Frank Lee & Ida Meidell - But for a Half Frank Lee & Ida Meidell

This album documents a rare musical meeting between Swedish violinist and singer Ida Meidell and Northumbrian accordionist Frank Lee — a unique tradition bearer with an extraordinary repertoire of English tunes and songs, many of them rarely heard today, carried by a highly distinctive and deeply personal playing style.

The two met when Ida, then a young Swedish exchange student in Newcastle, approached Frank at a jam session in a pub and asked if he would teach her his music. From that unlikely encounter grew a deep friendship and a highly personal musical collaboration crossing generations, backgrounds, and national borders.

This recording seeks to preserve and honour Frank Lee’s remarkable musical legacy, while capturing the intimate musical language the two musicians have developed together through years of shared playing.