days with "The Lucky Few" (2000) with James Crocker on electric guitar giving the band a more rocky and less fiddle based sound. In 2002 "First Name Terms" was produced - (minus Seth Lakeman whose own solo career had begun to take off). Although the final band line up continued to tour until winter 2005/6 Seth's solo career and Sam's (Cara Dillon) work began to eat into recording schedules - with Sean frequently supporting Seth. In March 2006 the band announced a "pause" in their work, but that seems to be it. The influence of the band has been immense; launching Kate Rusby, Cara Dillon and Seth Lakeman's international careers. The members of Equation remain close and work extensively with other bands on the folk pop scene in the UK - notably Seth Lakeman's recent support to Megson - possibly the next huge talent to emerge from this much neglected corner of excellence in the UK. The other Equation is the French jazz & soul group who released a live recording in 2004 of their performance at La cave de ma in Paris.