Issue 6 10/98

FolkWorld News: Advertising and Sponsoring
FolkWorld. As you can see, from this issue on FolkWorld also offers the possibility of advertising. We hope that all our readers accept or even welcome the fact that there are advertisements in their magazine. We had to make the decision to offer ads to make the project financially sustainable.
In our rates we have tried to keep up the idea of a forum for all those involved in the folk music scene - anybody can afford to advertise in FolkWorld. To find out about FolkWorld's current advertising rates, look at adv.html!
And, please support our advertisers and sponsors, as they are supporting your magazine!

Anam New
Scotland. Interesting news from the interceltic folk band Anam, having for the new year a major line-up change: Aimée Leonard, Anam's current bodhrán player and female singer, who has been seen all over Europe playing bodhrán at the Eurovision song contest 1997, leaves the band in January. She does plan to continue singing, teaching and playing music. For details of her workshops she can be contacted at 100332.2277@compuserve.com. The band will sorely miss Aimée.
The Riptide tour in Oct./Nov., in GB, NL and B, will be one of the last opportunities to see Aimée perform live with Anam.
In her stead Anam will be joined in January 1999 by Fiona Mackenzie, a superb Gaelic singer/songwriter/bodhrán player from the Isle of Lewis known through her appearances in Seelyhoo and - with her sisters - in the band MacKenzie; and Anna-Wendy Stevenson, a fiddle player from Edinburgh who also plays with Calluna and the Anna Murray Band. This will lead into new, brilliant music from one of the most toruing folk bands around. Looking forward to it...
Contact Anam at anam@dial.pipex.com

Eliza - Mercury
England. Eliza Carthy, England's favourite young folk musician, and her Red Rice album (reviewed recently in FolkWorld) was nominee of the prestigous 1998 Technics Mercury Music Prize. Good to see some of the folk music receiving the major attention that it deceives.

"A wonderful piece of sonority and dream. I am hearing this CD as a desperate man. It is fantastic."
The music of Xenos can not be easily compared to that of others. What other CDs are there of this music ? Selected from the music played at Rom (or Gypsy) weddings in Macedonia, this is raw energy controlled by the masterfull hands of drummer Fuat Sazimanoski. Hear the mysterious and seductive sax solos of Anne Hildyard, and try to seperate the voices of twins Anne and Lee. Sophie Chapman wraps the music in her accordion, and Rob Bester underpins it with his funky fretless bass.
Australian based, the band has been 'traveling the world' via the inflight music channel on QUANTAS airlines, but hope to really tour in Germany in 1999.
"New Moves" is available from Verlag der Spielleute; Reichelsheim, or direct from XENOS, Rob Bester, PO Box 1144, Preston 3072, Vic., Australia for 35 DM or 20 USDollar including postage.
Further infos from

Continental Ceilidh in troubles
Scotland. The Continental Ceilidh in New Lanark was planned to become one of the new major folk music festivals in Scotland; his director Danny Kyle, who died shortly before the festival happened, received the first ever FolkWorld Award for it. The concept and programme was great, the location is a lovely place - still much went wrong, leading into extensive negative coverage in the Scottish national medias.
Bad weather and low turnout resulted in a cancellation - Scottish agents Saltire reported: "The poor rain sodden, bedragled, organisers of Lanark's Continental Ceilidh were forced to pull the plug on Sunday evening's Wolfstone gig that was planned as the big finish to a weekend of brill music. Very dissapointing for all concerned, but given the circumstances that surrounded the festival with the recent sad loss of its artistic director Danny Kyle, and the bog awful weather that it encountered this weekend, the organisers can only be praised for holding on for as long as they did."
Continental Ceilidh Ltd., the company set up by Danny Kyle and Gerry Chambers to run the festival, was put in liquadation a few days after the festival collapsed. More support of the local authority was misssing, although the authority had hoped before to create a new touristic interest of their region with the festival.
Meanwhile, it is reported that those who have been there, have enjoyed the festival, and the local press called for it to be repeated. But it seems like this year's bad luck and especially the negative media coverage means that the festival will call it a day.
We wish Gerry Chambers good luck with the struggle of unpaid bills etc., and we are sad that the unhappy circumstances made this well planned festival to what it finally was...

Drawings by Annegret Haensel; more infos on the artist in the editorial.

Irish Music US launch
USA. Irish Music, the quality traditional music magazine from Dublin, will be launched in New York on October 8th and Boston on the 9th. A good chance for all of you from over there to meet Irish Music's editor and FolkWorld's contributor Sean Laffey....

Hans W Brimi
Norway. Hans W Brimi, one of the best and best known Norwegian fiddlers, died on June 14th at the age of 80. More than a dozen times he had been the national fiddle champion; his repertoire was based on the traditions of his home, the Gudbrandsdal. Just a few months ago a showcase album was issued with tunes from Hans W Brimi recorded during the last 32 years (reviewed in FolkWorld Nr. 3) - a nice souvenir for all of his admirers and friends.

Danny Kyle News
Scotland/FolkWorld. FolkWorld's Danny's Corner, a tribute to Danny Kyle who passed away this summer, received already very positive feedback. It seems that during the next few weeks quite a few Danny stories might come in. If you have a nice story of Danny, please e-mail it to us! The best story will receive as price several nice and funny Danny Kyle photos by The Mollis - a great souvenir of the late Scottish singer.
Meanwhile, several Danny Kyle Tribute Concerts have been announced, and Danny's Corner is enriched by a great poem and a photo album. Find out about the latest Danny Kyle news in Danny's Corner!

Drawing of Danny Kyle by Anke Dammann.

Lal Waterson has passed away
England. The English singer Lal Waterson passed away on the 4th of September. Lal became famous as part of the influential a capella family band The Watersons. Just two years ago, Lal had published her first solo CD, with only self-penned songs.
She will be sorely missed on the English and international folk music scene. (Info by LAG Folk News)

German, Belgian & Dutch concert listings
Always in huge request are good concert and event listings for folk music in the net. Here three recommendations for the best sites for folk music listings in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands:
Folker! magazine's site has just moved; at the new URL you can find the huge listings for folk music tour dates, festivals, workshops and folk sessions for all over Germany (for the festivals even worldwide). Navigation is a bit difficult, but the amount of info is well worth the trouble...
Eltjo Toorn's Celtic Music in Nederland Site; a huge listing for Celtic music in the Netherlands, always very much up to date
T'Bourdonske is a Belgian-Flemish mag, and has its big concert calendar in the net as well, making it to the best folk listings for Belgium

On an old Franciscan Monastery in Roundstone (Ireland), Malachy Kearns, better known as Malachy Bodhrán amongst folk musicians, works at his craft of making Ireland's oldest product, the Bodhrán (Bow-Rawn). It is an 18" one sided drum made from Goatskin treated by a traditional process.
The Irish word 'Bodhar' means deaf or haunting. The Bodhrán began as a skin tray used for drawing turf (peat) on the bogs. Guaranteed genuine Goatskin and native Irish Beech, the skin is also glued on.
Malachy, and his wife Anne, are respected as fine Bodhrán makers for 19 years, being the only full time makers in the world. Most of the professional folk Musicians world wide use their Bodhráns; Christy Moore (photo, in Malachy's workshop) only uses their Bodhráns, and Malachy Kearns is the official maker of Riverdance Drums.
Prices range from 56 IRPounds for a Plain 18'' Goatskin Bodhran to 129 IRPounds for a tuneable one. Find out more about Roundstone Music and Malachy's Bodráns at

Shantalla and the Wild Boar
Belgium. Shantalla, the highly-rated traditional Irish/Scottish band has signed with the Belgian record label Wild Boar Music. Shantalla is the first Irish group to be signed by a Belgian record company. The Belgium-based band has been attracting a lot of interest this year, with a string of sell-out concerts and festival appearances in Belgium, plus international forays to festivals in the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. Recording has just begun, and it is expected that the resulting album will be launched throughout Europe between December 1998 and March 1999. Meanwhile, in autumn, Shantalla still have quite a few concerts and festival appearances. More info at http://www.shantalla.com

Another New Old Dog
Scotland. The Old Blind Dogs' singer, Ian F Benzie, leaves the band in January. There are still a few dates in the old line-upwith Ian (photo on the left!) this year - for German dates you can look at their German agent's homepage.
Their new singer from January on will be the brilliant Scottish singer/songwriter Jim Malcolm (photo on the right!). Without doubt, this will result in a totally different sound, but - also without doubt - the Old Blind Dogs will stay one of the great Scottish bands, as a great singer is replaced by another great singer.
If you like to find out more about Jim Malcolm, read again FolkWorld's interview in issue 5. Jim can be seen, btw, in January at Germany's Scottish Folk Festival tour, along with Shooglenifty, Deaf Shepherd and Bachue Café, seeming to become the best folk music tour since years and really representing the current best crop of Scottish music with all directions of Scottish music. If you like to join the Germans in their festival party, find the tourdates at the SFF homepage.

New hope for international culture?
Germany. We have reported a lot about the German foreigner's tax, destroying the German international cultural and folk music scene. The result of Germany's general election, with a new government finally, after 16 years, that seems to result in a coalition of the social democrats and the greens, gives some new hopes that there is a chance for an ending of this crazy tax. All the German folk music organisers, fans and all the international folk and world music artists touring in Germany are now keeping their fingers crossed that the new government is really as multi-cultural and international as the two parties always pretend to be...

Trad Music and Set Dance in January
Ireland. Irelands Premier Traditional Music and Set Dancing Festival Weekend, "the Shindig by the Windmill" festival at the Earl of Desmond Hotel, Tralee will be on 22nd, 23rd & 24th January 1999. The Shindig is one of the biggest set dance events in Ireland at the moment, drawing people from all parts of the world, i.e., America, Canada, France, Germany and the U.K. There will be an informal session in the main bar, on Saturday evening before the Ceilí with a host of superb local musicians. This session is one of the highlights of the weekend and already musicians are phoning me to be included this year. It is an informal session open to all trad musicians, singers, storytellers and set dancers to join in.
Infos: Email Paddy & Carolyn Hanafin.

...been hunting for strings for a charango or a rubber ended bhodhrán beater? A low whistle or a rosewood flageolet?
"Erbses Bauchladen", running an online-Shop in the internet since June 1998, is dealing in musical instruments and accessories which are sometimes a little hard to come by. At

Ronnie Drew in The Ambassador
Ireland. Former Dubliners lead singer Ronnie Drew has been pursuing a solo career in recent times, but this week he's been spending his time with his son Phelim out on Howth Head where both father and son have landed roles in the new BBC drama series The Ambassador. Scheduled for transmission later this year, the series is expected to be a prime time hit in the UK. This is most certainly the first time the pairing will have appeared together on film! (Info from CDIreland newsletter)

Harp Spring
Switzerland. HARP SPRING is a newly founded world-wide association of harpists, experts in diverse fields and various societies, including the «World Harp Society» and the «European Harp Society». The goal of «Harp Spring» is the increased usage of the harp in all areas of musical life. Through publicity campaigns directed at conductors, orchestras, ensembles, organisers, conservatories, music schools, the press, radio, television, and on the Internet, «Harp Spring» provides for the urgently required energetic and convincing presentation of the harp in public and in musical life. The HARP AGENCY organises the engagement of harpists for solo, ensemble, chamber and historical concerts, recitals, song recitals, popular concerts, etc. The harp periodical HARPA - TELYN and the Internet magazine HARP NEWS provide information about all aspects of the harp. The aims of the STUDY GROUP ON HARP HISTORY are the promotion and coordination of harp research, the reconstruction of historical instruments, the publication of research results, and the organisation of events.
Infos at Odilia's Harp; e-mail.

Fiddles of the World
Canada. A significant point in the history of traditional fiddling will take place in 1999. It will bring fiddlers of the world together.
FIDDLES OF THE WORLD (FOTW) is the First Ever International Conference and Reunion for Traditional Fiddlers. It will take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada, July 11-15, 1999. It will be an international gathering of fiddle players, accompanists, fans of fiddle music and music industry representatives to be held every two years. FOTW will be providing opportunity for corporate and government sponsors to participate in all aspects of the event. Its main goals are to preserve, promote, educate & bring together the vast interpretations of fiddling.
The program includes: seminars on fiddling characteristics and techniques from countries around the world, fiddle making, accompanying the fiddler and writing tunes; a gala dinner and concert, lots of special concerts; showcases throughout the city; a giant fiddle jam, an outdoor fiddle picnic and Fiddler's Fair, the event trade show.
FOTW has already received commitments to participate from fiddlers in Canada, USA, Mexico, England, Scotland, Wales and Sweden.
Visit the FOTW Web Site for more information.

Photo by The Mollis

CONCERT FOR OMAGH
Belgium. The Northern Ireland Group, the Irish Club of Belgium, the Irish Theatre Group, FC Irlande and the Irish Belgian Business Association are all working together on a major concert to raise money for the Omagh victims fund. The exact line-up cannot be announced just yet, but many of Ireland's top folk/trad artists have volunteered to play and already it looks like it could be one of the best Irish concerts ever to be staged anywhere, never mind in Belgium. (As a hint, you can expect the line-up to include members of bands such as Altan, De Dannan, Clannad, The Chieftains, the Bothy Band and Planxty, and even dancers from the Riverdance company). The concert will be on 30th November in the Ancienne Belgique, so make a note in your diaries, get your wallets ready, and pass the word on to as many people as possible. Only 750 tickets will be on sale, so act fast. Tickets (1500 BF) will go on sale next week and can be bought directly at the AB box office - Bd. Anspachlaan 110, or can be ordered by phone (extra charge): 02/548.24.24 or over the internet (extra charge)
A bank account will be established in Brussels to which donations can be made by anyone who doesn't want to or cannot attend the concert but would still like to contribute to the cause. Our aim is to raise at least one million francs. We will be working very hard to eliminate all of the costs of the concert through sponsorship so that every franc raised through ticket sales and direct donations goes to Omagh.

Cultural comitee against foreigners?
Germany. After regional elections earlier this year in the East German 'Land' Sachsen-Anhalt where the rightist party DVU gained 13 % of the vote, the speaker of the cultural comittee ('Kulturausschuß') of the 'Land' is now one of the rightists. The other parties in the regional government decided that, as the DVU needed to become speaker of one of the comittees, it would be the least evil in the cultural comittee. Thinking that the DVU is officially against a multi-cultural society and hostile against foreigners, and that now such a party is the representative of a governmental cultural comittee, it is indeed a sad affair, showing what state culture has in these days in Germany. As Germans say, 'they have made the buck a gardener' - you know what we mean...

Drawings by Annegret Haensel; more infos on the artist in the editorial.

Irish Birthday in Copenhagen
Denmark. The Copenhagen Irish Festival this autumn celbrates its 20th anniversary. Invited for the birthday party are among others Liam O'Flynn & Arty McGlynn, Eleanor Shanley, Bumblebees, Mary Bergin, At The Racket, Beginish and Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman. There will be concerts, sessions, ceilis and workshops (Irish set and step dance, harp, bodhrán, fiddle, tin whistle, singing, harmonica). The party takes place the weekend of the 5th to the 8th of November. Further infos from Tel. DK-32586258 or DK-38792109; or in the internet.

Danú with destination Germany
Ireland/Germany. Danú, just having replaced their singer and fiddler, and being in their new line-up even stronger than before, are looking forward to their first ever German gig in January. Invited by the WDR radio station for a live concert on the 10th of January, Danú are hoping that their appearance on German airwaves will open them doors to the German market. They are just coming back from their second Tonder Festival in Denmark where they have been one of the highlights of the weekend.

Folk Music Courses in NL
Netherlands. For all of you Dutch players, watch out for the autumn week Folk Music and the Diatonic Weekend, both at the Vormingscentrum De Glind near Barneveld!
The Herfstweek Volksmuziek (Autumn week folkmusic), taking place from the 11th to the 17th of October, offers courses for various genres and instruments, among others for guitar, recorder, flute, melodeon, fiddle, accordion and vocals.
Later in the year, the Diatonic Weekend, 27.-29.11., has courses for melodeon, harmonica, bandoneon and concertina, in various genres.
For information and subscription: Stichting Volksmuziek Nederland, Jos Maas, Aalbertselanen 10, 3445TB Woerden, tel.:0348-423829, info: E-mail, WWW

In the German news you can find as additional news:

• Ein weiterer Ausländersteuer-Tip; Another advice for all those plagued by the German foreigner's tax
• Das Beste schottischer Musik!; the Scottish Folk Festival Tour in January 99 in Germany seems to become one of the best German folk tours ever: with Deaf Shepherd, Shooglenifty, Jim Malcolm and Bachue Café
• Hoeldis gehen querbeet 98; German hurdy gurdy modern folk band Hoelderlin Express hope to win the prestigious querbeet 98 price
• PROFOLK geht ins Netz !; Profolk comes into the net; worldmusic.de's Jørgen Lang has been chosen for the design

There are further news - News from Belgium, Northern Germany and Danny Kyle - in news columns - have a look at the columns index!

To the (older) FolkWorld News of Nr. 5
To the (newer) FolkWorld News of Nr. 7

To the content of FolkWorld online music magazines Nr. 6

© The Mollis - Editors of FolkWorld; Published 10/98

All material published in FolkWorld is © The Author via FolkWorld. Storage for private use is allowed and welcome. Reviews and extracts of up to 200 words may be freely quoted and reproduced, if source and author are acknowledged. For any other reproduction please ask the Editors for permission.

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