ALTHOUGH friends at school it was not until Jess Distill, Hannah Elizabeth and Kathy Pilkinton discovered a mutual love of traditional folk music a few years later that they decided to sing together and the group Said the Maiden was born.

With their close harmonies and accomplished musicianship, the trio have become one of the hottest names of the burgeoning folk circuit and now with a new album out they're heading to East Lancashire for two shows.

They play Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre on Thursday then return to the area in November for a date at Darwen Library Theatre.

"It's all very exciting at the moment," said Jess. "We've put the final tweaks to the album – Have A Health – and it sounds incredible.

"We are releasing it ourselves and we have recorded in our home studio. My big brother Steve is our engineer and producer and he hand built a portable recording booth so we could record wherever we want.

"We've got a few friends is to beef up the sound and my mum's been working on the artwork so it's a real homemade affair."

And all this while the trio hold down full time jobs – Jess is marketing manager at the theatre, Hannah is a support worker for young adults and children with learning difficulties, Kathy is an archaeologist.

"It can get a bit manic. There's not much money in folk music so you have to subsidise it," said Jess.

Said the Maiden are at the forefront of young artists revisiting traditional folk music.

"That's our passion," said Jess. "We love finding old songs that haven't been aired very much and like dusting them off and rejuvenating them.

"But on the new album there are also a few folkie covers with more modern songs from the likes of Fairport Convention and even Nirvana - we take our inspiration from very diverse sources!

"And we have recently started delving into the world of writing our own songs.

"It's something that we have not really explored very much in the past so that's very exciting for us.

"When we first started looking at original songs I would write the lyrics and then give them to the girls to write the tunes. But for this album we challenged ourselves to write complete songs as individuals. So it is still evolving, we are really just finding our feet as it is still very new to us.

"The way we write feels very traditional there are are modern stories to be told out there.

"And that's the main appeal for us – the stories which the songs tell.

"I'm not a massive listener to modern music. If you asked me a question about the charts I would have no idea what you were talking about but I think there is real substance in the songs of traditional folk.

"A lot of the songs we are singing have a place in the world today which is kind of sad in one respect but it does show how relevant the music is."

Jess firmly believes that the trio's friendship which dates to their school days has been very helpful in the development of the band.

"In some ways being friends maybe adds a bit of pressure but I really think that it's helpful we all knew each other beforehand," she said.

"We don't have so many inhibitions around each other and it's easier for us to have critical conversations and the odd argument which is inevitable knowing that we will still remain friends through the tough times that music can throw at us."

Said the Maiden, Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre, Thursday, October 26, details from 01282 813374 and Darwen Library Theatre, Thursday, November 24. Details from 0844 847 1664