Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit Johnny ’s usually seen either playing with his band The Sussex Wit , or treading the boards as a Shakesperian actor. That’s an actor who acts in Shakespeare’s plays, not someone who’s managed to live for hundreds and hundreds of years. New single ‘The Box’ is due for release this November, and along with the band, Johnny will support Iron & Wine during his forthcoming UK tour starting later this month.

We found time in his busy schedule (they’re currently recording their debut album) to answer a few quick questions. What is a ‘Sussex Wit’? A Sussex wit might be a general sense of propriety. It actually comes from a phrase used by an old folk singing family who referred to the ’sussex wit’ as the particular sense of humour that prevales in English folk songs. You’re due to support Iron & Wine on a string of dates - will you be attempting to compete with his beard? I wish I could even try.

My beard skills are limited. I’ve tried listening to all kinds of psych-folk and what-not but nothing seems to stimulate my follicles. You’ve been dubbed “alt-folk”. On a scale of one to ten, how folk are you? Probably one and ten. Not to be obtuse… but what we do is quite often inspired by types of music that some people have called folk, but while I appreciate the need to have sections in records shops so you can find what you want, the term ‘folk’ seems redundant to me.

I mean, it covers popular music from the first drum being hit to Devendra Banhart. that’s most music ever made. So we probably fall into that category too, but mostly people call us folk just because we play slightly quieter instruments. We probably are folk. I don’t know. I just got told that someone wrote that we are ‘post-folk’. Which is a tautology in my book. My book of folk, that is.