Duo Brotto-Milleret "La Part des Anges"
MusTraDem, 2020
French music on two diatonic accordions - there is a bit of a tradition of such recordings, and La Part des Anges blends that with a contemporary feel to produce something in between Milleret's more traditional work with the quartet Illa and the very modern sounds of the Groove Factory trio which adds Michaël Fontanella's electronic wizardry to this duo. A score of tunes, almost all by Milleret and Brotto, follow French dance forms such as bourrées and schottisches but with cross-cutting rhythms and a distinctive energy which combine to keep dancers and listeners on their toes. The pulsing triple-time bourrée Ça Mousse and the slightly funky Route 87 give way to an eerie waltz and then a pair of jaggedy jigs with imaginative bellows effects.
Mojna "Väntenätter"
An album of low-key music written by guitarist Thomas Eriksson, nothing startling, subtle arrangements with Helga Myhr on Hardanger fiddle and occasional vocals, and Anna Malmström on clarinet and bass clarinet. Every note is perfectly played and smoothly integrated. The opening Ljusnar and Väv set out separate melody lines and textures on gentle compositions, before the swirling Blixtlynt combines them for a richer sound. Spegling sets fiddle and clarinet in the background again, like a night scene with the guitar travelling through it as occasional shapes loom out of the darkness. Motvind is a guitar solo and Svirra adds fiddle for a duet: both pieces are improvisational, technically polished and hypnotically engaging. Anblick returns to a balanced trio sound for what could be a dance tune, and the title track focuses on clarinet before adding wordless vocals and twin fiddles for a dark and driving piece. The concluding Skimring is lighter, like dawn after a long night: a waltz to awaken and stretch, and greet the new day.
The Tannahill Weavers "Solstice"
Why shouldn't the Tannies bring out a Christmas album? (Answers on a postcard please!) But seriously, everyone else is at it, and these guys have successfully avoided commercialism for over half a century so maybe it's time they courted mainstream popularity and tapped into the lucrative winter festival market. This is certainly one of the most enjoyable Christmas CDs I've ever heard - number three or four at least - and whether you're in need of background music while you're up to your elbows in poultry, or just sipping a solo dram, Yule love this CD! It's a cracker, filled with familiar and unexpected festive treats - everything you need to baste your bird or crack your nuts, delivered in a traditional tartan and whisky sauce. Bang for your buck, without any Wham to wreck your wintry celebrations.
Groove Factory "Continuum"
A bit of everything, loosely based on French traditional dance music - Groove Factory bends the rules, sometimes well past breaking point, to follow the lead of Trolska Polska, Pauanne, Ashley MacIsaac, Moore & Moss and others. In some ways French music is uniquely suited to such an eclectic and electronically enhanced approach: from the p-Celtic modes of Breton music in the north to the African-influenced traditions of the south, France spans three musical worlds. Cau Te Mena starts from the pre-revolutionary music of central Europe, adding layers of accordion and a host of digital effects to a flowing triple-time bourrée. First Glitch takes the Breton andro dance form, dark and rhythmic, and transforms it into a Tolkien fantasy with chittering elves and demons.
Stundom "Hvis ikke de er Døde, Lever de Endnu"
The same length and format as their first album, Hvis ikke de er Døde, Lever de Endnu is a welcome return for Danish trio Stundom. Fiddler Emma Kragh-Elmøe, citternist Villads Hoffman and pianist Julian Svejgaard Jørgensen swap melodies and rhythms for an entertaining dozen tracks of contemporary instrumental folk music. All the material here was written and arranged by Stundom, and apart from a touch of wordless vocals from Christine Bach Tofft on the driving Ulven Kommer there are no guest musicians on this recording. The Scandinavian roots of these new compositions are clear, but there is also a hint of American tradition in Hvalens Sidste Dyk and more than a little of Ireland's Micheál Ó Súilleabháin in the jig Hjemfalden.
Flo "Islas"
Known to his friends as Flo, Florian De Schepper is a Flemish guitarist who has a couple of fine duo albums to his name already. On this short CD he plays solo, presenting ten of his own compositions, each one written on a different island - hence the title. Some pieces express the character of that place - Cyprus with its Balkan modal scale, or Gran Canaria in a strong Spanish style somewhere between Flamenco and Fiesta. Others are less influenced by short term factors, and lean towards the core of De Schepper's experience in Northern European folk, cool jazz, Americana and contemporary fingerpicked guitar sounds. There are a couple of standout moments for me - the eerie opening of Tenerife, and the insistent melody of Kreta - but most of Islas is subtle, smooth, relaxing. Guitar buffs will appreciate the technical side, harmonics and hammer-ons, pull-offs and percussion, while most of us will just enjoy the tunes.
Bonfire Radicals "Flywheel" [EP]
A five-track EP from this six-piece Birmingham folk ensemble follows their short album The Space Between from a couple of years ago. It's not surprising that their output is limited in quantity - each complex arrangement must take considerable time to ripen, and their contemporary style involves frequent switches of mood and instrumentation. I described their music as edgy and exploratory, and I'm sticking with that - there are imperfections, but like the Japanese art of kintsugi the flaws make the whole more beautiful, especially when they are carefully gilded.
Vaev "Sløjfen"
Tradition meets technology here, in a collaborative, non-confrontational way, and the results are interesting and enjoyable. Not for the purists perhaps - but of you are open-minded about the evolution of folk music, and have a sense of humour, you should find this album highly entertaining. Sløjfen is the second album by Vaev, the duo of technical wizard David Mondrup and multi-instrumentalist Poul Lendal: if you heard their debut recording, I would say that album number two is much better, partly perhaps because of the handful of well-known traditional musicians guesting here. That doesn't take away from Vaev's accomplishments: the distinctive character of Sløjfen is down to a careful mix of modern and older sounds, a steady hand on the distortion controls, and a choice of some great material from the folk repertoire.
Erlend Viken Trio "Ville Veier"
Hardanger fiddle, electric guitar, and double bass: this is the second album by fiddler Erlend Viken with guitarist Marius Graff and bassist Sondre Meisfjord. Their mix of Norwegian folk and other influences is quite intoxicating - mostly their own compositions, with only two traditional pieces. Road from Glasgow is the most up-tempo number, akin to an oldtime breakdown and written after a Celtic Connections festival appearance where reels were de rigeur. The only other fast track here is Viken's Byresvegen, a jig of sorts and one of my favourites here.
Duo des Cimes "Adiu Amors"
Bagpipe and button box, fiddle and vocals - a powerful duo from Gascony mixing songs and dance music, Duo des Cimes have a full sound and a polished aproach to their arrangements. Young piper Naël Tripoli and fiddler Anaïs Perrinel start with a song-waltz, Perrinel bossing both fiddle and vocals. Tripoli switches to diatonic accordion for a faster vocal number, Lé su béu poun d'Abignoun in old Occitan, followed by a pretty Gascon rondeau which may sound familiar to English folkies.
Traucaneu "Traucaneu"
From the Massif Central, this trio augments the classic Auvergne instrumentation on accordion, pipes and hurdy-gurdy with fiddles, bouzouki, mandolin and foot percussion. In a mainly instrumental recording, there are two songs from gurdyist Anne-Lise Foy, a traditional ballad and a more music hall tale, both superbly sung in a very pleasant voice with good accompaniment. The instrumentals cover a wide range of dance music and listening pieces, and every one is a delight - whether solo or group, fast or slow. Traucanèu are excellent musicians, innovative and entertaining: Tiennet Simonnin swaps between pipes and accordion, and Camille Raibaud's fiddles seem to fill every available space with melody, harmony, rhythm and drones. The buzz of the hurdy-gurdy is prominent on several tracks: you can hear the skill of Anne-Lise's right wrist on Scottish à Fauret and Bourrée à Pijat for example, two tunes from a four-rhythm medley. Her left hand gets a workout on Valse à Chastagnol, one of my favourite tracks here. Traucanèu have dug through archives and sifted the Massif Central repertoire for distinctive and attractive tunes, melodies not known or rarely played elsewhere but worthy of a new recording. This album succeeds in presenting old material to a new audience, and it does so with energy and polish. I'm putting this CD on the shortlist for my 2024 Top Ten.
Ati Me Care "Sur le Vif"
Classic French dance music from Auvergne, Limousin and Rouergue, this recording was made at social dances with a live audience. The sound quality is excellent, with just enough from the dancers in the background to add that authentic feel. Ati Me Care is a trio of piper Cédric Bachèlerie, hurdy-gurdy maestro Guillaume Bouteloup, and accordionist Thomas Restoin who provides rhythm to supplement the lively foot-tapping.
Etienne Lagrange "Violon de Normandie"
The violin is not a common instrument in traditional French music, and Normandy has not been a heartland of the tradition, but with AEPEM's excellent recent releases of Normandy bagpipe music it has become better known, and this excellent recording of traditional fiddle pieces will only help the cause of a neglected repertoire. Etienne Lagrange learnt the violin as a child near Caen, and with family from further south he was exposed to French traditional tunes from an early age, learning them by ear. When the association Loure was formed in 1998 to research and disseminate the traditional music of Normandy, Lagrange became an active member and began to learn and play the pieces collected from local players. It seems there were a lot of fiddlers in Normandy, perhaps because of its closeness to the North Sea - in any case, most of the repertoire here was collected from flddle players.
Cedric Bachèlerie "Cabrette"
A very individual style and repertoire, this music from the Livradois region between the Allier and Dore valleys in the eastern Auvergne is quite unlike other central French music. Cédric Bachèlerie's repertoire is hardcore French piping - as he says himself in the extensive album notes, he was fascinated by the role, the attitude and the accoutrements of the local pipers as well as by their music. His material is a mix of dance music and more formal pieces - marches, bridal tunes, listening pieces - much of it interpreted and improvised in a very personal way. I recognise the opening waltz, here called Le Grün de Chignore, but the following half dozen waltzes, bourrées and marches are new to me.
Fränder "Fränder II"
Fränder, meaning „relatives“, is the name of this Swedish-Estonian foursome. They present music from both countries and have invited several guest musicians into the recording studio. The guests add surprising sounds, let us only mention Valter Kinbom’s Darbuka and Alludu!. „Heavy accoustic music“ we learn from the press sheeets, in the old days we called it folkrock, but never mind, what is in a name, it’s a great listening experience. All songs and instrumentals were written and composed by the band members, and the influence of the band’s two home countries can be heard all the times. But the relatives grew up in Sweden – with the exception of flutist Säde Tatar, in the vicinity of Uppsala, which explains why they only sing in Swedish. Pity, but their musical force makes for this. Extremely exciting: the aforementioned Säde Tatar and her Estonian pipes!
Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band "Den store sommer"
The first song sounds like something by Mari Boine, which ist very nice, of course, but we soon find we don’t have to worry that they might have changed their style altogether. Their new album holds only things written by themselves (with a few exceptions), but they stick to their well-known mixture of well-known and totally new sounds. There is a Danish traditional song from a collection published in 1862, a song by fairytale autor Hans Christian Andersen, a piece by Danish composer Carl Nielsen and of course their own works, instrumentals and singing, mainly by Helene Blum, but something the two sing as a duet. One song is in English, it sounds like taken from a collection of romantic poetry from the 19th centrury, but was written by bluegrass musician Tim O’Brien from the USA. „The Garden“ is without any doubt the most touching duet since Nancy and Frank Sinatra‘s „Something Stupid“.
Benji Kirkpatrick "In Phase"
Benji Fitzpatrick can look back onto a remarkable career in folk music, he was member of Bellowhead, Faustus and Seth Lakeman Band, and carries as weighty heritage, as the son of Sue Harris and John Kirkpatrick, und now he presents his second solo-album.
All songs are written by himself, and the listener gets the impression that this is someone who wanted to take a break from folk. Those among us who remember the early Georgie Fame will feel that they are spoken to. The songs are about very personal things, like confronting one’s own demons, and about widely known phenomenons such as the desire to procrastinate – a nice piece of advice:: „You could try roulette“. Normaly Benji P. plays the guitar, but the first instrument he ever learned was the piano. He never performed in public as a pianist (talking of procrastination?), and now he shows convincingly that he can do the job indeed!
The Henry Girls "A time to grow"
Three sisters from Inis Eoghan in Donegal, home of Clannad (or of the wonderful author Séamus Ó Grianna: We recommend his selected stories published by Mercier Press). The three ladies name Clannad and the Beachboys as their big influences, and Clannad is easy to hear – at least Clannad from the later stages of their musical production, when they more or less had waved goodbye to the traditions of Donegal. The Henry Sisters don’t go that far. They present a wonderful mixture of pop and folk, sometimes it’s heart-renderingly melancholy and almost like a story by the venerable Séamus Ó Grianna, for example the instrumentals „Honeybee/Hard Border“ or „Inghinidhe na hÈireann“ (Daughters of Ireland) – the two Irish titles (the other one is Taisteal, „Travelling“) can rouse false expectations, they are both Instrumentals, the Henry Girls sing in English only. Wonderful harping by Joleen McLaughlin. Most tracks were written by the band themselves, and the album was produced in cooperation with Tommy McLaughlin. It’s a pity that the press sheet does not tell us if he’s a relation.
Volkwin Müller und Uli Kringler "Live im Kulturhaus"
Volkwin Müller has been performing for 25 years, the press sheet tells us, since 2016 he often gets together with Uli Kringler, like on this album. The two musicians tell us, that they did not know that the gig was recorded, which explains the relaxed atmosphere. The both play guitar, and their joy about playing together can be heard and felt all th time. Most songs were written by Volkwin Müller, with one exception: Bruce Springsteen’s „I’m on fire“- The song titles tell us what the songs are about: „A song for the sun“, „Because you are precious“, „The dream“, all of them encouraging without being superficial. Songwriting of the finest order.
Orkestar Kriminal "Originali"
Orkestar Kriminal is a Canadian band with many members, how many cannot be deducted from the cover: this must be the most chaotic and confusing one which the reviewer has seen in recent times. But we can tell you as much as this: the criminal orchetra, which should be filed under „World Klezmer“ (says the press sheet) presents wonderful music and sings in many languages, to name gut a few: Jiddish, Spanish, Greek, Norwegian– and Ganovim-loshn, a sort of jiddis’s cant, spoken about 100 years ago in the underworld of Odessa, Warsaw and Istanbul. It’s all about reckless capitalists, corrupt authorities, the curse of the Kohinoor, about the perversely randy Olympian Zeus, and generally about the life and work of jewish Gangsters. Wonderfully played, with influences from many musical styles, from rock to bigband, catchy, lively, highly enjoyable, each track a great joy.
6hunesseq "Ma olen maa peal vööras"
Music from Estonia seems to be the flavour oft he month, and this is only right. The band with the name which persons without any knowledge of the Estonian languages will find impossible to pronounce consists of four female singers who charm the audience with amazing harmonies and also with great instrumental skill. They sing folksongs and popular hymns from Estonia, and the first hymn comes as a great surprise: It’s just as wellknown in Germany, but with a German text saying, like its Estonian equivalent, that we are all poor wayfaring strangers. Sometimes the music sounds really pious, with an organ in the background and everything, and we can hear that Kyrie Eleison sounds the same when sung by Estonians. The four musicians play tambourine, a harp stringed with horses’s hair, violin, drum and pipe-organ, and this makes for an exciting listening experience, and the ladies are just as great when they perform unaccompanied.
Ada von Züri "falls"
The list of the tracks can give rise to the illusion that the variant of the German language spoken in Switzerland is not that difficult to understand for people used to other variants of the language as it’s often said. „Ebesogut“ „Wänn’s still wird“, „Rendezvous“, all of this can be understood and sounds promising. But alas, when sung or spoken it sounds very outlandish indeed to North German ears, and we can only enjoy Ada von Züri’s wonderful voice. Especially since the booklet holds no translation into standard German. But never mind. It sounds great. The album starts with a waltz accompanied by zither, or rather, it sounds like zither, but zither is not among the instruments listed on the cover. Great ist he giige, played by Andreas Gabriel, which comes into its own in song no. 2. We read on the covert hat ukulele is ukulele in Swiss German as well, somewhat disappointing, but nothing else is disappointing with this wonderful CD.
La Transparence Du Rien has an urgency under its calm surface which reminds me of the film Angel A, perhaps a factor in the choice of album title which may also relate to whisky but surely not to the Ken Loach movie. Delicate and deft fingering powers this pair through the complexities of another handful of their own compositions before we reach the jaunty Bouh-Bouh by Jean-Michel Rohart and the characteristically dark discordant Three Sharks by English hurdy-gurdy maestro Nigel Eaton. A medley of three traditional French tunes brings us to the final Amazone by Brotto, wrapping up a refreshing collection. There isn't a lot of information with this album, but fortunately the music speaks for itself.
Heilo, 2024
Hedera Records, 2024
Solstice has all the usual ingredients of a Tannahill Weavers album - flute, whistle and banjo from stalwarts Roy Gullane and Phil Smillie, with the recent additions of Iain MacGillivray on pipes and Malcolm Bushby on fiddle. There's plenty of old Scottish tunes too, alongside the seasonal goodies. The only real difference is the absence of those dreary and bloodthirsty ballads we all love so well: instead, gentle vocals are provided by Annia MacGillivray for two seasonal selections of Gaelic song. With a less fiery sound overall, the pipes must have been recorded in the next room - or possibly the next parish - to get such a fine balance of instruments: this group has a reputation for world class sound, and Solstice is no exception. Every note is clear, every syllable audible, whether it's Felix Bernard's Winter Wonderland or the almost equally well known New Year's Waltz by Wick fiddler Gordon Gunn. So as you fiddle with your wicks this yuletide, why not stuff a copy of this album down someone's stocking, or up your Hogmanay dish if you prefer? You won't regret it.
MusTraDem, 2022
A succession of bal folk rhythms here form the basis for a modern French sound - two button accordions from Stéphane Milleret and Cyrille Brotto, plus technomage Michaël Fontanella, broadening the appeal of this tradition just as Elephant Sessions or Moxie or Notorious J.I.G have done with Scottish and Irish and Anglo-Celtic music. Continuum is all danceable, driving party tunes, unconventional but never unsympathetic. The languid Breton hanterdro Passager Clandestin, the spooky medieval branle Suu Pont de Sent-Jan, the spiky kost ar c'hoad A l'Orée du Bois and the final Mimologisme with its busy schottische rhythm are all perfect for dancers, with strong melodies for listeners too. This combination of styles and sounds works well, and hints at more commercial platforms for French traditional music.
GO Folk, 2024
The lively Agnes i Vinduet, the soulful Stille som Byen, and everything in between make full use of this trio's potential for different sounds and moods. There's a classical feel to some pieces, a dance groove or walking tune swing to others. Most tracks are fiddle led, but the rich arrangements fill every space around the melody. Viola parts by Emma and Villads add extra depth, and Julian switches to organ for sustained continuo. The musicianship is excellent throughout, technically outstanding and also sensitive to the mood. The final two pieces, Til Sofie and Havde jeg Slukket for Solen?, are two of my favourites here and they give a very good idea of the quality of this fine album.
Trad Records, 2024
Own Label, 2024
Bonfire Radicals are hard to pigeonhole. They're definitely not Celtic or Scandinavian. Their music seems to blend Anglo-French, Balkan and Caribbean traditions with classical and anarchic jazz. Flywheel presents a percussion-driven reel on fiddle behind Greek vocals, a feast of Eastern woodwind including recorder and kaval over a rock band rhythm section, and a sort of English folk rock arrangement of the Scots ballad Love is Pleasing with some close harmony vocals. The pleasantly wobbly if somewhat irregular Sarah's Muffins mixes modern classical clarinet with almost satirical scat singing and hectic solo riffs on guitar and keyboards which it's hard to take seriously - maybe that's the intention. The final brief piece of accordion jazz brings an abrupt end to an interesting collection. I'm still not entirely sure what makes Bonfire Radicals tick, but when they explode they do make a lovely sound.
GO Folk, 2024
Starting with the clucking hen effect of a reel which is known in Shetland as well as in Denmark, Vaev
move astutely through dance forms and keys, fiddle and accordion sounds, songs and airs, and a few of their own compositions. Mia Guldhammer adds a veneer of class on three songs - I suspect they are not all entirely politically correct, but my Danish isn't good enough to be sure. There's an atmosphere of organised chaos to Karen fra Dansen and Rytteren, but there are also some exceptional tunes to enjoy here: the waltz Jysk på Næsen, the Polska efter Ulla Lindgren, the opening Den Toppede Høne, the title tune Sløjfen, and Mondrup's Samsø with brilliant Turkish oud and saz. In between are moments of genius and madness, fun and frivolity, aided and abetted by Mats Edén and others with brilliant musicianship.
Heilo, 2024
There's a good deal of improvisation on many tracks, earning the album title Ville Veier or "Wild Roads", even though pieces such as Mingus Lullaby and the final Vals Fatal are taken at a very relaxed pace. With two helpings of wordless vocals from Synnøve Brøndbo Plassen, and three contributions by Olav Torget on the rare West African konting (a long-necked lute similar to an oud), the trio's soundscape is quite varied. A bit of blues, a bit of Balkan, quite a lot of rock and no shortage of jazz: at times it's hard to pick out the fiddle, but the folk spirit never falters. The final touch is pure Norway, as the music fades out leaving only nature.
AEPEM, 2024
Another piece which sounds familiar is the Auvergne bourrée known as Marianne but twisted around a little here. Duo des Cimes have a tendency to add twists and turns, often in minor keys to create a soulful and sometimes ominous mood. Their songs have this dark edge - Pastors de la Borgada and the title track Adiu Amors - and this is shared by instrumentals such as the mazurka Las femnas de pels puèchs. There's a more cheerful suite of schottisches on box and fiddle, and the final song is sultry rather than sad, but I still sense a certain tristesse in this recording, despite the youth and energy of this very talented duo.
AEPEM, 2024
AEPEM, 2024
Bourrées, polkas, marches, mazurkas, schottisches and waltzes are all announced by the band leader and eagerly welcomed by the dancers. In the way of bal folk performances, the tempo can increase through the dance and not every note is flawlessly played, but the energy is high and the atmosphere is joyful as tunes old and new are pumped into the summer air. Les Forgerons Aiment le Vin, Le Curé que lé Maridave, La Tsabreute de Dzouzé and several other memorable titles are played with gusto. Two or three tunes are also sung. It all adds up to a very varied and satisfying hour of French dance music, heartily recommended.
AEPEM, 2024
You can hear the Normandy fiddle style clearly on this album - ringing strings like Scandinavian music, intermediate notes like the C and G ambivalences in Irish and Scottish modal music, and of course the flexibility to play and sing, play and dance, or do all three at the same time. Like all recordings in this series, this is a true solo performance from start to finish. Most of the material here is dance tunes - polkas and schottisches, but also avant-deux, rondes, branles and contredanses which are quite different from central French forms. The air En Revenant de ma Patrie is beautiful on solo violin, as are the Valses à Louis Lebellanger. A handful of pieces are sung in a fine baritone. Of almost three dozen tunes, no more than three or four were familiar to me, and all were delivered with a passion and energy which made me keen to learn them myself.
AEPEM, 2024
Bachèlerie plays several different chanters on this solo CD, ranging from low D to Bb almost an octave higher. His playing is highly ornamented - the charming Valse de Chanturgue for instance, or the virtuoso Bourrées à Fafarnoux - needing no accompaniment other than his rhythmic foot tapping which is almost a dance in its own right. With schottisches, mazurkas and more, there's a lot of variety packed into this recording. The range of bagpipes with and without drones means that almost every track has a different sound, and all are skilfully handled by a piper with a true appreciation of his regional tradition.
Nordic Notes, 2023
Own label, 2023
Hedgerow, 2024
CPL Music, 2024
Fuego (Timezone), 2024
CPL Music, 2024
Nordic Notes, 2024
Narrenschiff, 2023