Billy Clifford & Gerry Harrington "Now She's Purring"
Own Label, 2018
An exceptional recording indeed, Now She's Purring is undoubtedly the best recent recording of legendary Sliabh Luachra musician Billy Clifford,[43]
greatly aided and abetted by Kerry fiddler Gerry Harrington.[48]
Billy recorded as a young man with the Star of Munster Trio, playing alongside his parents John and Julia Clifford, or his uncle Denis Murphy. The flute was unusual in Sliabh Luachra, and Billy Clifford helped to define its local style. Those early LPs were made fifty years ago, and Billy's flute was almost unheard outside his local region for a long time, but Gerry Harrington persuaded him to play for this CD and has coaxed some very fine Sliabh Luachra music out of him. The recording quality is excellent, and there are interesting notes with this CD too, giving the context of Billy's music along with several fine photographs.
Clifford plays wooden keyed flutes in the Boehm and Radcliffe systems, similar to orchestral flutes in appearance but with a very different tone. Gerry uses a Stroh fiddle for most tracks, an instrument which used to belong to Julia Clifford, restored by Billy. The tone on both instruments is remarkable, and together they deliver the deceptively simple tunes of Sliabh Luachra with great sensitivity and spirit. Polkas and slides, set dances and hornpipes, jigs and reels and barndances flow and skip from Billy and Gerry's fingers. Most are familiar - Johnny Spillane's, Rain-a-Sup, The Gypsy Princess, Thadelo's, The Dusty Miller and many more. Others are less well known: Trip to the Quarry, Frisco Hornpipe and Clifford's version of Green Garters are less often heard these days. Gerry takes a solo on the air The Blackbird and Billy breathes life into the old showpiece hornpipe Johnny Cope, but all other tracks are duets with no other accompaniment. This CD may not be easy to find, but it's worth the trouble, and an email to gerrymharrington@gmail.com will put you in touch with Gerry directly.
© Alex Monaghan
Hot Griselda "Sunbox"
Own Label, 2018
Their previous release Meow was my album of the year for 2013,[53]
and Sunbox is at the same level. Hot Griselda are a loosely Belgian-based group playing a fusion of French, Irish, Dutch and other music, mostly rooted in tradition (whatever that means), and mostly on blaring woodwind. Irish and French pipes, whistles, bombarde and sax are backed by bouzouki and guitar, with the old Irish frame drum adding to the beat.
All the material on Sunbox was composed in roughly equal parts by three band members: Stijn van Beek on Irish pipes, Toon van Mierlo on Irish and French pipes, and bouzoukist Kaspar Laval who is a Low Countries gentleman - he can play the pipes, but chooses not to. The fourth member of Hot Griselda is guitarist Jeroen Geerinck, and this quartet pumps out a powerful sound akin to Flook or Sin É: comparisons with Lúnasa or Moving Hearts are also not out of place.
Totally instrumental, almost entirely acoustic, and merging influences from Brittany to Berlin via Buncrana, Hot Griselda are one of the most exciting traditional groups in Northern Europe right now. Their music is relentless, demanding, urgent, and technically superb. Listen to the definition on Djupavik, a Balkan-tinged opener which hits you between the eyes and forces you to pay attention. Feel the deep cranning on Cranes, the gut-wrenching rock guitar on Shooting Stars. Breathe in the calm relief of Katha, of Correct Me If I'm Wrong, and of Black Molly which has the hypnotic charm of iconic slow reels like The Last Pint. This CD is going on my 2018 Top Ten list for sure.
© Alex Monaghan
Angela Usher "The Gort Mile"
Own Label, 2018
Manchester Irish banjo, produced by Mike McGoldrick - it's bound to be rollicking stuff, right? Wrong. This is one of the most delicate banjo albums I've ever heard, and in fact when the guest musicians are in full flow Ms Usher seems content to become part of the crowd. It's a good crowd: Colin Farrell and John Carty on fiddles, Michael Coult on flutes and whistle, McGoldrick of course, Matt Griffin as a solid accompanist, and numerous others. Angela fits in perfectly, which is no surprise when you realise that she grew up playing music with many of these likely lads, and indeed was a founder member of Manchester's seminal folk-rock band Toss the Feathers. As well as tenor banjo, Usher's skills cover whistle, guitar, concertina and mandolin here, so there's no shortage of musical textures. The banjo brings it all together, but I'd be loath to call this a solo album. It has the feel of a band such as At the Racket, or the Border Collies, or even Moving Cloud: firmly traditional, but a bit funky, with lots of colourful threads to each piece of music.
Jigs and reels predominate, some lovely ones from Angela's wide and varied experience: The Gillaroo, Over the Moor to Maggie, The Jug of Punch, Sally Gally and The Old Creamery. This last is one of ten compositions by Angela on The Gort Mile - the CD's title comes from another, a lovely lilting jig. Hornpipes, barndances, slip jigs and waltzes also feature: Thomond Bridge, Jamesy Gannon's, the Usher original Jessica's Joy on tin whistle and flute, that oldtime favourite Ookpick Waltz and a tenor guitar version of Alan Kelly's delicious Lollie's. The final pair of reels from the repertoires of Billy McComiskey and Liz Carroll pay homage to the nineties American Irish group Trian, and in a way to the older recordings of Noel Hill, Tony Linnane and others. Whilst much of the material here is new, The Gort Mile is absolutely in the Irish mainstream, and although it may not be dazzling or earth-shattering it certainly warms the heart and stirs the toes of anyone with a feel for traditional music. There's lots more infornation, as well as photographs and snippets of each track, on Angela's excellent website.
© Alex Monaghan
Seamus McGuire & John Lee "The Legacy of Stephen Grier"
Own Label, 2018
A beautifully arranged and played selection of music from a 19th century Irish manuscript collection, this album refreshes the wonderful partnership between fiddler McGuire and fluter Lee, as well as showcasing the skills of Garry Ó Bríain on mandocello, Floriane Blancke on harp, and Manus McGuire on additional fiddle. Together they play hornpipes, airs, polkas and waltzes, jigs and reels of course, and a newly discovered Carolan planxty known only as Number 12. Although all these tunes were transcribed in the mid 1800s by gentleman musician Stephen Grier in County Leitrim, many are of course much older: Carolan was long dead by then, as were Gow, Marshall, and other known composers of pieces such as The Duke of Gordon's Birthday and Loch Earn Quickstep. However, The Legacy of Stephen Grier does seem to be representative of the music which was being played in Ireland in the later 19th century, at least in the big houses: popular pieces of the time including The Poor Soldier Boy and The Fourth Dragoons' March are interleaved with more formal melodies like The Raven Wood Waltz and old Irish jigs such as Morgan Rattler or Jackson's Mistake.
There are some very fine tunes here, familiar or otherwise. The Gladstone's Bill Set contains several, including Reel 254 and the elegantly titled Lady Elizabeth Percy which has passed into the Donegal repertoire and was recorded some years ago by the group Altan. The Straddy, more slide than jig I think, was apparently a song melody: it is followed by a rake of reels which are still played today under different names. There's a strong Scottish influence on this collection, whether from Scots immigrants or simply from the music books being published in London and Edinburgh in the 1800s, and the last three tracks are almost all Scottish. The air Roslin Castle, quite common on recent recordings (although this version is missing both high and low C naturals in its A major setting which I feel detracts from the melody), is followed by three dance tunes well known in Scotland and Cape Breton, and the final Burns' Farewell which is a slowed-down version of the song Goodnight and Joy be With You All. Whether for academic interest, musical exploration, or simply listening pleasure, The Legacy of Stephen Grier is brimful of bounty, and the musicianship is of course top notch.
© Alex Monaghan
Brett Lipshutz "Whistle for the Feis"
Own Label, 2018
Highly competent whistle-playing from perhaps Milwaukee's finest fluter, accompanied by Vidar Skrede on guitar and bouzouki: Brett Lipshutz plays baroque flute in the group Myserk and other ensembles, but here he sticks to the humble tin whistle for a selection of music aimed primarily at step-dancers. There are reels, jigs, barndances, highlands, a heavy hornpipe and more, plus the slow air Seán Ó Duibhir a'Ghleanna and one of my favourite set dances The Three Sea Captains. Check out the whole list at www.brettlipshutz.com which also offers several other albums.
This music has everything dancers need: a good steady tempo, a strong beat from Vidar, and plenty of lift in Brett's dextrous playing. It's also a joy for listeners, as Mr Lipshutz trips through favourites such as Larry the Beer Drinker or The Upper Church Polkas. The speed dictated by dancers gives us a chance to appreciate the finer points of melodies like Neil Gow's Highland and a wonderful set of slowed-down reels by three different members of the Dwyer clan. High D and Bb whistles by Michael Burke produce a good clear sound here, although they do fade away occasionally on the lowest notes. Throughout even the fastest pieces, a cracking trio of single jigs and two fiery sets of reels including The Victory and Tinker Hill, full control is maintained while the sweet notes of the whistle dance and sparkle.
© Alex Monaghan
Niteworks "Air Fàir an Là"
Own Label, 2018
Glasgow's Gaelic rockers took the clubbing world by storm with their first album, and this second one is more of the same. From the opening bars of Dookin', a relentless beat pounds through Air Fàir an Là. Topped and tailed by fine instrumentals on fiddle and pipes, the meat in this musical sandwich features some of Gaeldom's finest singers: fame (or notoriety) has its advantages, attracting Julie Fowlis, Ellen MacDonald, Iain Morrison, and the young ladies of SIAN. Niteworks' combination of sounds is almost indescribable, but here goes!
There won't be many 17th century songs in the charts this year - in fact this CD's title track could be the only one, with its combination of rock and electronica behind a hypnotic refrain. Òran Fir Ghriminis - a song of the men of Grimnish on Uist, if memory serves - is a subtler piece, beautiful Gaelic vocals driven by pulsing electronic sounds. Calum Ruadh MacNeacail is a documentary track, set to the spoken words of an old crofter's views on the Hebridean song tradition. Lùths is more mystical, trance-like, before the rich psalmic vocals and ceol mòr piping of Cumhachd. The final Highlander's Farewell features fine West Coast fiddling, another excellent dance track. Air Fàir an Là is fun, full of fine music, and fiercely Gaelic: what more could you want?
© Alex Monaghan
Vishtèn "Horizons"
Own Label, 2017
Vishtèn hail from Acadia, a historically French-speaking area which includes much of Maritime Canada. The group combines multi-instrumentalist twin sisters Pastelle and Emmanuelle LeBlanc from Prince Edward Island with fiddler/guitarist Pascal Miousse from the nearby Magdalen Islands of present-day Quebec. This album is their most progressive so far, consciously taking the Acadian tradition to new places, introducing more electric guitar and rock piano, but still keeping that distinctive French Canadian combination of fiddle, foot percussion, jaw harp and accordion. Half the music on Horizons is vocal-led, with strong melodies and harmonies by Emmanuelle and Pastelle, and the traditional habit of combining songs with strong instrumental arrangements is respected in most cases: Elle Tempête pulls no punches with its storming fiddle breaks, and Bi Bi Box is pure folk rock. Most of the songs are based on traditional lyrics, and sometimes on old melodies, but Vishtèn have put their own stamp on each one.
The instrumentals are at least as powerful as the songs here, virtuoso fiddle, whistle and accordion as well as some seriously impressive piano from both LeBlanc sisters. Cajun, Québécois, blues and jazz funk, it's all here. J'Aime Vraiment Ton Accent is a medley of two very different tunes, while Le Miraculé is a straight trio of toe-tapping reels. The gentle Sirènes à Roméo by Pastelle offers a chance to breathe, dedicated to a sea-faring uncle who was on good terms with the local mermaids. The title track is one of the most contemporary here, a true blend of traditional instruments with modern rhythms and arrangements, a real delight, before a pair of punchy songs including the swamp-rock of Les Clefs de la Prison from Adadia's Cajun cousins. Horizons finishes with a pair of more relaxed tracks, showing Vishtèn's ability to bewitch in multiple styles. This band is even better live, and they tour regularly, so go and see them if they are appearing nearby!
© Alex Monaghan
Hervé Capel "Accordéon Chromatique"
AEPEM, 2018
Michel Nioulou "Vielle à Roue"
AEPEM, 2018
The wonderful AEPEM association has launched a series of very specific albums - one musician, one instrument, one tradition. These are the first two examples, and they are fascinating as well as being full of fine music. Like a single quinta port, or a single cask malt whisky, each CD is a snapshot of the tradition, a strand of the tapestry, a separate experience yet an inalienable part of hundreds of years of craftsmanship and artistry.
Hervé Capel's music comes from the Auvergne and Limousin regions - it's almost impossible to isolate a single region in central French music, and it is immediately obvious why. His first piece is a version of a 3/4 bourrée which I know well from the Berrichon and Sologne traditions, but it has been shifted a beat or two here, giving it a very different character. This happens a lot in French music - bar lines seem to have been a very late addition in many cases. I suppose table service was always the norm. Capel plays almost exclusively 3/4 bourrées - there is one waltz - and has a habit of shifting into the minor, perhaps because this is relatively easy to do on a chromatic accordion, or perhaps because that's what they do in Limousin - I don't know. It's very effective, and adds variety to a tradition where many dances use only a single melody. The left hand accompaniment and the enthusiastic stomping make this CD even more rhythmic and danceable.
Michel Nioulou's hurdy-gurdy produces a very different sound, older and more visceral with its various drone strings. Nioulou's repertoire from Charollais and Brionnais is less well known than its more central neighbours, and I recognised hardly any of the melodies here. There's a sweetness to tunes such as Valse à Pierre Frisé and Bourrée numéro 4, and a delicacy to much of this music which contrasts sharply with the low drone of Michel's instrument. Some of the pieces he has chosen are challenging indeed: the final tune in the Suite de Polkas à Polette fairly races along, and La Dévorante needs extreme dexterity.
I particularly enjoyed the lilt of Bourrée à Plassard and the old cadences of the air Aux Jeunes Garçons. This disc includes a wide range of different rhythms and tempos, from marches to mazurkas, schottisches to songs. Both albums come with informative booklets of notes and photos.
© Alex Monaghan
Jean Blanchard "Au Vrai Chic Berrichon"
AEPEM, 2018
Yannis Duplessis "J'ai Pris la Fantaisie"
AEPEM, 2018
Master and journeyman: Blanchard has been at the heart of traditional music in the Berry region of France, around Bourges and Châteauroux, for almost half a century, while young Duplessis is just starting out on the path of a traditional musician. Both play French bagpipes, but there the similarities end: Blanchard's preferred instrument is the medium-sized musette of central France, while Duplessis favours the much bigger pipes of the Bourbonnais region.
The Bourbon pipes really take the biscuit, with chanters well over two feet long in some cases, and huge drones. Their deep, rich sound is ideal for the airs and waltzes which abound on J'ai Pris la Fantaisie, and Yannis also duets with himself on higher-pitched pipes or enlists the aid of fellow piper Quentin Millet, gurdy gurus Bouffard and Jolivet, and Yannick Guyader's accordion, leaving just half the tracks on solo pipes. There are faster bourrées and polkas, and excursions as far as medieval Germany, but Duplessis' music is mainly typical of the Bourbonnais and neighbouring regions. His own cmposition Rosé Pamp' is a lively 3/4 bourrée well worth acquiring.
Au Vrai Chic Berrichon borrows a phrase from George Sand, France's most famous cross-dressing author: she spent much of her life in Berry, and championed the local dialect and culture. In the century since then, much has been done to record and revive Berrichon folklore, and this recording draws mainly from 19th-century and early 20th-century sources. Bourrées, polkas, songs, schottisches and more combine pipes, fiddle, flute, harmonica and banjo as well as three fine voices, recreating the pastoral music of old Berry. There are numerous photos and lengthy notes in French for those who are interested. Both Jean Blanchard and Yannis Duplessis manage to bring their music to a modern audience in an authentic and appealing way, great additions to the extensive AEPEM catalogue.
© Alex Monaghan
Arnaud Bibonne "Bohaussac"
AEPEM, 2018
Bohas Orchestra "Couleurs Gasconnes"
AEPEM, 2018
Another great pair of recordings from AEPEM, this time concentrating on the boha, the bagpipe of Gascony. This instrument effectively died out in the early 20th century, but has been revived and rejuvenated to the point where it is possible to form an "orchestra" of a dozen boha-players. At the same time, Arnaud Bibonne has taken the instrument in a different direction - what he hopes is an older direction - in trying to recreate the ancient modal tuning of the boha, not the well-tempered notes of a modern instrument but the sympathetic resonances of a bygone age, before accordions and guitars.
Bibonne's album is unique, bending the tunings of violin and hurdy-gurdy to his resonant boha, producing a very ancient sound. The repertoire is ancient too - more recent waltzes and mazurkas sit alongside Renaissance dances such as rondeaus and courantes, with songs and bridal marches which may be even older. Bibonne plays five different reconstructed instruments, copies of museum pieces, with very different characters and styles of ornamentation. While the boha is a relatively simple bagpipe, with only a single drone, the possibility to modify the drone while playing and the option of closing the chanter or the drone allow a number of rhythmic and polyphonic effects. Most of the tunes here are new to me, plenty of good material to learn!
Bohas Orchestra plays more well-known melodies, as well as a few of their own. The single boha drone becomes rather dull as accompaniment, so they add varied percussion. They also sing several songs - at times this is close to mouth-music, singing for dancing. The overall effect of the ensemble tracks is similar to a Breton bagad, pipes in unison with modern drumming. Congo Cantiran adds harmonies and solo breaks very much in the Breton style. Couleurs Gasconnes is more about having fun and trying new things with this old instrument, and it gives a very good idea of the boha sound and the range of music it is suited to. There are none of Bibonne's ancient modalities, but the mood of this CD reminds me of the recent experiments adding Galician gaita to Brazilian choro music. Polka deu Pinsan has that compelling Latin beat, and the accompaniment to several other pieces is somewhere between Moorish Spain and modern São Paulo. Both these representations of the boha are fascinating, and reward repeated listening, as well as providing almost two hours of fine music.
© Alex Monaghan
Teho "(E2 + ε + V) x I3 = P"
Own Label, 2018
Another CD featuring fiddler Tero Hyväuoma from the quartet Tjango, this time with fiddler Esko Järvelä of Frigg fame. The title does give the game away: this music is mathematically precise but a bit mad. In a good way - Teho's material is a mix of Finnish traditional and traditional-style compositions, with a few of their own tunes and some more modern pieces, all played on two five-string fiddles with great skill and feeling, and a few wilder moments. The opening Tähtisilmävalssi gives a good idea of what is to come, a gorgeous melody given a twist by this pair. Schottis från Hästgran gets a bit funkier, aggressive chopping and low grinding accompaniment before some sweeping glissando, creating a newgrass sound to die for. And so it continues: two Finnish polskas, a blues showpiece with more than a touch of Schoenberg, a plangent Swedish plea to ET, more polskas and waltzes, and a Finnish schottische. Each piece is intricately arranged, and played with passion and precision. The sound of someone sawing a fiddle in half, the screaming and growling, are nothing to worry about: these guys have some troll blood in their veins, and the madness just takes them occasionally. Focus on the saner final track, Pupunen, one of Esko's charming tunes, and all will be well! Fantastic fiddling, fine melodies and a bit of fun from the frozen plains of Finland - what could possibly go wrong?
© Alex Monaghan
"An Evening With Kevin Burke - Tunes & Stories"
Loftus Music, 2018
Twelve tracks of great tunes, and ten tracks of almost equally good chat and patter from a master of both words and music. There's probably fifteen minutes of talk, and three times as much music. If you've seen Kevin's solo concerts recently you'll know he often goes on a fiddler's peregrination around Ireland, starting in Sliabh Luachra with polkas and slides, then moving up to Clare and Galway, Roscommon and Sligo for the jigs and reels. Things get a little less linear after that: music from his long-time home in Oregon, a Parisian waltz by guitarist Cal Scott, the funky little jig Seanamhac Tube Station by fellow London Irish fiddler John Carty, an idiosyncratic pair of hornpipes learnt from the great Dublin fiddler Tommy Potts, another pair of polkas from Kevin's years leading the band Open House, and a couple more sets of reels to finish with.
Solo fiddle really doesn't come much better than this. From the grand old Carolan air Loftus Jones to the Canadian classic Mouth of the Tobique, Kevin Burke treats us to at least half a dozen different styles and excels at every one. An hour passes easily with one man and his fiddle, informative stories and gentle humour, paying homage to the musicians he learnt from in London, the likes of Bobby Casey and Lucy Farr, and the musicians he played with such as Micheál Ó Domhnaill and Johnny Cunningham. Along the way he gives great performances of classic and contemporary Irish tunes: The Sailor on the Rock, The Morning Dew, The Maids of Mitchelstown, The Tolka Polka, Páidín O'Rafferty's and his own jig Across the Black River. Recorded live in Oregon with an appreciative audience, this is a CD which rewards repeated listening. Even the jokes age well!
© Alex Monaghan
Kinnaris Quintet "Free One"
Own Label, 2018
Five of Scotland's finest female musicians - or to put it another way, five of Scotland's finest musicians - formed this quintet almost by chance, a happy coincidence indeed. The group is all strings - Aileen Reid Gobbi on 5-string fiddle, Laura Wilkie and Fiona MacAskill on 4-string versions, Jenn Butterworth on 6-string guitar and Laura-Beth Salter on mandolin and tenor guitar, a line-up capable of performing Air on Seven G Strings. I had to google Kinnaris, and the most plausible meaning seemes to be the mythical magical Kinnari creatures of Thai and Indonesian legends, half woman and half swan, synonymous with beauty and grace, fabled for their music, dance and poetry. Alternatively, Kinnaris could be a suburb of Paisley.
There isn't an old tune on this album - everything here was written in the last generation or two, much of it very recently by members of the Kinnaris Quintet. All five ladies had a hand in composing something on Free One, with contributions from Laura and Aileen in particular. The first two Reid Gobbi compositions are representative of this band's sound: hard-driving, mixing Scottish fiddling with Scandinavian and American influences, dense harmonies emphasising the range of instruments, low viola notes and percussive accompaniment. Compositions by Davis, McGoldrick, Shaw, MacCrimmon, Hutton, Hayden, Graham, Harbron, Reischmann and White measure up well against the band's own creations.
After four fast and furious tracks, Salter's gentle air June's Garden is an appropriate oasis of calm, ethereal harmonics behind rippling mandolin. The peace is shattered by Pockets, its aggressive rhythms punched by attacking plectra. After a few more turns of light and shade, The Road to Poynton is another surprise: an English pastoral reel grabbed by the garters and forced at fiddle-point along a Scottish highway, very different from Leveret's interpretation. Bluegrass next, and a beautiful introduction to Saltspring, before the currently popular Balfour Road by Newcastle oldtime fiddler Rhona Dalling, and Reid Gobbi's title track finale, full of inspiration, variation and extemporisation, hallmarks of the Kinnaris Quintet.
© Alex Monaghan
Damien O'Kane & Ron Block "Banjophony"
Pure Records, 2018
O'Kane has long been known as a great tenor banjo player, but he hasn't made much of a splash as an instrumentalist since his Mystery Inch[47]
album with Dave Kosky about a decade ago. Since then, Damien has been more focused on vocals - and vocalists - but now he's teamed up with bluegrass banjoman Ron Block for a fabulous fusion of folk from both sides of the Atlantic. Banjophony rhymes with "cacophony", but there the similarity ends: this album comes from the sweeter end of the Irish and American traditions, and while the emphasis is on banjo styles and sounds, the duo is augmented by a dozen fine players from several countries. The standard bluegrass instrumentation of guitar, mandolin, fiddle and bass is extended to include flute, keys, percussion and more for a very rich and varied soundscape.
Most of Banjophony was written and arranged by Block and O'Kane, and their playful characters come through in a number of places. Folks have been killed for suggesting that you need a sense of humour to play the banjo, but both Damien and Ron fit that assumption so I'm probably safe. Miller's Gin and Battersea Skillet Liquor will both have you smiling as you sup, and No Harm Done strays happily into Gerry O'Connor territory, reminding me of his Funk the Cajun Blues. O'Kane's Crafty Colette and The Midleton Thief are more serious, written for ladies of character. All this music is unmistakably original, but there's one traditional piece on Banjophony, that intriguing Irish reel The Lobster. Other tunes here have more than a whiff of tradition about them: Potato Anxiety, Trip to Portugal, the oldtimey Lucky Rogues, and the final trio of tracks credited to Rooney and Kosky. Whether it's bluesy swing on Danish Horde, Irish jig rhythms on S. McGee Buys the Farm, a bluegrass breakdown version of Brian Boru's Reel or the simple beauty of a melody like Brown Eyes, Damien and Ron have it covered with their blended banjos.
© Alex Monaghan
Andrew Waite "Tyde"
Own Label, 2018
Andrew Waite is a phenomenal musician. If you watch him play it's as though his accordion has been a part of him since birth. In a way it has - music flows through his family - and Andrew has extended his reach beyond the Scottish dance music of his Borders ancestors, to absorb the music of neighbouring countries, of Hungarian jazz fiddling in Dallahan, and of European folk fusion in Ímar. Tyde presents a unique musical personality, developed with Waite's first band and honed in the intervening years. It includes nine of Andrew's own compositions, plus a couple of songs from Seth Tinsley and carefully-chosen pieces by Daniel Thorpe and Adam Sutherland. The album is all about that box. Seth's guitar and Daniel's fiddle play their parts, but Tyde is built on the huge range of sounds pumped out by two hands pushing bellows, pressing buttons and piano keys. Comparisons with Iain Lowthian, Martin Green, Alan Kelly and other eclectic giants of the folk accordion are entirely appropriate, but don't give a true picture of the range of styles mastered here.
Fly Away Home is very much in the modern pan-Celtic groove of bands like Ímar, Talisk, Lau, Heisk, Atlas, or even Treacherous Orchestra. Golden Brown is closer to the Scottish tradition, snapped rhythms and a smooth melody line which would suit Mairearad Green or Fiona Ross for instance. Anais Mitchell's song 1984 casts the accordion in a lyrical New Country role, accompaniment and instrumental breaks, before the beautiful air Dom & Bryony's heads back towards Phil & Aly territory. The pulsating Synapse reminds me more of Irish iconoclasts Moxie or perhaps a progressive Nordic folk band. Frogwarts starts a set of three tunes with increasingly contemporary characters, hard to describe but great fun. The Tinsley song Four Walls seems almost accordion-free, and was for me the least satisfying number on Tyde. The evocative waltz To the Window switches into Last Train from Lanark, and smoothly out again, before the graceful carousel of Iver's combines with a little accordion frenzy to finish this CD with a flourish. The more I listen, the more I like Tyde.
© Alex Monaghan
Skrekk & Guro "Folkemusikk 2.0"
Taragot Sounds, 2018
GKN5 "Bestastovo"
Taragot Sounds, 2018
Two CDs from Norway featuring fiddler Guro Kvifte Nesheim, one short and contemporary, the other longer and more traditional. On Folkemusikk 2.0 she teams up with folk-rock trio Skrekk - not to be confused with the green Glaswegian troll - and the result is sometimes punchy, sometimes backwoodsy, sometimes folky and always catchy. A mix of songs and instrumentals, the latter are stronger to my ears, but I don't speak Norwegian. Bestelanden is a rocking gangar tune with its roots in troll music. Midt i Mengden approaches Rockabilly and Cajun rhythms, a real party number. The lovely Kanskje is unexpectedly gentle and serene, like a Led Zeppelin acoustic guitar solo. Kjempe-Jo is a complete contrast, another piece in gangar rhythm, strong and simple, hypnotic with its almost-repeating phrases.
Folkemusikk 2.0 flows easily into Bestastovo, at least on my computer. Gangars and springars on Hardanger fiddle are accompanied this time on clarinet, nyckelharpa, guitar and tambourine by Guro's young quintet. Most of the music on this album is old - it comes from fiddler Salve Austenå, born in 1927, who carries the Tovdal tradition from Norway's south west corner. Salve has been Guro's teacher since she started playing the fiddle, and seems to have many great tunes: the rhythmic Taddeiv Rosvald, the trance-like Vårnaua and the delicate Jondalen stand out. Guro's own compositions here include the wonderfully named Stjerneskuddet and the title track, a very atmospheric piece which makes the most of the Hardanger fiddle's resonances and the low register of the bass clarinet. The arrangements by GKN5 are sumptuous and powerful, filling each track with a multitude of textures and hues, spanning both ancient and modern Norwegian music.
© Alex Monaghan
Jamie Smith's Mabon "Twenty"
Own Label, 2018
Welsh music, mainly instrumental, played by one of the best bands in that country. Accordionist Jamie Smith put Mabon together twenty years ago, soon adding drums and bass to the modal melodies of Celtic Wales. Smith's piano box has belted out great music on several previous albums, supported by fiddler Oliver Wilson-Dickson, with Paul Rogers on guitar and that thumping scaffold of Matthew Downer and Iolo Whelan. Recently Mabon has added vocals, in Jamie's rich Welsh tongue, and moved away from old tunes to compose new music in - or at least close to - the Welsh tradition. Twenty contains twelve live tracks in a mix of moods from slow to speedy, slightly sad to very sad, with an occasional ray of sunshine to pierce the Cambrian gloom. Most have been recorded on a previous studio album, but there are a few new pieces too. The Ridiculous Thinker is a jazzy swagger through three tunes which capture Mabon's mix of old and modern styles, almost reggae behind a polka beat. Jig Trouble in Little Blaina is just one of many wordplay titles, some hilarious, some instantly regrettable. There's more than a hint of Donegal music in Frank's Reels, and a drop or two of Russian spirit in The Tale of Nikolai. In gentler vein, the breathtaking beauty of Hummingbird transcends genres. Amanda's Tune is another moment of tranquility, sandwiched between the self-explanatory Drum'n'Breizh and the allegorical song Caru Pum Merch. Both vocal tracks here have a mystical tone reminiscent of Gothic folk rock, somewhere between Runrig and Omnia. Twenty ends with a spirited charge, piano-key pyrotechnics on The Accordionist's Despair followed by the Super Mega Bonus Reel set, complete with elephants! This neatly answers the question "What do you give the band that has everything?" - and creates an impressive finale to a dramatic and exciting album. If this recording is a snapshot of Mabon's 2018 spring tour, I'd advise you to look out for any live appearances near you.
© Alex Monaghan
Cherish the Ladies "Heart of the Home"
Own Label, 2018
Still among the best in the business after seventeen albums, this American Irish five-piece sits somewhere between the Chieftains and the Bothy Band in style - although they are obviously a younger generation. Led by the ever-youthful Joanie Madden on flutes, the current line-up includes Nollaig Casey, Mirella Murray, Kathleen Boyle and Mary Coogan: fiddle, accordion, keyboard and banjo, all the makings of a fine céilí band. Vocals are provided by fine guest singers Kate Purcell, Nathan Carter, Molly O'Riordan, Don Stiffe and the Ennis Sisters - one singer one song, sort of. I'm always dubious when a song contains phrases like "come ye back", but there's not too much shamrock and shillelagh here, although the artwork on this CD could have come straight from the movie Leap Year, and you probably have to be an Irish emigrant to appreciate all the emotions in Glenties or The Little Thatched Cabin.
The nine instrumental tracks are a joy every one, from the formal Planxty Johnson to the rollicking Moloney's Jig, the challenging Princess Beatrice to the serene waltz Farewell to the Catskills. Several pieces here were written by the band, and they are just as much part of the Irish tradition as the air Cailín na Gruaige Doinne or the reel Johnny Henry's. A few tracks feature soloists, but most of Heart of the Home is played as a session, four ladies sharing the melody line and Mary providing accompaniment. There are subtle harmonies and discreet arrangements, and the songs are treated rather differently of course: the Ennis Sisters won't often get a better backing than this version of Ambletown. After a solid hour of classic Irish American entertainment, Cherish the Ladies end this recording with a stylish flourish which their many many fans will appreciate.
© Alex Monaghan
Symbio "Rising"
Gammalthea, 2018
This is the second album from a Swedish duo of accordion (LarsEmil Öjeberget) and hurdy-gurdy (Johannes Geworkian Hellman). Symbio is a nice short name, and Rising is actually a nice short CD which nevertheless provides a good introduction to this rather unusual brand of contemporary folk music. Symbio play traditional instruments, and their material certainly draws on folk styles from Scandinavia and further afield, but they approach composition in an almost classical way. Each track is centred around one or more motifs, instead of tunes, and the skill is in the arrangement and the layering of sounds, rather than the appeal of the melodies or the skill of the players. Both members of Symbio are very skilful indeed, and their melodies can be beautiful - listen to the virtuosic Hundred Years of Joy and Sorrow, or the evocative Secrets of the Sea - but that doesn't seem to be Symbio's goal. Each of these tracks develops into a twisting, reflective interplay of two instruments, circling each other, hypnotic or explosive in their intensity. There's a strong element of electronica and sequencing, an obviously engineered sound on several tracks, and yet the overall impression is of a sparse and minimalist recording. This minimalism is also evident in the beautifully designed almost-monochrome artwork on the CD cover and sleevenotes. The title track approaches mainstream folk from anywhere in Northern Europe, and shows the world class musicianship of this pair, while the final Together We Fly is closer to jazz rock and has that experimental edge which glints enticingly but can also cut the unwary. Rising is something extraordinary, and may be right outside your comfort zone, but if you find the right mood it's an extremely rewarding album.
© Alex Monaghan
Cecilia "Pastourelle"
Appel Records, 2018
A long-established group playing Franco-Belgian music, Cecilia have several albums to their name. This newest one is very pleasant, slightly rustic and sharing enough with the French and Brabant traditions to ensure a seamless fit with repertoires from Antwerp and Auvergne to Zaventem and Zeeland. Although the sleevenotes suggest that all the material here was composed by the three band members, I'm sure there are some pieces which have been borrowed pretty much fully-formed from older sources.
Cecilia are Geert Wuyts on button box, Thomas Hoste on hurdy-gurdy, and Jan Leeflang whose pipes always seem to be in a hurry. The trio sound is full and varied, perhaps more suited to listening than dancing in the absence of a rhythm section, but the music is certainly toe-tapping. Bourrées, waltzes, schottisches and polkas, mazurkas and circle dances, and even a Breton "An Dro" keep the rhythm changing. On the Move comes close to an English jig with deft switches from major to minor, and the gavotte Camelus Dromedarius sways distinctly to the east. Katrien has the makings of a fine Swedish Masquerade, it just needs a wee polka like Adeline-Adelijn in the middle. The other tracks are firmly French, and all are well worth a listen. Try www.ceciliafolk.be for more information, and to catch a glimpse of the elusive Cecilia herself.
© Alex Monaghan
Cordeen "Musical Bridge"
Own Label, 2017
Newfoundland is not a place that figures prominently on most traditional music maps - from the days of Figgy Duff to the current crop of bands such as The Once and The Dardenelles, it's been right at the margin of Canadian and Celtic music - but now two lads from Ireland have built a Musical Bridge with their colleagues in St Johns to unite two traditions of melodeon and button accordion music. I've suggested before that there are strong similarities between the dance music of Cork and Kerry and the energetic social dances of Newfoundland - well here you can enjoy the two together, plus a few songs and slower pieces from Ireland.
Benny McCarthy and Conor Moriarty play melodeons and accordions in the Irish style, particularly from around Sliabh Luachra. Graham Wells and Billy Sutton are fine exponents of the Newfie button accordion repertoire, and also sing. Between them they pump out half a dozen dance sets, three songs and a couple of slow airs. Slides and polkas, jigs and reels, waltzes and hornpipes: all are delivered in the rhythmic manner of Newfoundland. While many of the tunes here are shared by both Irish and Canadian musicians, our western cousins have an idiosyncratic approach to dance music, preferring crooked tunes to straight, so they happily throw an extra beat or two into Herb Reid's Polka or even Harvest Home, which makes for interesting dancing.
The songs here are delivered in a dry laconic mood, whether they deal with near-death experiences on the ice, actual death of a tearaway dog, or fantasies about the women mentioned in tune titles. Tickle Cove Pond underlines the hardships of Newfoundland life, while Mickey Relligan's Pup sees the lighter side. Hurricane of Reels is one of those Irish nonsense songs which is basically just an excuse to play good tunes. All three add to the variety on Musical Bridge, which is further enhanced by the graceful Eleanor Plunkett and the more soulful Roisin Dubh. This merging of musicians is a great thing, especially when it gives both traditions the chance to hear something new and different in the music recorded here.
© Alex Monaghan
Quite a few young Scottish bands are combining Highland culture with electronic music these days - Niteworks, Sketch, Tide Lines - and they are each taking a different approach. Inyal seem to focus on a dance club sound, strong beats and softer melodies, lots of alien noises and distortion without the harshness of metal music. Their debut album is full of variety: three Gaelic songs overlaid with modern effects, a mix of traditional instruments including fiddle, whistle and pipes, with a couple of slower numbers slung between the hypnotic pulsing dance tracks. It's fresh, thoughtful and entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed this CD, and I think you will too.
The well-known song Abu Chuibhl' is bedded into synthesised and programmed layers and loops of sound reminiscent of sci-fi movies. Olēka is a more acoustic-based slow reel, a catchy offbeat composition. Gryt uses the Scottish pipes to produce a very hypnotic groove: this and the following Bluff come close to the Peatbog Faeries. Things slow right down for Pasionaria, technically a waltz but with techno effects of increasing weirdness behind the fiddle and whistle. Yokes is predominantly electronica, adding Irish pipes towards the end on a thumping reel. The concisely named Air is almost straight traditional, a beautiful slow Gaelic song minimally arranged. The final Augenblick somehow puts all these influences together in a piece potentially inspired by a stressed German tour manager - just a guess. Inyal's music is definitely experimental, but to my ears it all works surprisingly well.
© Alex Monaghan
Joe McHugh "Amongst Friends"
Own Label, 2018
The elusive pure drop: no frills, but all the thrills and spills of traditional Irish music in its natural state, friends around a fire and no doubt a few drams. Ulster piper Joe and his son Fintan are joined by their buddies Vanessa Loerkens and David Aebli on fiddle and bouzouki for a fine selection of old Irish favourites. The Peacock's Feather and The Pretty Girls of Mayo are tunes I recall from sessions along the Liffey, while Palmer's Gate and The Woods of Old Limerick are ones I learnt after leaving Ireland. There's no concession to modern sensibilities here: The Sod of Turf and Haul Her Across the Road have fallen out of favour, but they are respectfully revived here, along with The Priest and his Boots, The Sheep in the Boat, Child of my Heart and many more.
The Banks of the Clyde must be one of the top ten Irish riversides, and it's the only song here, strongly delivered by Fintan whose harmonica blends sweetly with the pipes. Joe switches to low whistle for The East Clare Reel, skilfully led by Vanessa, and for The Kerry Lasses among others. The delightful waltz Maguire & Paterson sees him on a high D whistle, as does the title tune by Dubliners fiddler John Sheahan, but the piping tracks make this album for me. Valencia Harbour is a stomach-churning lament learnt from the playing of Seamus Ennis, magnificent on solo uilleann pipes. Maude Miller kicks off a set of classic reels driven by the bouzouki, and there are more piping reels and jigs before the final bonus track, another unaccompanied gem, with the regulators deployed to fill the space. Lovely music, great atmosphere, and nothing out of place: contact mchugh@goldnet.ch for a copy, and for details of Joe's other recordings, including a new one for charity.
© Alex Monaghan
Manus McGuire "The Copperplate Sessions"
Own Label, 2018
Starting off with a virtuoso romp through five grand old Irish reels, including the Copperplates of the title, Sligo fiddler Manus McGuire offers an eclectic feast of fiddle music here. There's a strong Scottish flavour, and several Scottish guests - if the Orcadians and Shetlanders will accept that description - including fiddlers Fiona Driver, Marie Fielding and Bryan Gear, with Tom Orr and Trevor Hunter on keyboards, Duncan Findlay on guitar and Neil MacMillan on upright bass, plus a pair of talented ladies from North America. Emily Flack's twinkling toes can be heard on the big set of reels from all over Canada and beyond, while Ellen Gira's cello comes across strongly to accompany Emily on the song Gort na Mona and underpin Manus on an air which Marie named for him.
A waltz by Andy DeJarlis, an air by Willie Hunter and a song learnt from Seamus Begley The Bold Kerryman are interspersed with reels and jigs from Ireland, Shetland and Orkney. Manus ends with a poignant air mourning the tragic loss of his son Stephen at eighteen, but lifts the mood with a final set of four Irish reels which have been round the world and back again: Blackberry Blossom, Maude Miller, Molloy's Favourite and Miss Thornton. The regular alternation of fast and slow tracks is highly effective, and each one is a jewel to treasure: three Driver reels in the Orkney style, The Carousel Waltz from Manitoba, a quartet of classic Irish jigs ending with one of my favourites The Tar Road to Sligo which had no potholes in those days, the air Mrs Mary Stevenson, and some relatively recent Shetland reels with that Northern Isles swing. Close your eyes and you could be anywhere from Sligo to Saskatoon, any time from Prohibition to the present day, surrounded by the best of traditional musicians.
© Alex Monaghan
Qristina Brooke "Linger"
Own Label, 2018
An intelligent name for an intriguing CD of pure fiddle music: Linger ranges across Irish, American and Canadian traditions, mainly through new compositions by Qristina Brooke Bachand, drawing on her background in British Columbia fiddling and her more recent experience in Limerick University. Her music could be described as experimental or pioneering, but not in the same way as Eoghan Neff or Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh - the forms and rhythms here are fairly traditional, and the technique involves conventional bowing or plucking. This is experimentation of a different type: Qristina has gone to town on non-standard tunings in an oldtime or Scandinavian manner, and most tracks are multiple overlays of fiddle on fiddle on fiddle, creating a very strong and primal sound, with no other instruments.
The muted melodies of Stumble Steps, the sawing rhythms of Back to Paddy's, the traditional drive of The Hogeyed Man and The Foxhunter, the gentle pizzicato of The River with its ambient soundscape: these are all different aspects of Ms Bachand's fiddling. The title track is a country-style waltz, with hints of backwoods fiddle tunes and old Irish airs. Building Blocks adds a different ambience, and the two traditional Quebec reels which follow it are satisfyingly low and growly. A couple of traditional Irish tunes nestle among Qristina's compositions towards the end of this CD, between sparky plucked melodies and the final bittersweet air Cap's Lament. Qristina describes this recording as "my personal homage to traditional, unaccompanied fiddle music" - it certainly succeeds in that respect, and also stands as a fine album of original compositions and arrangements, and as a first portrait of a very accomplished and refreshing musical artist. I recommend Linger to anyone with an interest in Canadian oldtime or wider solo fiddle music.
© Alex Monaghan
Kittel & Co. "Whorls"
Compass Records, 2018
Flawless fiddling from a master, backed by four fantastic musicians on mandoin, guitar, cello and hammered dulcimer: Jeremy Kittel grew up with Scottish and Irish fiddling in the North-Eastern US, before branching out to bluegrass and jazz. All those styles are on show here: the contemporary Celtic Boxing Reels, the smooth strathspey rhythms of Home in the World, the Baroque counterpoint of Bach's Preludio (wait- what?!), the echoes of Irish jigs in Fields of Brooklyn, the rapid-fire redneck roots of Ohmsted, and all the delicate arrangements and harmonies which put a very modern face on this music. The fiddle dominates - except on the two dark slow vocal tracks Waltz and Nethermead. There are moments of brilliance from Josh Pinkham's mandolin, Quinn Bachand's gypsy guitar, and Simon Chrisman's souped-up egg-slicer, while Nathaniel Smith provides a solid and sometimes frenzied bass line on cello.
All the material here was written by Jeremy, and I think it's all new - with the obvious exception of Johann Sebastian Bach's little hornpipe, which has been covered by several fiddlers over the last three hundred years. Kittel & Co. take their time over each piece, with lengthy intros and outros in the contemporary fashion: broken fiddle arpeggios leading into Pando, sultry jazz chords to introduce Alpena, dulcimer improvisations which top and tail Chrysalis. There's even an Interlude, a minute of calm midway through this album, where basically nothing happens - very John Cage. Whorls is a CD to sink into, soothing yet cerebral, gently dramatic at times but mostly rather laid back. Like many musicians, Kittel sets great store by the groove - get into this one, and you'll feel the benefit of Kittel & Co.
© Alex Monaghan
Garadice "Garadice"
Own Label, 2018
A classic Irish folk album, in the footsteps of De Danann or Stockton's Wing, mixing solid traditional tunes with songs old and new, Garadice was born from the Leitrim Equation, a very successful arts project which has produced several albums [39][53]
and now an embryonic supergroup. Combining the talents of singer Eleanor Shanley with multi-instrumentalists Dave Sheridan, Padraig McGovern and John McCartin, plus guests including Dónal Lunny and Tom Morrow, this album ranges from the undisputed pedigree of Port Gan Ainm and The Cloone Reel to the dubious roots of Joni Mitchell's angel hair in Both Sides Now.
>br>There's some lovely music on pipes, flute, fiddle and button box here: The Leitrim Rover, Johnny Doherty's, The Limerick Return, A Sligo Air, Gladstone's Bill, Keep It Up, The Old School Master and the final Ríl an Lár are played with sensitivity, strength and skill. Two unusual tracks add to the interest of this recording: a pair of rousing dance tunes from Asturias, and the Carolan tune Planxty Reynolds set alongside Sheridan's Spanish-sounding Lucky 13. Eleanor's songs range from the melancholic Lovely Leitrim and Motherland to the syrupy Wild Mountainside, with a couple of rather bland traditional songs in between. Her voice is pleasant and tuneful, but you wouldn't want to listen too closely to the lyrics. The mix of songs and tunes broadens the appeal of this album, and marks it as a more commercial product of the Irish tradition: nothing wrong with that. It will be interesting to see what direction Garadice choose to pursue.
© Alex Monaghan
Trio Mio "Polyglot Pike"
Go Danish, 2018
Understated and quietly beautiful, this Danish-Swedish trio has five previous releases and fifteen years of history. Their music is polished and confident, relaxed rather than racy, and mainly their own compositions although the opening Geddefiskeren by fiddler Kristine Heebøll seems very familiar. Trio Mio are not particularly trying to go anywhere new, or to reinvent Scandinavian folk music: their aim is to reinvigorate their traditions, and pieces like the pugnacious Dieselvals by bouzoukist Jens Ulvsand or the jazzy Alliken by pianist Peter Rosendal certainly bring new life to these old dance forms.
Fiddle, piano and bouzouki predominate, but there are also touches of guitar, wurlitzer, flugelbone, moog synthesiser and even a final vocal track. The rest of Polyglot Pike is instrumental, an interesting choice of title for a wordless CD - perhaps Trio Mio's music speaks in all languages. Most of the tracks here are easy on the ear, graceful and airy. A few stand out more: Toscana Return Ticket, Skaev Schottish and the two mentioned above, all of which happen to be by Heebøll. Her fiddling is impressive throughout, balanced by equally good guitar/bouzouki and keyboard performances from Jens and Peter. This album needs some quiet appreciation, and rewards careful listening.
© Alex Monaghan
The Fire "Radiance"
Own Label, 2018
Fiddle, pipes and guitar - a very traditional Scottish line-up, and The Fire play music to match. All instrumental, with whistles, bouzoukis, harmonium and bodhrán for added dimensions, Radiance is full of great tunes new and old, from the gorgeous 18th-century slow strathspey Miss Graham of Gartmore to the rousing pipe slip-jig Beaton's Blue Bonnet. Rebecca Lomnicky's fiddling is first class, gentle and grinding by turns, but for me David Brewer's piping wins by a whisker. The combination of the two is a delight, and the backing by Adam Hendey adds just the right touch.
About half of this album is material written by The Fire, all three members contributing. Rebecca's tune The Lanai Jig is a highlight, and the lads provide a good handful each of fine melodies. The other half is firmly traditional, tunes from the east and west coast traditions, from the golden age of Scottish fiddle, and from no fewer than four famous pipe majors of the British army. This trio's sound recalls bands such as The Whistlebinkies, Ossian, Battlefield and The Tannahill Weavers, so it's a bit of a surprise that they're from Santa Cruz, California. I won't enquire into their politics, but their music is Scottish to the core: Captain Carswell, The Hills of Glenorchy, the slow airs Dark Lowers the Night and The Old Man, the Gaelic accents of Tha mo Rùn and MacLeod of Mull, and their own compositions which may be a little more modern but are no less memorable for that.
© Alex Monaghan
Floating Sofa Quartet "Neighbourhood"
GO Danish Folk, 2018
This band's debut album was my favourite release of 2017,[62] so I was thrilled to get their new CD. It's very different, and consciously so: number one was mainly new compositions, but Neighbourhood is entirely old music, chosen from the home traditions of the two Danes, one Swede and a Finn who make up the Floating Sofa Quartet. It's also a lot shorter than their debut - twenty minutes shorter. Not that I'm complaining: even a modest ten tracks from these guys is a joy. With an unchanged stellar line-up of Clara Tesch on fiddle, Leija Lautamaja from Finland on melodeon, Swedish bass ace Malte Zeberg and Denmark's Mads Kjøller-Henningsen on woodwind, the overall sound is familiar but the style is older, more traditional perhaps, closer to dance music, with a wicked sense of humour and an irresistible lift. Zealand Sekstur is like a little troll ball, somewhere between the broom dance in Fantasia and the drunken elephants in Dumbo, great fun. Skånebitar is more serious, earthy on bagpipe and fiddle. Leija switches to harmonium for the lovely Swedish Näckens Vals, then back to blistering melodeon for a fabulous Finnish polka.
Two haunting melodies from Denmark's 18th-century Reventlow and Storm manuscripts provide a moment of calm reflection, Baroque style on wooden flute and fiddle, before a pair of dance tunes well known in England and Scotland but written down in Denmark in the 1700s. Lørdag Aften Polka is a fine example of Danish oompah music - a potential future hit for Habadekuk, and it even has their rough-hewn vocals! Kiikka-Iisakki could only be Finnish with its swirling blizzard of notes and its dark arctic core, something Sibelius would have been proud of. More Danish dance music in the shape of a familiar Hamborger, and then the final enchanting Finnish waltz, where once again this foursome manages to sound like a full orchestra spanning at least three centuries of Nordic music. I'm extremely impressed with Neighbourhood, and the Floating Sofa Quartet could well be on my Top Ten list again this year.
© Alex Monaghan
Karrnnel "Crazy Old Man"
Own Label, 2018
Lead fiddler with The Fretless,[66] and innovative composer in several genres, Karrnnel Sawitsky grew up in the Saskatchewan fiddle tradition and was touring with his family band from an early age. Since then he has branched out to encompass swing, jazz, and even pop. Crazy Old Man is one of two albums released together by Karrnnel: the other is titled SKMB and is mainstream singer-songwriter fare, Sawitsky's compositions sung by Amy Matysio, Joey Landreth and Ken Hamm with full band backing. Crazy Old Man is more to my taste, half instrumentals and half raw vocals in the style of Ashley MacIsaac or Jaron Freeman-Fox perhaps: from the heart, bloodstains and all. The swampy title track proclaims "I can't sing like a crazy old man", but you know, I'm not so sure.
Karrnnel's song I Don't Know summarises his musical philosophy in its refrain "I'm living and I'm loving and that's all that really matters". I can get behind that, especially when it's underlined with a bluesy horn section and a soul bassline. Matysio Set is smooth fiddling in a swing style, toe-tapping music, contrasting with the lyrical easy-rider mood of Father Son Trip. Orest Sawitsky was clearly a big influence on his son Karrnnel, attested by the emotional lyrics of loss in Flying Home. The gospel feel of On Your Own is another soul-baring number, the fiddle bow tugging at those heart strings. Sister's Reel is the first of three eclectic Americana instrumentals mixing jazz, swing, country, klezmer, and Karrnnel's own inventions, similar to his work with The Fretless, but more so. Minor Fin Set is a trio of new tunes, and Kitchen 1313 strings five melodies together, finishing with another tribute to Orest: indeed the whole double album is dedicated to Karrnnel's father. There are hints of Celtic and Eastern music here, but Crazy Old Man is essentially a Canadian contemporary fiddle album - and a darned good one eh!
© Alex Monaghan
Gráinne Brady "The Road Across The Hills"
Own Label, 2018
An attractively presented CD, with striking artwork by Somhairle MacDonald, this is a concept album for the modern era. It harks back to times past in rural Ireland and industrial Scotland, a way of life almost lost now which several recent projects have sought to recreate and understand. From the thatched cottage to the currach carried overhead, the cover evokes the Donegal environment where Patrick MacGill, "The Navvy Poet", grew up around 1900. Like Gráinne Brady, he moved to Scotland, but in a very different world. Gráinne has set his autobiographical poems to music, ten episodes of words and music telling a tragic tale with few moments of happiness. Emigration, hardship, hunger, disease and death: such was the lot of many Irish workers, and many Scottish highlanders, producing a sort of comradeship which continues to this day.
Starting with a gentle background air, and moving into a sprightly Donegal mazurka, Ms Brady matches her music to MacGill's words delivered without pretension by Jack Houston. The poetry is fascinating, revealing all the aspects of a poor labourer's life, the beauty and the brutality, the bravery and the base indignities. Jigs and slow reels, waltzes and jazzy hornpipes chart the loves, labours, losses of MacGill's life on the road as a navvy around Glasgow. Gráinne's compositions are powerful and expressive, from the background airs to the bright reels full of energy. It's difficult to separate the tunes from the words, but some make their own impression: the strathspey or Donegal highland Sandy MacDonald of Skye for a Hebridean navvy, the dark foreboding jig The Fair at Strabane, the chilling lament Flower of Danaveen. Gráinne is supported by several musicians from around her adopted city of Glasgow: Andrew Waite on accordion, Megan Henderson on fiddle, Innes White on guitar, American emigrant percussionist Steve Forman, Feargus Hetherington on viola and Su-A Lee on cello. This formidable crew creates a rich tapestry of sound which brings Brady's compositions to life.
© Alex Monaghan
Night Tree "Dedications"
Own Label, 2018
A Stateside six-piece playing contemporary folk with influences from oldtime, Swedish, Irish, so-called world music, and of course jazz and classical. I say "of course", because these youngsters met at the New England Conservatory, but like many students they have been brought up in or captivated by Old World musical traditions. Accordion, fiddles, cello, sax and percussion combine to deliver instrumentals sad and saucy, with two vocalists vying for attention. All the music here is original - all six Night Tree members contribute - and that range of composing talent delivers an album which is surprisingly consistent but also unpredictable. Cellist McKinley James wrote the medley of pieces Year with the Yeti and Wings from the North for her scary-sounding mother, the first tune oddly English in melody and arrangement, the second more Scandinavian folk rock. Fiddler Chris Overholser's Point Joe is modern Americana, think Hawktail or The Fretless, while Baby Blue by percussionist Julian Loida sits somewhere between The Beachboys and Bix Beiderbecke. Julian shares singing duty with Sunniva Brynnel, whose North Carolina Cottage has the macabre edge of I'm Stretched on Your Grave or Darling Corey, although this story seems to end better! Zach Mayer wraps up the album - Night Tree's second, a scant year after their debut - with a delicate little bluesy number dedicated to Swedish weather. The other Swedish influence, fiddler Lily Honigberg, opens Dedications with her Elvish Welfare, Suite 1: a ten-minute seven-movement piece which juxtaposes Martin Hayes and Tolkein's Frodo amongst others, and out-Cages Cage with a first movement apparently lasting precisely zero seconds. Give these guys a listen - you won't regret it - and watch out for a European tour!
© Alex Monaghan
Majorstuen "Skrible"
Own Label, 2018
Four fiddles and a cello - could almost be a Hugh Grant film, except this is Norway, and Skrible is the eighth album from a still horribly young group of musicians. The band was founded at the Oslo State Academy of Music by students interested in Norway's fiddle tradition, and eighteen years later Majorstuen have been almost everywhere. Now a premier Norwegian folk ensemble, in a country with a very organised and hierarchic approach to traditional music, this quintet has released an album based on works of Norwegian literature: ten tracks, each inspired by a book, spanning four centuries with authors I've never heard of. I don't really read Norwegian, but luckily the sleevenotes are also in English. The music is engaging in its own right, from the baroque cadences of Holbergs Polonesse to the more modern feel of Cannibals Have TV Dinner.
As with most Scandinavian fiddle students, the members of Majorstuen have excellent technique, playing up and down the fingerboard in any key they please. I assume everything is in standard tuning - none of the Norwegian folk tunings is mentioned, and there is little double-stopping or other folk technique here. The feel is more like a classical string ensemble playing contemporary music. While many pieces have traditional themes - love, death, jealousy, love and death - there are also pieces such as Universet with its philosophical inspiration and quite untraditional character, or Morgan Kane with its background of betrayal and its musical references to Mexican bandit movies. Hälleskalla Krig goes all atonal for its battle scene, Innsirkling is like whalesong and seagulls, and the final Lensmann Geissler is as fine a modern polka as you are likely to hear. Plenty to enjoy from Majorstuen here, and if you get a taste for this music there are seven other albums to track down!
© Alex Monaghan
