Lunatraktors

Lunatraktors are choreographer and percussionist Carli Jefferson (she/her), and partially-sighted vocalist and researcher Clair Le Couteur (they/them).

The duo began in 2017 with a post-apocalyptic question: what’s left when we’ve lost everything? Stripping folk song down to the bare bones, their ‘broken folk’ style blends Le Couteur’s overtone singing and 3+ octave range with the hybrid of tap, flamenco and body percussion, which Jefferson developed after touring with STOMP (2001-2004). Lunatraktors are proudly DIY. Their live percussion-and-vocals debut This Is Broken Folk made #9 in MOJO’s Top Ten Folk Albums of 2019; second album The Missing Star reached the #2 position in 2021.

Jefferson’s compulsion to dance while drumming prompted Lunatraktors to assemble a tonal percussion kit, fusing rhythm and melody. Added resonances come from Le Couteur’s free-reeds, whistles and analogue synths. Reimagining Anglo-Celtic traditionals through a shared love of triphop, flamenco and post-punk, Lunatraktors have gathered passionate fans at festivals, queer cabarets, theatres, and museums including the V&A and British Museum. They received the British Music Collection LGBTQ+ Composer Award 2021, George Butterworth Award 2022, RNIB Eagle-Bott Bursary 2022, Alan James Bursary 2022.