Rüüt "Kirküüt"
Nordic Notes, 2023
On its third album, this exciting folk quartet from Estonia features a new and even more convincing line up - groovy accordion sounds are now combined with guitar and kannel (the Estonian zither), which accompany colourful vocal arrangements led by two female singers. With a mix of traditional Estonian folk songs and own compositions, Rüüt creates their very own contemporary interpretation of Estonian folk song. Carlos Nunez "Celtic Sea"
Curiously the latest album of this folk music super-star is to mark the birthday of a ferry company: the 50th anniversary of Britanny Ferry. And of course Galician bagpipe and whistle maestro Carlos Nunez is just the man for recording an album celebrating the linkages between different Celtic regions – to reflect on the linkages the ferry company facilitates. Taking the shape of an instrumental symphony, the album brings together traditional music from all Celtic nations “plus” - Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Normandy and Spanish regions Galicia, Cantabria, Leon, Asturias, Basque Country, plus few new compositions. Carlos’ folk orchestra for this album features 12 musicians, primarily from Spanish and French regions, playing traditional instruments of various time periods. As you would expect of Carlos Nunez, the music is first class, and has a hint of Carlos’ Irish masters, The Chieftains.
Eliza Carthy & Jon Boden "Glad Christmas comes" Two of the big names of English folk have come together to record this Christmas themed folk album, full of wonderful carols.[81] Eliza and Jon’s vocals dominate, although the two have invited Tim Van Eykes and Emily Portman to add to their little Christmas choir. While the focus is on singing, many of the songs do feature a little bit of accordion and concertina, and a “backstage” brass sextet is guesting adding further seasonal atmosphere.
The material brings together much loved carols, lesser known traditional seasonal songs, a couple of own materials, plus a couple of songs regularly heard in their original version on the radio at Christmas- a more Morris version of Fairytale of New York, and “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas”. I am finding that Eliza sounds on this album more and more like her late great mum, Norma Waterson. With this review being first published in March, it may feel a bit early to think about Christmas but keep this one in mind…
Danish Fiddle Quartet "Nattens Favn"
In this folk chamber quartet, two seasoned Danish folk fiddlers - Jørgen Dickmeiss and Ditte Fromseier Hockings - have joined forces with two acclaimed young classical musicians, on viola and cello. The material is, with the exception of two traditional Danish tunes, all newly written, mostly by Jørgen. Overall the music is deeply influenced by Danish traditional dance tunes, but its fresh folk interpretations do borrow also from classical music, as you’d expect given the makeup of the quartet. To round off the album, there are also two very beautiful songs sung by Ditte.
Sole "Elos" Such an exciting blend of world music, jazz, and Eastern and Western European music traditions - Sole‘s music has blown my mind. The superb singer of this Slovakian band, Julia Kozakova, has an impressive voice and versatile style which is equally at home in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Roma traditions, as with Swedish trad songs and Spanish Flamenco - both in terms of music style and language. The musical arrangements move from authentic trad via contemporary folk to groovy or swinging jazz, with world music influences. Accordion and a swinging jazz piano, a groovy double bass and inventive drums and percussion - every single musician shows great talent, joy of improvisation and a fount of musical ideas. Red Cardell "Bordel"
Red Cardell is a Breton roots rocks band. While already more than 30 years old, this is the first time I am coming across them. Focused on original, French language, songs in a pop/rock style, the music thrives on blending different styles: the Breton roots come through, with strong doses of folk (Breton and other), chanson, world, blues, country and more music styles. The line-up reflects this: Beyond the classic rock line-up (guitars, drums, percussion, bass, programming) the quartet also plays e.g. flutes, sitar, saz, mandolin, banjo, harmonica. With their catchy melodies, this should be a fun live band too.
Värivarjo "Courage in colour" Named after rainbow parachutes (those you’d find at kids parties), Värivarjo certainly offers colourful, and beautiful, music. The duo brings together two exceptional musicians from two different countries: folk accordionist and pianist Tommie Black-Roff from Cornwall (known from e.g. TEYR) and jazz/blues guitarist/mandolinist Joni Vierre from Finland. The two met in the Covid lockdown years during their studies at the renowned Sibelius Academy. On the album, the duo explores musical ideas between Nordic and Celtic folk music, jazz and other styles, with all of the material being composed by the two musicians. On two tracks, the music is further enriched by trumpet and vocals by Finnish American musician Devina Boughton. Akleya "Im Verborgenen" A nyckelharpa duo in itself is unusual - but one dedicated to playing traditional German tunes as well as Scandinavian inspired music must be unique. The two German musicians Regina Kunkel and Björn Kaidel have played together for the last 10 years. Their latest album features own compositions with a traditional (Scandinavian and/or German) feel, as well as five traditional German melodies from recently re-discovered German tune collections. The tunes feature either the two nyckelharpas, or sometimes nyckelharpa combined with zither or guitar (played by Björn). The album is produced by one of the leading German folk artists, Jürgen Treyz. The gentle sophisticated sound of a nyckelharpa on its own is always magical – but combine two nyckelharpas and you make it double-magical.
The Furrow Collective "We know by the moon"
A quartet dedicated to traditional English and Scottish folk song, the Furrow Collective brings together talents from both nations: Lucy Farrell (viola, guitar) and Emily Portman (banjo, concertina) from England, and Rachel Newton (harp) and Alasdair Roberts (guitars) from Scotland. All four can be also be heard singing, with many beautiful vocal harmonies. Many of the songs are not particularly often heard on the folk circuit, with the material mostly referenced back to the Roud collections. Two songs bring different dimensions to this set of otherwise English-language songs: Rachel sings a beautiful Gaelic ballad (“‘s Fhada Leam an Oidhche Gheamhraidh”), and “The Hurdy Gurdy Man” - originally “Der Leiermann” featured in Franz Schubert’s song cycle “Winterreise” - is sung in both the German original (Alasdair) and an English translation (Lucy).
The album features beautiful artwork by May Farrell - a very good reason to get a real copy of the album! Perfectly presented, this album will be treasured by anybody who loves traditional singing.
Vedan Kolod "Birds" A family trio from Siberia, representing the rich folk traditions of Siberian Russia. As well as - often at least in my Western ears very intense - female singing and some, perhaps more meditational, male singing, the trio features a host of ancient and rare folk instruments restored by one of the band members - such as Scythian harp, gusli, Vargan, zvelenka, wooden horn. These are played alongside bouzouki, Jews harp, drums, tambourines etc. Their latest album is focussed on traditional songs related to birds. Uhrbrand, Lydom, Cahill "Sik og Sejs"
The is a re-release of ULC trio‘s album originally released in 1999 - but all three editions published since have been sold out for a while, with demand still remaining. So here’s a re-release and the first digital publication of the album - remastered and with the addition of two brand new tunes. The album is a bit of a classic, featuring new interpretations of ancient Danish traditional dances from the island of Fanø. - on violin, diatonic accordion and bouzouki/accordion. Good that this album has become available again for those who missed out on the original.
Uhrbrand, Lydom, Cahill "Sik og Sejs"
A re-release from 1999, this was a seminal album in the Danish folk revival, concentrating on the uniquely beautiful dance tunes from Sønderho on the western island of Fanø. Sik og Sejs has something of the feel of seventies English folk - an edge of folk rock, a strong dance rythm, and an emphasis on simple melodies rather than lush arrangements. Peter Uhrbrand and Sonnich Lydom lead on fiddle and free reeds, with Seamus Cahill backing on bouzouki and guitar. There's a bit of keyboard, an occasional tuba of course, and varied percussion to fill out the sound. Lydom's mouth organ adds a bluesy tone to what is already soulful music. Sønderho has maintained a living tradition which has resisted new material, and a distinctive dance style enjoyed by all ages. The pace of the music, like the pace of life, is not hurried: it is to be savoured, and shared.
Ciaran Ryan Band "Occupational Hazards"
It's got banjo and accordion, so it must be folk, right? Well you would think so, but a lot of this album comes closer to solid rock than to the Scottish or Irish traditions where Ciarán Ryan learnt his tenor banjo craft. Box-player Andrew Waite and his brother Chris, Bevan Morris and Donald Hay all skip nimbly between folk and contemporary styles here, giving Mr Ryan a free hand with arrangements: the eclectic folk funk of Dallahan moves into a madcap jig akin to Moxie and then into a dark threatening dance club reel, all on the captivating title track. Wild Card is less dangerous, but hints at Hazzard County, while The Shepherd screams Ragnarok, Norse downfall and devastation with drum and bass thundering on the rainbow bridge.
Diarmuid Ó Meachair "Melodeon Medleys"
Music from Irish American melodeon greats Peter Conlon, John J Kimmel, Ann McNulty and others, mostly recorded in the early 1900s, this box-player's dozen short tracks is the second album from young Diarmuid Ó Meachair. His first was mainly two-row accordion with a bit of single-row: here he reverses the trend with almost exclusively single-row Irish melodeon, an instrument which is coming back into fashion. Melodeon Medleys presents pairs and trios of tunes, played briefly and at pace, as was the norm in New York's recording heyday when the style was dictated more by the shortness of the recording window than the demands of the tune. Reels, jigs, clogs and hornpipes are drawn from the classic Irish repertoire and the wider European influences on Kimmel particularly. Ó Meachair makes some concessions to his instrument, but in the main these tunes are exactly the way you might hear them played in a session - except that most are performed on an Eb Pariselle melodeon, a lovely instrument but a bit of a surprise if you try to play along in the key of D!
Dréos "Cascade Mountain Aire"
A second album from this grouping of uilleann piper Eliot Grasso with fiddler Brandon Vance, supported by Glen Waddell on several instruments, Cascade Mountain Aire is a polished and provocative selection of old and new pieces. Dréos play a mixture of Irish, Scottish, and their own original music in a very traditional style which embraces North American influences as well as the purely Celtic. There are two vocal tracks towards the end of this release - the mournful An Innis ´igh over a pipe drone, and the mouth music selection A' Mhisg a' Chuir an Nollaig Oirm, sung by Brandon. The rest of the recording is instrumental, reels and hornpipes, slow airs and a strathspey. The pair of reels Highland Man Kissed his Granny and Rip the Calico stood out for me, nicely paced and crisply played on pipes and fiddle, as did Ut i Mörka Natten (Out in the Dark Night, if my limited Swedish serves) where Eliot switches to wooden flute and Glen provides a lute-like continuo line.
The trio of John McSherry, Francis McIlduff and Brendán Quinn first appeared at Belfast's Féile Trad Trail in 2022. This album springs from that occasion and from their subsequent tour of the UK and Ireland. It's an evenly balanced CD, five instrumentals by John and Francis on whistles and pipes interspersed with songs by Brendán, all supported by Quinn's guitar with some guest keyboards from Dónal O'Connor. Féile's tunes are mostly traditional, mostly Irish, with one composition by McIlduff and two by McSherry, plus a couple of pieces from Celtic Spain.
Gavin Marwick "Quarterdays: Martinmas"
This EP completes Marwick's Quarterdays series of four short albums, each marking a seasonal festival.[81] As with the previous three releases, Gavin is joined by one musical collaborator: in this case it is Phil Alexander, a fellow member of the European folk band Firelight Trio, who provides accompaniment and melodic passages on piano and accordion.
Martinmas is one of many winter festivals in the Northern Hemisphere, and is generally celebrated on or around the 11th of November. The 16 compositions by Gavin Marwick here are suitably wintry, and there are some great tunes: from November Jig to the haunting air Darkness Falls. Most of the pieces on Quarterdays: Martinmas have a distinct Scottish character - jigs, reels, strathspeys and highland airs - but a couple spring from Balkan or central European influences. My favourites here are the slippery Scottish jig Martin Dessil, the drunken French waltz The Vintners, and the galloping White Horse reel. Marwick and Alexander deliver stunning performances and exciting arrangements across a range of styles. The Quarterdays series has already won international awards, and is now available as a boxed set.
Genticorum "Au Cœur de l'Aube"
Their seventh album, or maybe their ninth, depending on how you count: either way, Genticorum are one of the most established traditional bands from Quebec, up there with La Bottine and Le Vent du Nord and maybe even La Volée d'Castors! Genticorum is a little different: as a trio it doesn't try for the same impact as these bigger bands, but with three of Canada's finest instrumental musicians who also happen to be fine singers it has surprising strength and depth for a sweet three-piece. Boasting the fiddle and mandolin of Pascal Gemme, the flute and piano accordion of Nicolas Williams, and the guitar and jaw harp of Yann Falquet, Genticorum add distinctive French Canadian foot percussion and ringing close-harmony singing for a full spread of Québécois music.
Gillian Fleetwood "Together With Yourself at Sea Level"
An unusual title for an unusual album: this CD comes to us through the crucible of COVID, but also through mental and physical anguish, the healing power of art and nature, and the joy of motherhood. Harpist, singer and composer Gillian Fleetwood has poured all this and more into what is surprisingly her first solo recording. One of Scotland's score or more of established harpists, Gillian was half of harp duo The Duplets who released two fine albums a while back, but here she has composed and arranged for a bigger band. Behind the Fleetwood harp and vocals are six other musicians on fiddle, cello, brass, percussion, and the wonderful credits of "worlds of other sound and beauty" for co-producer C Duncan while poor Martin John Henry is listed as providing "noises". We all have our part to play, I suppose.
Nick Hart & Tom Moore "The Colour of Amber"
I rarely review singers, but I'm making an exception for this wonderfully musical and melodic album. Nick Hart's smooth vocal tones are matched by Tom Moore's resonant viola to produce a rich rounded sound throughout The Colour of Amber. Both players add harmonium in a few places, and Nick provides accompaniment on viola da gamba. There are four instrumental tracks and six songs here, all traditional material, mostly drawn from the English tradition with touches of Scots and Irish.
This is evocative music with the depth to captivate any listener. While one can hear the influence of neighbouring Finnish folk music, this is very distinctive music, played with joy and skill.
Arfolk, 2023
Hudson Records, 2023
Go Danish Folk Music, 2023
CPL Music, 2024
The band has only recently been formed- and what a success story the album in itself already is. Outstanding.
Arfolk, 2024
Sleight of Hand Record, 2024
The result is overall contemplative, dreamy, at times more lively, but always rather wonderful - music that creates images in the listener’s mind, that demands careful listening.
Own label, 2024
Hudson Records, 2023
CPL Music, 2024
To my ears, the music sounds archaic, shamanistic, meditational – it is a fascinating insight into ancient traditions and instruments not much known outside of Siberia.
Go Danish Folk Music 1999/2024
Go Danish Folk Music 1999/2024
Two popular dance tunes are followed by a bridal suite, an air and march leading to a lively dance: this suite reminds me more of Shetland than England, although it's not as raw or wild. The song melody Oh, kunne du mit hjerte se, hvordan det krymper sig brings all the musicians together, Cahill leading before Lydom and Uhrbrand add melodeon and fiddle. This is followed by a sparser arrangement on one of my favourite Sønderho pieces, Fisken ligger på hviden strand, a frequent occurrence on a North Sea island. The same gentle style continues through almost twenty tunes, switching the emphasis between fiddle, melodeon and mouth organ, until we come to the final track, a reprise of the opening number from archive material, just to make the point that this is an old and slowly evolving tradition. Tracks 11 and 12 were recorded recently in Sønderho, and have been added to the original 1999 release: they do have a slightly different tone, but the feel is almost unchanged across 25 years. This music lives and breathes, but it's in no rush to change.
Own label, 2024
The track names say it all really: the enigmatic Feckno, the banjo innovation on State of the Art, and the final fitting Plunk Rock. If this rock were peppermint, it would have "VIRTUOSITY" written right through it, in recognition of the brilliance of every band member here. Arrangements are imaginative, varied, but always full on: the sonic attack hardly lets up until the penultimate Barbara with its relaxed Cajun feel and foggy mountain backdrop. Almost all the material here was written by Ciarán, with one piece each by Winnie Horan and Calum MacCrimmon, and one traditional Irish jig. Every track is a medley of multiple tunes, usually mixing styles and rhythms: Barbara is the only exception. This album follows on fabulously from Ciarán Ryan's solo CD Banjaxed, reinforcing his reputation as one of the most exciting banjo players today - with a little help from his equally talented friends!
Own Label, 2023
With just a thumb strap to hold it, and very limited left hand possibilities, the single-row melodeon almost inevitably has a jerky character. Diarmuid's clever and comprehensive ornamentation irons out much of this unevenness, but is also able to accentuate it where appropriate: McBan's Reel is a nice example of the florid ornamentation style favoured by many melodeon players, contrasting perfectly with the plainer Boyle's Jig which takes full advantage of the percussive beat of basses and bellows. Scatter the Mud, The Green Mountain, Lord Gordon's and The Bag of Spuds are among the stand-out pieces here. A couple of early Kimmel medleys are neatly slotted in between the jigs and reels. There's also an intriguing 4-part version of The Dublin Reel. Ó Meachair switches to his trusty two-row grey Soprani for the final track, Lad O'Beirne's Hornpipe and The Heathery Breeze, a tribute to the great Joe Burke. This CD comes with detailed notes, an additional pleasure to add to the delight of listening to a master musician.
Own Label, 2023
Compositions by all three members of Dréos supplement the traditional material, airs and reels: no jigs here, but an eponymous triple-time bourrée by French piper Benoit Kensier follows Emilia Amper's Swedish composition, and is followed in turn by Maggie's Reel from Chicago Irish fiddler and composer Liz Carroll. Other Irish content on Cascade Mountain Aire includes Carolan's Princess Royal, a crooked reel passed down by travelling Donegal musician John Doherty, and a fine rendition of the heavyweight piping showpiece Lord Gordon's. Fiddles and pipes, flutes and whistles, guitar and bouzouki combine with touches of accordion and djembe to create a full and absorbing sound from this trio. The magic of multi-tracking has a part to play in some complex arrangements, but there is also a beautiful simplicity at times, as on the plangent title track. The band website offers detailed notes, and information on Dréos' previous album too.
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McSherry and McIlduff first joined forces in the innovative Belfast band At First Light, building on the double pipes sound of McSherry and McGoldrick and focusing on new and eclectic material. Here they rely more on low whistles, opening with a set of traditional slip-jigs and Sully's popular Roaring Barmaid, then bringing in the pipes for a medley of old Irish tunes, before a stunning mystical set on whistles drawn from McSherry's Seven Suns album. The Spanish melodies are played on uilleann pipes with some fancy regulator work, a fair approximation of gaita and pipe organ, followed by the grand old reels The Crooked Road to Dublin and The Ladies' Pantalettes.
Quinn's four songs (three of his own and one by John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival) are delivered by brash guitar and a mid-Atlantic Ulster voice somewhere between Van Morrison and Kevin Doherty with a touch of Adam Holmes melancholy. The arrangements make good use of whistle breaks and harmonies, as well as Francie's bodhrán. Brendán's inspiration ranges from the cycle and sequence of change as the young become the old, to the specific suffering of a homeless old man, with a measure of insight and introspection characteristic of singer-songwriters. The final song Have You Ever Seen the Rain is well known, recorded by many artists and strongly sung here with a brilliant whistle arrangement. The last track mixes jigs and reels once again with The Fisherman's Lilt and McIlduff's slidey Open Road, culminating in a fine version of the 4-part reel Trim the Velvet. Great tunes, great playing, and a really great atmosphere on this recording make me think Féile would be a fantastic live band too.
Journeyman, 2023
Own Label, 2023?
In a tried and tested alternation of songs and instrumentals, these three master musicians offer world class performances of old and new material: the punchy arrangement and bittersweet comedy of La Batelière, the medley of three traditional tunes ending with the Scots-infused Reel en La from Edouard Richard, the beautiful air Forcalquier by Marie Loiselle, and much more. Falquet outdoes himself on the rocking introduction to Dans les Haubans, Williams delivers a dark Brethonic brandy (12/8 reel) on wooden flute, and Gemme alternates lead vocals with lyrical fiddle such as his slow march Old Yamaska. Two of the six vocal tracks here are unaccompanied, voices and feet filling the acoustic space beautifully. Dance tunes at different tempos, crooked old favourites and fresh compositions by the band, slot perfectly between ballads of love and libation. There is more variety here than you might expect from a band twice as big, and an expressivity which is rare in a group of any size. With Au Cœur de l'Aube, Genticorum have captured their tradition for us: we have only to release it.
Own Label, 2024
Gillian Fleetwood's music also embraces indie and classical influences, particularly in the rhythms and arrangements she brings to pieces such as the opening Drawing Room, the harp solo The Shell Grows, or the folk-pop sounds of Cold Water. In other places this is pure Scottish tradition, the pipe melody and ornamentation of John McLeod's Marching Past or the Burns ballad feel to Walnut Waltz. Her Cedar is contemporary harp as good as any, and For the Bathtubs shows how this instrument can shape and lead a whole ensemble. The titles of Gillian's compositions are great fun - Monkey Puzzle, Plantastic Corrina Hewat, and Because Sometimes Joy is an Act of Defiance. The second track For the Love in Glenbuchat sounds like it ought to involve a Japanese health drink, but it's actually a lovely lyrical mix of low brass, fiddle and harp: the wordless vocal-only reprise which ends this album is a further delight.
Slow Worm Records, 2023
The words are of course the most important thing in any folk song. Hart delivers these clearly and with feeling in tales of romance, derring-do, robbery, death and false love. Three Jolly Sneaksmen, Babylon, Raggle Taggle Gypsies and more are well known but rarely performed so well, with a fine combination of familiarity and spontaneity. One or two of the songs are paired with cheery Morris tunes, and two of the instrumental tracks also come from the Morris repertoire: the Fieldtown version of Ladies' Pleasure and a medley of two favourite jigs Swaggering Boney and Constant Billy. The other instrumentals, led by Moore's viola, are an East Anglian version of the lively Scottish reel Flowers of Edinburgh and the mournful Playford melody Childgrove. The title song opens this collection, and the old farewell shanty Bold Riley closes it, rounding off a powerful and compelling performance by this extremely talented pair.
