Seth Lakeman looks out over the bleak wilderness of his native Dartmoor — a landscape which inspires everything he does.

"I'm very much influenced by this area," the songwriter tells The Guide. "I'm quite lucky to live in such a beautiful place. It makes my music darker and more mysterious, and gives a historical nature to what I'm doing — which is storytelling."

He claims to be an ordinary West Country boy, but he knows he's being modest, for this Devon musician has achieved the impossible.

He has given English folk music a walloping great boot up the behind, taking it out of the clutches of tankard-waving, Arran sweater-clad folkies and back where it belongs; as a popular, vibrant, and exciting art form. With his punk energy, furious fiddling, haunting vocals and evocative tales of turmoil, conflict, love and loss, he has done what would have seemed impossible a few years ago, making English folk sexy.

He is among a small knot of young folk musicians who have transformed the genre's image, along with Kathryn Roberts, Kate Rusby, Eliza Carthy, Jim Moray, Rachel Unthank and Northern Ireland's Cara Dillon — who is married to Seth's brother Sam, and who plays Oxford's Carling Academy tomorrow.

Seth's punk passion has massive appeal, packing out gigs and festivals, including Cropredy.

His 2005 album Kitty Jay was nominated for a Mercury Prize — and it was recorded for £300 in the kitchen of his brother Sean's Devon cottage.

"I don't know about being cool!" he laughs. "But the music is popular and gets a great response. And a lot of young people are getting into it.

"I get heavy metal fans rocking at the front, and girl pop fans coming for a different reason. I'm really dedicated to it."

Now he’s on the road for his biggest headline tour to date. The tour follows the release of critically acclaimed fourth album Poor Man's Heaven, which charted at number eight in the UK on its release — itself an unprecedented feat by a folk artist.

Produced by another of Seth's brothers, Sean, the album sees Seth moving in a rockier direction, while still underpinned by emotive lyrics and storytelling — this time with a strong coastal theme.

"I'm a big fan of local history," he says. "My father was a journalist for 30 years so that love of storytelling is embedded in me, along with the folk scene, which I grew up with.

"Stories are important in the West Country, and for a long time it was the only way people had of finding out what was going on.

"It's important to celebrate where you're from. A lot of people like coming here because it's a get-away.

“But it's also a good place to write songs. Though it does get quite boring in winter!"

Poor Man's Heaven oozes passion. Never less than on the moving Solomon Browne, a tribute to the courage of the men who lost their lives in the 1981 Penlee lifeboat disaster. The crew was trying to save the lives of those onboard the shipwrecked Union Star coaster. Sixteen died in the failed rescue.

Profits from the single of Solomon Browne will be donated to the RNLI.

He's looking forward to trying out his new songs in Oxford. "I like it there, and I love the guy who's promoting the gig, Alan Day. I remember him because of his shorts. Summer, winter, whenever... he's always wearing them!"

Seth Lakeman plays the Carling Academy on Tuesday. Tickets are £16.50 in advance.