Bears of Legend "Ghostwritten Chronicles"
Own label, 2015
This Canadian band defies a definite categorisation; perhaps they might be best described as progressive folk pop. The singing is certainly most at home in the pop genre, yet the musical arrangements span different genres. Often the songs start with minimal pop arrangements, with piano or guitar, but usually lead to a very big nearly orchestral sound. There is a folk rock flair in many of the big arrangements, with an emphasis on the sounds of accordion and fiddle, as well as piano, drums and guitar. When the Bears are in full flight, and feature full instrumentation as well as a backing choir, the sound is nearly epic. The songs are all written by the band, and all are in English language with the exception of the French song "Encore". Bears of Legend "Ghostwritten Chronicles"
Although from the French speaking part of Canada, Qubec, this band sings mostly in English. And their sound has a strong American style of folk rock throughout. It is certainly broad enough for the whole North American continent. This is keyboard heavy with a rich cello working off the attractive lead vocals. If you are seeking a lighter and easier flowing Decemberists, you may want to try this. It will have some of the same melodic highlights that you may desire.
Herbert Pixner Projekt "Summer"
This is a stunning album indeed, with its wonderful instrumental music spanning a huge range of music styles. Herbert Pixner, who plays accordion as well as bugel, trompet, sax and clarinet, is the composer of all 13 tunes on this album - all varied, experimental, energetic and featuring beautiful arrangements. The music ventures from blues to tango, from jazzy tracks to Latin and Bossa Nova, from gipsy to waltz, from dreamy and romantic tunes and music that reminds of film scores to an Austrian Landlerich hinting at Herbert Pixner' alpine origins. He is joined by a superb band featuring harp, double bass and guitars (including flamenco, manouche and electric guitars), plus on a few tracks a guest musician on cimbalom. Herbert Pixner Projekt "Live On Tour"
Two full-length CDs of Austrian accordion music! There has to be more to life, right? Yes! These Tyrolean mountain dogs become blues cats, rockabillies, gypsy guitarists and folk harpists. In fact, there isn't actually that much Austrian accordion music here, and what there is comes with humour and swing, as well as an enormous amount of skill. Herbert Pixner kicks off on the button box or Ziehharmonika with his own respectful nod to the Tyrolean tradition: Leckmicha Marsch, a fast and rhythmic piece, quite a lick for a march. Pixner's Diplomlandler is the first of many, many pieces in 3/4 here, almost as if mountain goats have only three legs. Nearly all the music on this double album, and all the groaningly comic stories in that impenetrable Diroler accent, are Pixner's own: only a couple of the encores resort to traditional melodies, taking me back to my discovery of Die Oberkrainer in the early 1980s with Passeirer Landler and Pretuler Polka.
The Hydes "Green & Blue"
The music of this duo successfully combines the music of the places this sibling duo has lived in - Colorado, Tennessee and Ireland. I particularly enjoy the tunes on the album, played by Joanna Hyde on fiddle and Iain Hyde on guitar, plus occasional guest musicians (on bass, banjo, flute, accordion, piano and more). Although most are composed by the duo, The tunes are steeped in the Irish traditions, played in a fresh, energetic and passionate way. The songs, presented by Joanna's lovely voice, have an Americana feel to them, yet several come from English or Scottish folk songsters - Karine Polwart, Boo Hewerdine and Kate Rusby. The title song "Green & Blue" showcases that the duo are also ace songwriters and leave us with the hope that future albums will feature more original songs.
The Hydes "Green & Blue"
Sister and brother Joanna (fiddle, vocals) and Iain (guitar, mandolin, vocals) are from Colorado, but combine Irish and other traditions with their country/bluegrass background. The Hydes' music is very pleasant, strikingly polished for a debut album, and they've already won a few awards in 2017. There are a few guests on Green & Blue from both Ireland and America, but Joanna's fiddle, Iain's accompaniment, and their combined singing are what stands out here.
Blair Douglas "Behind the Name"
From the first notes of the accordion on Glasgow the Caring City, this is clearly Blair Douglas: his trademark stamp of Scottish piano box, Gaelic lilt and Cajun swing is borne by most tracks here. The whole album is Blair's own compositions, ranging from the almost traditional pipe march Maighstir Seumas to the totally funked-up Bon Ton Ceilidh. There's not one bad tune in almost a score here, although you might question one or two arrangements: the African tribal chants, or the lead electric triangle, for example. Leaving those aside, Behind the Name is a fabulous collection of new music: the 6/8 march The Vital Spark, the air Lament for the Poets commemorating Sorley MacLean and Seamus Heaney, the glorious pipe jig Clarence the Conqueror, the beautiful waltzes for Lorna Kay and Michael Marra who were both lost to the world too early, and many more marches and airs. Marion's Waltz could become as much of a highland classic as Kate Martin's Waltz from Blair's Beneath the Beret album. Blair plays accordion and piano, and is joined by a host of musicians: as Ford Prefect famously said, "This is big league stuff." Angus MacKenzie's piping is particularly noteworthy - many of these tunes fit the pipe scale - but there's also fiddle from Gordon Gunn and young Maggie Adamson, clarsach, saxophones, cello, electric guitar and bass, and a few other things. No percussion though: it isn't missed, there's plenty of rhythm coming from everyone else involved. Play this CD long and loud, and learn the tunes: they're great!
Boreas "Stones"
When I picked out this CD I thought it was by the Orcadian group of the same name, not this Flemish Eurofolk band. The surprise was not an unpleasant one, but Boreas shows almost no influence of Irish and Scottish music: instead they exploit what remains of the Flemish tradition, adding their own compositions, and also branch out to Sweden, England, Brittany, and even Greece. Their opening jig Jump to the Moon is like nothing Irish I have ever heard, but seems to be a version of John Kirkpatrick's composition Jump at the Sun in the English tradition: perhaps there's been some confusion. Khasapikos is apparently an old Greek tune, played here with more of an Arab feel on guitar and nyckelharpa, and is rather out of character with the rest of Stones. On a dozen tracks the combination of Flemish pipes, hurdy-gurdy, accordion, nyckelharpa and hammered dulcimer creates a broad Northern European sound which suits the music of the low countries, Sweden and Brittany. There's enough percussion here to steady the ship, but it's never overpowering. Martina Diessner's brooding nyckelharpa air Zeewandeling is followed by a very Flemish piece by Mieke Van Loo featuring pipes and accordion which could be as old as the hills (if they had hills in Flanders) until you realise it's in a 5/4 rhythm.
Fiddle Whamdiddle "Not My Monkey"
Oldtime fiddle and dulcimer, played pretty straight, this CD has a slight theatrical feel to the performances and the artwork. It's not your grinding low double-stopped sort of oldtime: fiddler Vi Wickham and dulcimerist Steve Eulberg have coaxed these tunes out of the backwoods, dressed them up a bit, and put them on stage at the county fair. The melodies themselves are mostly well known - Soldier's Joy, Woodchopper's Reel popularised by Sharon Shannon recently, Shenandoah, Old Joe Clark, Arkansas Traveller, Redwing and so forth. This is the second recording by Fiddle Whamdiddle: their debut Old School Old Time is worth a listen too, but Not My Monkey is a more polished production. The tunes might be old, but there's plenty of life in this recording.
Grands-Meres et Soufflets "Jamais Sans Ailes"
A delightful collection of music written by button-box player Sylvain Butté in the central French style, this colourfully packaged CD is mainly graceful dance tunes: waltzes, bourrées, polkas and mazurkas. There are some outstanding melodies here: La Maison aux Volets Bleus, Mazurka pour Nils, Dans les Eaux Turquoises and one which translates as Shadowhunter but is very different from Davy Spillane's piece with that name. There are many teasing titles here, but no explanations: Du Smirnov dans l'Hérault, Les Refugiés du Bouty and the almost self-explanatory Où sont les Clefs Didier?
Irish Concertina Ensemble "Zero"
Five Anglo concertinas in the hands of five of Ireland's best young players - and nothing else. ICE, as they are conveniently known, produce a sound which almost harks back to the heady days of concertina orchestras in the early 20th century. I say almost, because the instruments played here are generally all treble concertinas, the handy little hexagonal jobs about the size of a rugby ball when fully inflated, which may explain Ireland's affinity for them. Even so, there's scope for three octaves or more, and multiple harmonies within that range. The CD sleeve doesn't provide much more information, but it does give tune names and composers, and of course the names of our five free reed stars: Tim Collins, Padraig Rynne, Caitlín Nic Gabhann, Micheál Ó Raghallaigh and Edel Fox. Clare and Meath, an unusual pairing perhaps, but the young Meath players are giving the concertina's traditional home county a run for its money these days.
Máiréad Nesbitt "Hibernia"
It's been quite a while since self-styled "Celtic violinist" Máiréad's solo debut recording, a lovely album which blended the Irish and Classical traditions. She's been busy since then, touring with various shows, and putting together material for this extravaganza. And extravaganza it is, four suites of music and a couple of stand-alone pieces, mainly composed by Máiréad and Colm Ó Foghlú, with Colm and Liam Bates arranging the bejaysus out of some grand old Irish tunes and orchestrating the whole thing. That's not meant in a negative way; nothing here clashes with either tradition, and this is one of the best treatments of Irish music by a classical orchestra that I've heard for some time. Hibernia straddles two worlds, and does it well, but it doesn't really fit in either: it needs a new category of its own, maybe alongside the music of Ó Súilleabháin and Shaun Davey and the Breatnach family. There are definitely touches of Riverdance here, in the final suite The Dusk, The Dark & The Dawn particularly, but also echoes of Vaughan Williams in the arrangement of Merrily Kissed the Quaker, and of Klaus Badelt in Máiréad's composition Captain H.
Old Blind Dogs "Room with a View"
The Dogs seem to have hit the jackpot with this line-up: there isn't a disappointing moment on Room with a View, and it has a bit of everything. In fact, it could well be a contender for Scottish album of the year. Four songs and five great sets of tunes span the ultra-contemporary to the totally traditional. Although only fiddler Jonny Hardie remains from the original OBD members, his sidemen are extremely well chosen: singer and guitarist Aaron Jones, piper Ali Hutton who eschews guitar here but performs wonders on the whistle, and percussionist Donald Hay.
Trolska Polska "Untold Tails"
I really enjoyed the first CD from this Danish group,[54] and their follow-up is just as entertaining. Built around the theme of troll music and Scandinavian dark magic, Untold Tails includes pieces inspired by witches' cauldrons, ancient burial mounds, water nymphs, mischievous goblins and various aspects of troll life. In other hands this could end up as so much new-age fluff, but Trolska Polska are blessed with a brilliant composer and arranger in Martin Seeberg, as well as a band of superb musicians who bring fiddles, flutes, bagpipes, guitars and percussion to bear on Seeberg's tunes. Stengolem is a swaggering march with creaking gurdy and crashing cymbals as the old stone giant awakens. The charming Morgen paints trolls in a very different light: youngsters waking up to the dawn sunshine, stretching and stepping out of the troll mound to start a day of trollish activities. Drillenissen is a humorous piece, full of laughter and mischief, in total contrast to the heavy threatening Troldemarch.
Andrew Finn Magill "Branches"
North Carolina fiddler Magill's first recording, Roots, showcased his deft if driven handling of traditional tunes old and new from the wider Irish tradition to which he feels attached. This second CD in under a year contains ten original compositions drawing on influences from oldtime, bluegrass, African and Brazilian music. Two sides to the same fiddler, and I'm not sure which I prefer: the first album was good but not extraordinary, and Branches certainly broadens Magill's reach, but the fruits of his labour still fall quite close to the trunk of traditional music. Maybe we're too used to compressing the space between Nairn and Nashville, Rio and Rathmines: those gulfs have been crossed so many times that when a new player discovers the way Latin rhythms fit behind a polka, or the closeness of bluegrass to the green grass of home, we don't raise an eyebrow. Maybe it's time to take a fresh look.
Dan Brouder & Angelina Carberry "A Waltz for Joy"
Button box and banjo: no surprises here, just good old-fashioned tunes from a very talented duo with tradition in their blood. Dan Brouder from West Limerick has immersed himself in Sliabh Luachra music for decades, supplementing his native tradition, while Angelina Carberry comes from a long line of Longford musicians but her musical inclinations lean south and west towards the mouth of the Shannon. Her jaunty banjo style fits well with the jigs and hornpipes here, and even the reels have a swagger to them: The Pigeon on the Gate, McFadden's Own, Michael Gorman's, Touch Her If You Dare and other old favourites. No slides or polkas though: maybe next time.
Catherine Fraser "After the Haar"
Australian fiddler Catherine Fraser follows the Scottish tradition, but on her fifth recording she focuses on her own compositions. Phil Cunningham and William MacLeod should count themselves lucky to have their tunes slotted in among a dozen fine Fraser creations: there are a few choice traditional pieces too, reels named for Wille MacKenzie and Willie Murray, and the Scandinavian Engeliska which I believe is a type of dance. The main attraction is Catherine's own tunes though: reels, jigs, waltzes, airs and more. Her fiddle is boosted by Duncan Smith's piano, and by a small orchestra - what the South Australia locals probably term an "orcho" - with strings and brass, percussion and sax. You might recognise the names Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas moonlighting as accompanists, a compliment indeed.
Duo Fjerdingøy & Andersson "Jag Levde Den Tiden"
An intriguing album of traditional Scandinavian music by a Norwegian melodeonista and a Swedish fiddler, Jag Levde Den Tiden translates as "I lived in those times" and refers to a period roughly a century ago in Nordland and Gästrikland, several hundred miles apart, when fiddlers Hans Hagen and Gustaf Jernberg wrote and played most of the tunes here. Hilde Fjerdingøy has made a special study of music from Nordland, and her fiddle partner Hanna Andersson is an authority on Jensberg's legacy. Waltzes, polskas, polsdanses and gånglåts fill this CD, interspersed with a few snippets from archive recordings. Some of the pieces here are familiar from the Scandinavian tradition - Vals efter Per Jernberg and Gånglåt efter A G Jernberg och Daniel Skärberg for instance, catchy names which one doesn't forget in a hurry - but most of this music is new to me. The crooked polsdanses seem to be a feature of the Northern Norwegian tradition, although Wikipedia suggests they came from Sweden: somewhere between a slip jig and a 3/2 hornpipe, they have a very rural feel with extra beats or skipped notes to fit regional dances. Hoppvals Etter Torger Larsen Svenskvoll is a much more formal tune altogether, and this pair alternate formal and informal arrangements. The musicianship is first rate from both these young ladies, and the melodeon basses provide a flexible accompaniment on most tracks. In additional to some charming dance music, there are a couple of slow airs beautifully played: the opening 6-5-10 and the later Adventslåten, both delightful. Jag Levde Den Tiden has the occasional rough edge of most debut CDs, but is well worth seeking out and holds the promise of more great music from Fjerdingøy and Andersson.
MANdolinMAN "Unfolding the Roots"
A curious title for a surprisingly traditional CD from this Flemish group, which needs a bit of context to explain. Andries Boone, founder of MANdolinMAN, is the son of great Flemish folk collector Hubert Boone, and naturally acquired a deep knowledge of the traditional music of Flanders. He founded this group to play the old music of Brabant and surrounding provinces, recording an album in 2011, but then took them off to explore bossa nova on mandolins for their second album released in 2013. That went so well that now they are back with more Brabant folk music: polkas, waltzes, schottisches and mazurkas, played on four mandolins of various sizes. This music lends itself well to the mandolin, with clear and simple melody lines, relatively uncomplicated chord structures which leave plenty of room for accompaniment, and percussive rhythms to suit the crisp attack of the mandolin's high-tension strings. The sound can get a little blurry at times, on the faster passages of De Reuzekens for example, but in general this is a very clean and pleasant album of tunes which are little known outside - or even inside - Belgium.
Mary-Kate Spring Lee "Sea Sky"
An accomplished harpist and singer from Pennsylvania who has won Irish music competitions in America and competed at the All-Ireland competitions, Mary-Kate is one of many Lee siblings who all have seasonal middle names and who have released several albums together. This is her second solo CD: her debut Mirabilis was released in 2010. Sea Sky actually contains very little traditional material, and in terms of Irish harping is probably a step back to the pretty tinkling style of two generations ago. There are no fast finger-picked dance tunes here, no modern rhythms, no unexpected effects. Instead, Ms Lee performs six pieces from TV and film scores to The Piano, Emma, The Mission, Anne of Green Gables, The Sound of Music and La Vita e Bella, a handful of her own compositions, and three traditional melodies: two extremely well known Welsh airs Suo Gan and The Ash Grove, plus the old American tune Hanneke Cassel "Trip to Walden Pond"
Another near perfect album from this Boston-based fiddler, Trip to Walden Pond combines the lively with the lovely in music both new and old. Hanneke Cassel handles Irish and Scottish styles with aplomb alongside virtuoso American fiddling, and as with her previous recordings she has written most of the material here. There are a couple of exceptions: old Scottish tunes such as Captain H Munro and Golden Locks, and Paul Cranford's Cape Breton reel Horse Tigers, but these are a garnish on the main dish of almost a dozen and a half Cassel compositions.
Kíla "Alive/Beo"
A live album from these masters of organised chaos, this recording has quality written right through it. Despite their rough appearance and maverick tendencies, Kila put on a totally polished and professional show: great musicianship, powerful arrangements, and a wonderful free spirit running through the music from start to finish. With a new piper since the departure of Eoin Dillon, but otherwise largely unchanged, the Kila sound on Beo is more instrumental than you might expect. Reels and marches introduce pipes and fiddle, flute and whistle. It's not until half way through the second track that Rónán Ó Snodaigh's unmistakable vocals make their mark. There are five Ó Snodaigh trademark Irish songs here, all excellent: Pota Óir, Ór agus Airgead which I thought was Ól agus Airgead until I checked (somebody should write that song), Seo mo Leaba, An Tiománaí, and the intriguingly named lullaby Babymouse.
Noel Hill "Live in New York"
Subtitled "Irish Concertina 3", this is a third solo CD in as many decades from the man who effectively reinvented the Clare concertina style. Hill is certainly among the best known Irish concertina players, who are quite numerous nowadays, and Live in New York shows him to be still one of the finest. He tackles many of the big tunes here: The Gold Ring, The Collier's Reel, Banish Misfortune and Johnny Cope each get a track to themselves, as do four slower pieces. While Noel's renditions of The Foggy Dew and O'Rahilly's Grave are strong and engaging, it's hard to avoid comparisons with the slow air collection recently released by his former set dancing partner and accordionist extraordinaire Tony MacMahon: for my money, MacMahon has the edge in this department.
April Verch "The Anthology"
This diminutive high-voiced Canadian fiddler/singer/dancer has been wowing audiences for a good twenty years, pushing out around a dozen albums in the process, of which ten are featured here. The Anthology includes two new tracks, plus favourites from 1998 to 2016. I first encountered April Verch on her 2001 Rounder release Verchuosity, which opens this collection with a medley of reels showing how extremely appropriate that album title was. As well as her fiddling skills, which feature on every track here, April sings songs from swing to gospel, new country to oldtime. And she step-dances, of course, while playing the fiddle. Well why not?
Scroggins & Rose "Grana"
Fiddler Alisa Rose and mandolinist Tristan Scroggins make a formidable duo: sharp, inventive, talented. With backgrounds in bluegrass, oldtime and classical music, on this debut album they perform their own compositions and improvisations on pieces from Paganini, Bill Monroe, and the American fiddle tradition. The combination of mandolin and fiddle is captivating, filling these 14 tracks with excitement and virtuosity. There are hints of classical fiddling in the Paganini Caprice obviously, and the short prelude Goodbye Liza Jane, but mostly this album reminds me of more traditional music: Nickel Creek, a young Chris Thile, the saner side of Brittany Haas. There's plenty of good old music here - Arkansas Traveller, Cluck Ol' Hen, Jerusalem Ridge and more - brilliantly interpreted by Scroggins & Rose, but I think I even prefer their own tunes. Eagle's Nest grinds through the gears of bluegrass and beyond, like something off Skip Hop and Wobble. Scroggins' Argonaut's Armada brings in the Balkan or Klezmer sound of Stateside folk, a powerful bittersweet waltz to offset the driving contemporary fiddle on Rose's Krakatoa or the gentle melodic swing of the title track (pronounced "grey-nuh" apparently). The final panoramic Wyoming is not quite as final as you might think, with these two American whippersnappers carefully picking their endings. Try it: as this pair might say, it's all good.
Cuar "Roscanna"
This trio has an impressive pedigree. Bassist/flautist Neil Ó Loclainn is one of the innovators behind trad crossover group Ensemble Ériu, also on the Raelach label. Aoife Ní Bhríain has combined fiddling with classical violin since childhood, recording both styles with world class players. Clarinetist Matthew Berrill is another Ensemble Ériu member, more on the jazz side of this music perhaps, but leaning towards Irish traditional music. Cuar, it seems to me, explore Irish themes from a contemporary music perspective, interpreting sean-nós material and dance music through the lens of classical and cool jazz composition.
Ampouailh "Live"
Hard-core Breton dance music, exactly what you might expect, except that the dances are quite short - typically only three or four minutes. This gives Ampouailh time to squeeze in a dozen tracks, and still allow three minutes at the end for the sound of the band packing up and leaving the stage, just when you thought there was going to be a surprise finale. Before that, though, there are gavottes, ridées, fisels, ronds de St Vincent, a Kost er hoet whatever that is, and the relatively rare Dans Fañch.
Rowan Leslie "Originals" [EP]
Four tracks of new compositions by a young County Antrim fiddler, a mixed bag of dance music and airs, this EP is more mature than his debut CD of a few years ago but still shows his distinctive character. Rowan has maintained a straight, simple, raw style which is quite different from the flowing ornamented technique of Clare-influenced youngsters, yet different again from the driving rhythmic fiddling of Donegal, Canada and many Scottish styles which he must have experienced in his recent years in Glasgow. This style springs from the fiddling of Leslie's teacher Johnny Murphy, and persists in the compositions here: barely a roll to be heard from the opening modal jig Cherry Wood to the final Dancing with Goats reel. Scottish-style cuts are the most noticeable ornamentation, but in places Rowan's fiddling is so plain as to be almost English except for the touch of vibrato. A unique sound, Originals also contains some fine fresh tunes: Rabbit on a Chair, the airs Shadow on the Moon and The Years that Fly, the funky internet-inspired Russian Doll. There are a couple of fun polkas too, all crammed into less than twenty minutes, with stylish accompaniment from guitarist Graeme Armstrong. Look out for more from these guys.
Dipper Malkin "Tricks of the Trade"
Fiddler John Dipper and guitarist Dave Malkin are at the heart of English folk music, drawing on collections such as Playford and Walsh's Dancing Master publications of the 17th and 18th centuries, more recent works like John of the Green, and twentieth century recordings of traditional singers, as well as their own compositions and those of select friends. Many things about this recording elevate it above the usual English folk fare: Dipper's use of the many-stringed viola d'amore with stunning precision and imagination, Malkin's gritty vocals on songs old and new, both members' melding of their own material with what went before, and the spark which ignites fiddle and guitar with a brightness which is all too rare in this tradition. There are sombre moments - King Storm, The King of Poland - but more commonly Dipper Malkin lift their music and let it shine. The 3/2 hornpipe Wine & Women is a perfect example, a form which can be grim up North, but which glitters here on guitar and bowed strings.
Frigg "Frost on Fiddles"
A winter recording from last February, released now in plenty of time for Christmas, this is the umpteenth album from fiddle royalty Frigg. Certainly one of Finland's folk supergroups, along with names like JPP and Värttinä, Frigg is currently a seven-piece band with four fiddles, mandolin, guitar and bass. Turbo-charged bluegrass, if you like - and in fact some of their music could easily come from the Catskills or the Appalachians or the Ozarks or any of those places where Nordic fiddlers settled in the 19th century. Despite its exotic name, Yöjuoksuvalssi is a country or oldtime waltz, as sure as eggs is "munaa" in Finnish. Kesät Kerkkolassa is pure backwoods, a crooked breakdown to rival anything coming out of West Virginia or old Kentucky. Vonkaus is definitely a kissing cousin of the sort of Newgrass played by Jeremy Kittel, Alison Krauss, and a younger Mark O'Connor. False Legenyes goes further, into Klezmer and swing-jazz, Vassar Clements or Itzhak Perlman territory.
Joe Broughton's Conservatoire Folk Ensemble "Painted"
To call this album eclectic is like calling Joe Broughton a fiddler. It's true, but it's only scratching the surface. I've had the pleasure of seeing this ensemble in concert twice - in previous years, so not the same line-up - but each time the talent on display was prodigious. Made up mainly of music students from Birmingham Conservatoire, performing folky material mostly written or arranged by Broughton, the Folk Ensemble is a fifty-strong concert band with strings, brass, woodwind, and a few folkier instruments. The 2017 version celebrated the ensemble's 20th anniversary with a national tour, and with the release of this CD which contains traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, England, Catalonia and Bulgaria, as well as several new pieces by Broughton and other band members.
Jenna Moynihan & Màiri Chaimbeul "One Two"
Two fine young musicians, fiddler Jenna Moynihan and harpist Màiri Chaimbeul combine their feeling for Scottish music and their own tunes here. Both players are technically brilliant, and their duets are full of virtuosity and ingenuity. Jenna hails from upstate New York, and despite her Irish ancestry she has gravitated to the Scottish fiddle community around Boston. Màiri travelled west from her native Skye to study at Berklee, and brings her Gaelic heritage to bear on highland airs and dance music.
Soïg Sibéril "Habask"
An eleventh album from this Breton guitar master, and Sibéril is not about to change his formula: fingerpicked original compositions and traditional melodies, dance sets and airs, and for some reason the world needs another version of the Joni Mitchell song Both Sides Now. We'll let that one slide - not a technique Soïg employs here, although he does play slap guitar and slack-strung bluesy styles. Starting with Le Mascaret, his own tune, the genius and genuine roots of Soïg Sibéril are clearly displayed. With the exception of a little help from fellow guitarist Patrice Marzin, all the music here is the work of one man, who can sound like an ancient Breton harpist, an East African kora-player, a modern Spanish guitarist, a hurdy-gurdy on L'Oust et le Lié, or any number of different folk traditions. The Welsh air Y Daith Heddychlon leads into the Irish reel Clark's Favourite. Another reel, Spindle Shanks, gives way to two pieces learnt from Scottish guitarist Ian Melrose. The final blast of Breton tunes includes the traditional song air Au Pays de Waroch, a march by singer Armel en Héjer, a traditional dance tune, and an evolving finale which ends Habask with a bang. This is an intriguing and satisfying CD, and a great introduction to Breton guitar music by Sibéril and others.
Northern Company "Northern Company" [EP]
A five track EP from this six piece, occasionally seven piece, band from northern England and southern Scotland - at over twenty-five minutes it's nearly as long as some full albums, and it has a bit of everything. I was lucky enough to catch their launch concert in Newcastle: the live set was stunning, with solos and small group numbers as well as the big band sound. This EP only scratches the surface of Northern Company's music, and there are hidden depths here, not surprising when you consider their line-up. Michael Biggins underpins it all on piano, with more than a touch of jazz and blues as well as his experienced folk accompaniment. Scott Turnbull's Scots guitar adds to the rhythm section but also picks out delicate melodies on McKechnie's. Scott Martin and Eryn Rae provide twin fiddles, both excellent players, Scott now out of his teens but Eryn still in the middle of hers (don't tell the bar staff). Sam Mabbett's button box balances the strings, vying with them for virtuosity and claiming victory on volume at least: his showpieces are not featured on the EP, but the three melody players make a great job of a set of jigs and the air Fell Court before funking it up for a final blast of reels. Well, sort of reels. The inspired choice of a sort of march to go with the song Anderson's Coast makes singer Niamh Boadle's second number a clear winner: her first is pleasant enough, but the full band arrangement of Wee Michael's March easily tops it. Northern Company are something a bit special, on the festival circuit this summer and likely to win a few awards in 2017: look out for them on stage or on CD.
Rachel Reeds "Sparkjoy"
Coming late to Cape Breton fiddling as a college student, Boston resident Reeds has had support and encouragement from all the right people: Alasdair Fraser, Hanneke Cassel who produced this CD, Katie McNally, and Cape Breton's own Andrea Beaton who plays along on fiddle and piano here. Rachel won the 2013 regional Scottish fiddle championship in Boston, and has now released a very creditable debut album - not earth-shattering or even ground-breaking perhaps, but a fine recording nonetheless, and a great achievement after only a few years as a fiddler. Sparkjoy kicks off with a stomping set of jigs: Howie MacDonald's tribute to the late great Jerry Holland, the dark traditional Trippers which goes by other names and seems to be derived from the old Scottish pipe jig Cailleach an Dùdain, and Horace Show of Highfield which goes all the way back to the first Shooglenifty album. Other highlights are the gorgeous country waltz Bert MacKenzie's 70th Birthday by Louise MacKenzie, which I will definitely be stealing, and a set of jigs For the Can-Am which features a lovely slide into Jerry Holland's tune Malcolm's New Fiddle.
An album that is far from traditional, yet has a clear folk twist to it. I am finding that it is an album that grows on me more and more on repeated listening, and has already found a firm place in my ever so popular Canadian section of my folk collection.
Own label; 2015
© David Hintz
Three Saints Records , 2017
The music is full of twists and turns, the musicianship is excellent, and the album has the highest entertainment value. Highly impressive.
THS Records, 2017
Actually there is one other traditional track: Heidi Pixner's Tyrolean harp shines on Nightingale, a waltz of course, perhaps Welsh. She also leads on her own Alba, a more impressionistic piece. There isn't a lot of information on the individual pieces, except for Herbert's semi-serious introductions, but this music has star quality whether it's gypsy jazz or flamenco, tango or blues, Alpenpop or straight Austrian folk dance. Herbert Pixner is as impressive on trumpet and clarinet as he is on the old squeezebox, while his sidemen Manual Randi and Werner Unterlercher are seemingly unlimited in their abilities on guitars and upright bass. There's plenty of variety here, even though most of it is in waltz time, and if you have an ear for Austrian dialect the hours pass quite quickly. Disc 1 is a real mix of styles and sounds, while Disc 2 concentrates more on the accordion and the Tyrolean traditional rhythms. There don't seem to be sample tracks on the website, but Pixner has a full concert on YouTube if you want a taster.
© Alex Monaghan
Own label, 2016
Own Label, 2016
Songs by Kate Rusby, Karine Polwart, Boo Hewerdine and Sam Cooke show how broadly The Hydes have listened to contemporary folk. Their arrangements are tasteful, gentle, a little sugary perhaps but artfully played. Joanna takes the lead in most places, with a strong assured voice, and Iain's harmonies are well chosen: he is also capable of delivering the vocal lead in a few places. The title song is by Joanna and Iain, and Iain contributes a couple of fine tunes too: the reels Along the Saint Vrain and Cooper's, both North American in character. The slower Finn and On a Lark are a joint effort between Iain and Joanna. The Hydes add in a handful of broadly traditional Irish tunes: a set comprising The Milky Way, The Piper's Chair, Coen's Memories and Crotty's Glory, as well as The Glen Road to Carrick. Joanna has a lovely smooth fiddle style, full of those double stops the Americans are fond of, and she makes a fine job of reels, jigs and waltzes, not to mention song harmonies. I'm sure she'll be singing while she plays soon enough, and perhaps even step-dancing.
Green & Blue is an impressive first recording from a duo still with the full bloom of youth on them, which bodes very well for the future musical career of The Hydes. I'm not usually a great one for songs, but these grabbed my attention. The tunes are bright and engaging, played with spirit and conviction and a high degree of skill. If any of that appeals to you, check this pair out: you won't be disappointed.
© Alex Monaghan
Macmeanmna Records, 2017
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2016
Boreas sing in Flemish, French, and English: one song per language. Die Steelt, Die Queelt is a 17th-century love song, in what I assume is old Dutch. Le Papillon is attributed to the Breton tradition, and stretches the Flemish accent somewhat. The Maid on the Shore is a very well known humorous English folk song with some quite astonishing pronunciation which adds to the fun. While the songs are entertaining, the tunes are better: the gentle Madrizurka by guitarist Van Wonterghem, the driving Breton Hanter Dro with flute and buzzing hurdy-gurdy, the title track by accordionist Van Loo again, a Swedish polska on nyckelharpa and jaw harp, and a chromatic showpiece by piper Van Wonterghem. Boreas finish this eclectic album with another Breton piece, a march which was recorded by Lúnasa on their first CD but which I haven't had a name for until now: Kerfank 1870. There's lots of good music on Stones, and I hope to hear more from Boreas in future.
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
Vi Wickham, noted for his 2012 year-long "Fiddle Tune A Day" project as well as many previous recordings, is a Colorado fiddler with a pleasant light touch. His bow dances its way through the old reels - 8th of January and Cold Frosty Morning for example - but produces a richer tone on airs such as Aura Lea or the darker Blackest Crow. Steve Eulberg plays both mountain dulcimer and American hammered dulcimer, close relatives of the French epinette des Vosges and Irish or East Anglian hammered dulcimers: he picks out melodies, harmonies, and chordal accompaniments similar to banjo frailing, very effective for this style of music. There are also a couple of vocal numbers here, the John Denver ballad Matthew and the title track which is more of a chant than a song, both strongly sung and providing an enjoyable contrast to the instrumentals. Wickham and Eulberg finish with a pair of heavyweights, the Irish-born Temperance Reel and the modal classic June Apple, with some of that oldtime grind amid flamboyant fiddling and dazzling dulcimer.
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
Butté's button box and harmonica are joined by the clarinets of Cyril Mercier, the string bass of Bruno Ganivet, and multiple guitars and percussion supplied by Frédéric Cordier, Daniel Géhin and Jean-Yves Petitjean. Box and clarinet lead, but the back line is essential to reinforcing the rhythms of this toe-tapping music. Some pieces have hints of other styles - Café pour l'Amandine reminds me of a song by The Wombats, and Les Refugiés du Bouty is quite similar to a track on a Polkaholix CD, but Jamais Sans Ailes is basically an extension of French traditional forms from Bourges to Beaune. There are commonalities with the music of Seb Lagrange, and many differences too. I can't tell you much more about Grands-Mères et Soufflets: they do have some YouTube videos but these don't do the band justice. I can tell you that this album is going straight on my 2017 Top Ten list. If you want to find it for yourself, contact diatosylvain@gmail.com and prepare to be amazed.
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2016
Tim Collins, founder of the group, gets composing credits on four tracks here, and Padraig Rynne claims two of the others, but scattered through the album are four traditional Irish melodies, new compositions by Martin Hayes and Peadar Ó Riada, and a piece from those Quebec giants La Bottine Souriante. Collins' jaunty march Árd Rí opens proceedings, a fine composition which reminds me of Northumbrian rants as much as Irish clan marches. The old favourite Humours of Ballyconnell is followed by the even older Loftus Jones, superbly arranged by Collins. This well known but tricky piece provides plenty of opportunities for harmonies, with a stunning finish in three parts. The slip jig Sunday Solitude is an instant winner, dark and rhythmic, driving straight into Hardiman the Fiddler with pipe-like drones.
Rynne's air The Passing of Life is an old style lament, while Collins' Aughty Sunrise is a more modern, almost classical piece, beautiful and uplifting. The spiky polka Floorshark is a little too jagged for me - I prefer the version by Padraig's band Notify. The set of three assorted reels is delicately played, with a lovely change into the final Quebec number. ICE end with a pair of great jigs, both taking a modern slant on Irish music: Tír na nÓg and Spóirt, at quite a brisk pace here. Zero is over all too quickly, and I'm tempted to start over again with the delightful Árd Rí.
© Alex Monaghan
Cosmic Trigger, 2016
Speaking of families, Máiréad is joined here by four members of her family on flutes, fiddle and accordions, as well as Mick O'Brien on Uilleann pipes, a couple of percussionists, the Cashel Set Dancers, and the entire Orchestra of Ireland. This gives enormous scope for arrangements and contrast, and makes some of the pieces on Hibernia incredibly powerful. Perhaps that power isn't turned down often enough or far enough: there is a scarcity of solo fiddle and sparse simple arrangements at times. This makes Máiréad's surprise choice of the Scott Skinner air and strathspey Bovaglie's Plaid especially enjoyable, as it lets us hear her exquisite fiddle tone almost unaccompanied. Hibernia starts big, like a Russian opera, powerful and menacing, before the violin cuts in and begins to lead a dance. The dance swirls faster for The First Sheaf, finally Becoming a reel in a rather formal arrangement which would suit an Irish pageant. The second suite takes traditional tunes - Sean O'Dwyer of the Glen, The Ballydesmond Polkas, Belles of Tipperary, Merrily Danced the Quaker and Denis Murphy's Slide - played fairly straight on fiddle with dancers and orchestra piling in behind: Máiréad's Cork ancestors can be proud of her handling of the slides and polkas, and this is the most Irish section of Hibernia. The song To Bring them Home is sung in what classical singers might call a light tenor, making a break before the third and fourth suites, which are themselves separated by Colm Ó Foghlú's air There Is No Night. All in all, this recording manages to add something new to both Irish and Classical music without subverting either, and Máiréad Nesbitt backs up her glamorous looks with great talent in both her musical worlds.
Listen to and download "Hibernia" @
NoiseTrade!
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
Fiddle and pipes kick off with old tunes Bunker Hill and Sandy Boys, getting a bit of that OBD stateside funk into the second of a pair which crop up in traditions on both sides of the Atlantic. If there's a weak point on this album it's the next song, A Ring on her Hand by Brian Cromarty. Not so much weak as misplaced perhaps, because this isn't really a folk song: there's no clear thread or message behind the stirring melody, more of a pop or rock story, but the pipe tune that goes with it is a cracker and there is a good historical basis for the song so I'm inclined to give this one the benefit of the doubt. Newe is a medley of relatively recent compositions: John McCall's March to Kilbowie Cottage by Pipe Major Willie Lawrie (1881-1916) is followed by the Gavin Marwick fiddle swagger Joel Turk's and the march An Iuchair by Alasdair White whose music combines piping and fiddling.
Earl o' March's Daughter may be a play on words after the previous set, but it's a great ballad, based on a tragic eighteenth century romance, deftly sung and played. The next set ot tunes is probably my favourite here, the gorgeous old jig Billy Rush's and then Ali's smoky whistle on a fine Niall Keegan composition, before the pipes kick in for a setting of Brian Finnegan's shining North Star. OBD's trademark percussion is again to the fore, hitting all the right spots. Another Border ballad in the gruesome form of Sawney Bean - not for the faint-hearted - makes you realise what a grim place those lawless lands could be: this everyday story of murder, incest and cannibalism around Kennedy's Pass is ground out low and dangerous on fiddle and fretted rhythms, with a cheery wee whistle tune to brighten up the pools of blood. Then it's off to Brittany, a much less threatening place, for a rousing set of Gavottes des Montagnes on pipes and fiddle. The final song is an English classic delivered here with gusto, a great chorus song and another historical story: Warlike Lads of Russia gets the full Dogs treatment, a second highlight for me. As if that wasn't enough, the lads add a last blast of tunes: old favourites Highland Harry and The Sisters Reel, plus a jaunty wee number by Allan MacDonald and a storming modern reel by Finlay from the same clan. Died and Gone to Prague? Died and gone to heaven, more like, with music this good!
© Alex Monaghan
Gofolk, 2016
Most of this album is dance music - polkas, waltzes, hopsas and the like, well crafted and skilfully played: Troldedans, Tumling and the distinctive Krølle Bølle Polka are all adaptable to other dance traditions. The final two tracks are more descriptive: the souful waltz Far Vel and the gentle Vandnymfen which ends with a powerful combination of gurdy and nyckelharpa. There's an energy and exuberance in Trolska Polska's music which brings a smile to my face every time. The CD sleeve is also a work of art in its own right, allowing us to visualise these rather cute Danish trolls (with tails, hence the album title) and their forest environment - although the group photo of half a dozen armchair water nymphs is in questionable taste. Thank goodness for soft focus! Don't let that detract from an excellent album of new music, but it might be wise to check the dress code if you are considering going to a live performance by Trolska Polska.
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2016
Branches certainly does that. From the aptly named Horizons which moves Magill out of the Irish heartland and onto the wide prairies of North American folk fiddling, this recording leaps from stepping-stone to stepping-stone across contemporary fiddle styles from Celtic to country, Spanish to swing. The slip-jig Farewell to Vass is at the more traditional end of Magill's fiddle spectrum, while the cool jazz of December is perhaps the biggest departure from Irish roots. The polka Mary and Alice finds the same groove as Alan Kelly's Trip to Dingle or Mairtín O'Connor's slide Rocking the Boat, and the reel section of What Bloomed in April is up there with McCusker, Brunet, Smyth, or Kittel. Magill's fiddle has a deep smoky tone, and this really comes through on slower pieces such as Hilda Harlow and A Beautiful Ending, both gorgeous airs. The final Shooting Stars is like an oldtime-classical crossover, simple riffs and double-stopping layered and harmonising, reminding me of David Grubb or Oliver Schroer, both great inspirations for any fiddler. If this is an indication of where Magill is headed, we are in for a treat!
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
Several melodies here are taken from the recently publish second volume of Tunes of the Munster Pipers, with catchy titles such as Hornpipe 534 - soon to be a Hollywood movie in which Aidan Turner and Lewis MacDougall save Ireland by stealing nuclear bagpipes from North Korea, rewriting American history in the process. But enough of that: Angelina and Dan have also chosen many newly-composed tunes, by Connie O'Connell, Noel Strange, Charlie Lennon, Finbarr Dwyer, Richie Dwyer and others. The title track is part of a whole rake of waltzes written by singer Nan Tom Taimín De Burca from Connemara, all pleasant and melodic. Alice's Reel by Frankie Gavin is slotted after a darker pair of slip jigs from the playing of Michael Gorman and Tommy Potts, and followed by a typically complex reel from Finbarr Dwyer.
Brouder and Carberry stay sure-footed through all these changes of style and tempo, from a fresh take on East of Glendart to a couple of different versions of The Blackbird. They finish this album with a set of Dwyer reels starting with Finbarr's unique interpretation of The Scholar, seemingly relaxed and never rushing. A Waltz for Joy is full of great music played warmly and with feeling, not as flashy as some but all the more welcoming, with a shared understanding between box and banjo, and fine accompaniment from some of the best backing musicians in Ireland.
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
The soft and gentle Belidati introduces Catherine's delicate touch and fine tone on a sauntering melody before the sassy Black Rose Jig. Cunningham's elegant Blackwell Court cuts neatly to Melinda's Reel, a modern evolution of the old North East fiddle style. The Manager's Special is one of the more elaborately arranged tracks here, close to 1800s drawing room music, stately and intricate. Engeliska and a frantic Fraser waltz bring us to the title track, swing fiddle with an admixture of Latin jazz over a punchy Hot Club backline, impressive and quite a departure from the traditional mode. Two of Catherine's lovely waltzes follow, and then the slow air Ten Years On celebrating a decade of the SHISSF fiddle school, simply beautiful. Spot the Dogs is a funky little number with blaring horns, not to be confused with The Spotted Dog, although they might sit well together. The last two Fraser originals on After the Haar are a slow strathspey and a slow reel, as traditional as you like, deliciously played, full without being over-arranged. Catherine finishes with the old Gaelic air Sitting in the Stern of a Boat, classic simplicity, a great melody but something of an anticlimax after her own pieces. I recommend this recording to anyone who enjoys fine fiddling or is looking for some new tunes with a modern edge. If you're able to catch Catherine Fraser live or attend her fiddle school, so much the better!
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
© Alex Monaghan
ARC Music, 2017
Boone is assisted by Dirk Naessens and Peter-Jan Daems on treble mandolins and Maarten Decombel on the deeper mandocello. Stefan Bracaval joins the group for Rumba del Raval - I'm guessing he's the one playing the flute, but the notes are too brief to mention this. The final track features the Braaschaats Mandoline-Orkest, from an Antwerp suburb which may boast other musical delights. Otherwise, Unfolding the Roots is a four-man affair, with wide-ranging arrangements from the group's other interests in folk and popular music. Schottische Eppegem and Elewijt has a Scandinavian darkness about it, while Mazurka Houtem is light and graceful like a ballet. Although each track carries a single name, it may contain more than one melody, like a set of tunes for a single dance. Polka Antwerp has a couple of corkers, and Schottische Hever is another beauty. The sprightly Polka Leefdaal gets a reggae treatment which is great fun but must be hell to dance to. Contredans Ghent finishes the album in stately fashion, a more serious side to a very entertaining CD. Every track is different, and they all have something new to offer.
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2016
Mary-Kate's own tunes are pleasant enough, plain and simple for the most part, and if easy-listening Celtic harp appeals to you then Sea Sky is certainly worth checking out. The website offers Sun Shower as a sample, but you can listen to every track, and I prefer the Irish-flavoured slow jig My Lad Across the Water. The more modern Night Tide doesn't seem to flow somehow, despite the runs of notes in both hands. The final Horizons piece has hints of classical music, particularly Pachelbel's Canon in D which has been emulated by several folk compositions. Mary-Kate Spring Lee's technique on this piece is firm, and her timing is assured, but I keep wishing she would break into a more lively passage at twice the speed to show some brilliance. Maybe her next release will add that spark and vitality associated with her middle name.
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
First up is the jaunty Passing Place, a tribute to that test of Highland etiquette or game of chicken found all along the rural Atlantic coast. The graceful Conchas Chinas provides the first of many contrasts on this album, a dainty slow jig with a really catchy theme. The title track is an exuberant dance, a swinging reel with a hint of mischief, skipping down to the water for an illicit swim. Yulianna is more serious, stately, a Polonaise perhaps. But Hanneke doesn't stay serious for long: her playful strathspey Gretl in the Garden leads into one of my favourites here, the irrepressible Artsy Smartsy Phoebe.
Ms Cassel is joined by her husband Mike Block on cello, as well as several musical friends on fiddles, pipes, guitars and pianos. This rich variety allows Trip to Walden Pond to sound like an Edwardian drawing-room soirée, a modern concert hall performance, an intimate traditional session, and everything in between. Buddy's Strathspey is a spirited release of Scottish energy through fiddle and cello. De Oppresso Liber is a heartstring-tugging piece of epic proportions, evoking Braveheart or The Hobbit or Titanic in its sweeping Celtic panorama. The Fiddling Twin is another blend of old and new, an off-beat jig with its own charm. The final Coilsfield House is a simply beautiful Gow melody from the 18th century or older which I remember from Ossian's 1981 Sealsong album, gorgeous on fiddle, cello and harp-like guitar. Hanneke Cassel once again shows herself to be one of the finest and freshest fiddlers on either side of the Atlantic.
© Alex Monaghan
Kila Records, 2017
There's a bit of everything on Beo - full-on Gaelic Reggae, toe-tapping Irish dance music, unaccompanied barbershop funk, and a great live atmosphere throughout. Polish singer Kayah makes a brief guest appearance too. There's even a nod to Jimi Hendrix with Electric Landlady, a sort of tantric reel with added neo-sixties wierdness. James Mahon's pipes are a great addition to Dee Armstrong's fiddle and Colm Ó Snodaigh's flute on the instrumentals. The back line of guitar, electric bass and drums is rock solid, with additional percussion from Rónán and Rossa Ó Snodaigh. The CD packaging is colourful, as you might expect, but short on details - as is the website, although there are a few samples online for anyone who has still not experienced the overwhelming rush that is Kila. Good music, fine singing, an emphasis on Irish culture and a scoop or two of mayhem: lots to like here.
© Alex Monaghan
Raelach Records, 2016
Hill's dance music is unsurpassed though, every note articulated, every beat in place, melody and rhythm perfectly matched, and just a little of the mechanical noise from his pocket Wurlitzer to give that authentic feel to the music. Opening with a tribute to another great box-player, the late Finbarr Dwyer, this album includes reels, jigs, the 1745 hornpipe just mentioned, and a surprise Scottish march (from the playing of Cape Breton fiddle legend Angus Chisholm) where Noel masters the snap and swagger superbly. A great set of slides starts the Jacobite theme, another march known as Planxty Davis here continues it. There's a hint of naughtiness in The Ladies' Pantalettes and An Phis Fhliuch, a nod to other icons of the tradition in Pigtown and The Silver Spear, and a resounding finish on Dr Gilbert's and Maurice Lennon's reel The Road to Garrison. Noel Hill had an apreciative audience on the night this album was recorded, and its release as a CD will greatly extend that appreciation for a musician whose recordings are all too rare.
© Alex Monaghan
Slab Town Records, 2017
April's Ottawa Valley roots are evident in her stepping and in her choice of tunes, but she has a trans-Canada repertoire too. From Alberta to Cape Breton, Quebec to Vancouver, and even further south at times, this is Canadian music at heart. Sometimes it's solo fiddle, backed up by piano or guitar as on Verch's own beautiful country waltz Waiting for Home. Other tracks are richly arranged for a big stage band, folk or bluegrass ballads like He's Holding On To Me or Cruel Moon with its slack guitar riffs. About half the material on this CD was written by April with various collaborators: the other half is split between new and old: French dance tunes from 1920s recordings, or songs by the likes of Hayes Carll who wrote the wonderful She Left Me for Jesus which is unfortunately not on this recording.
The eighteen tracks which Ms Verch has chosen are a broad selection of her music, half instrumental and half vocal, although that's an artificial distinction as April's fiddle works its way into each song, and her tapping feet take every opportunity to dance up a storm. An hour of April Verch is not to be sneezed at by any folk fan: if you haven't seen her on stage, this collection is the next best thing. Don't miss the videos on her website too!
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
© Alex Monaghan
Raelach Records, 2017
Roscanna is a minimalist album, the trio sound further thinned out by sparse arrangements and long silences. There is a build-up of sound at one point - the piping-influenced Zezere which approaches a reel - but that is very much the exception here. The rest of this album reminds me of Buddhist temple music, or Mongolian chanting, or perhaps the slow psalms of Gaelic church services on Lewis. There is an atmosphere, a meditative mood to be embraced, if you surrender to the peace and tranquilty of Cuar's music. Damhsa Corrguineacht evokes the same dappled glade as Debussy's L'Après-midi d'un Faune. The final Bádaí na Scadán links back to the Irish tradition through an old air, taken in turn on flute and fiddle, with bass clarinet and bowed bass underpinning the simple melody line. This whole album is quite different from most Irish music, and perhaps all the more interesting for that.
© Alex Monaghan
Coop Breizh, 2017
Ampouailh stress their authenticity, and it's clear that this is a real Breton dance band playing for real Breton dancers. The sound of the dancing is present but not distracting throughout the recording, and the music is absolutely traditional: bombardes, push-pull accordion, guitar and bass, with saxophone for a more modern touch. Fast and slow numbers alternate, but as the sleevenotes say, Ampouailh are always overflowing with energy: they leap into the single jig ton hir of their gavotte set. There's some lovely lyrical box-playing on the Dans Fisel set, and some seriously funky guitar for the ronds de St Vincent. Very little of the minor modal side of Breton music - in fact I'd say that despite its undoubted authenticity this is one of the most accessible recordings of Breton dance music I've heard. You can find these guys on YouTube for a taster.
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
Ceri's March, more French than Welsh to my ear, drips in silvery streams from John's fingers, flowing into the Playford tune Weaver's March. The solemn song of press-ganged love, All Things are Quite Silent, is eerily sparse and supremely effective. A pair of Dipper originals paying homage to Isaac Newton flirt with the darker tones of the viola d'amore on Gravity before blossoming into Flower of Kent. The French Canadian reel Answerphone continues the cosmic motif with a hint of a Star Trek theme tune, and is followed by two fine reels with even better stories to them. Nice percussion on this track by Corrie Dick adds even more of a Quebec feel. Tricks of the Trade ends with a third song from Dave Malkin, a re-imagining of The Parting Glass, surprisingly uplifting in these hands, with a delightful fiddle break in an almost American vein. Every track here is exceptional, and some are superb. If you listen to an English folk album in 2017, let it be this one.
© Alex Monaghan
Westpark Music, 2017
Other tracks here could only be Nordic, and perhaps only Finnish. The triple-time march Kenkkuni & Pikkuni is beautiful but strange to ears used to 4/4 and 6/8 rhythms. There's definitely a touch of Lordi in Friggin' Polska, an obscure Finnish name for one of Frigg's rare electric numbers, and the final Deep Water has that stark brittle Nordic beauty which marks much of Frost on Fiddles. And then there's the celtic influence: Chris Stout's driving Compliments to the Bon Accord Ale House, and the brilliant jig Tasajalka-Salminen by newcomer to the band Tero Hyväluoma, a tune which any Irish composer would be proud of. There have been a couple of personnel changes recently in Frigg - bassist Antti Järvelä is replaced here by Juho Kivivuori - but Frigg's music is still first class and their performances on this album are second to none.
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
For the folk purist, the sound is probably a bit orchestral - the opening jig Banish Misfortune leans towards Vaughan Williams before turning more Van Morrison, and the liberties taken with the essentially English song William Taylor are enough to get someone shot. On the other hand, Sol Broughton's funky Graduate and the Catalan composition Pimentos Torrats amb Oli i Sal (plain grilled peppers to you and me) are great new pieces on the edge of folk. It's not all thrash classical either: the delicate traditional American song Rain and Snow is poignantly sung by Rosie Tunley and Rosemary Wilkes, and sensitively arranged for a cut-down ensemble. Mostly, though, Painted is about fifty youngsters having fun with fiddles, horns, flutes, drums, guitars, and a bit of folk. Nothing wrong with that. Check Joe's website for videos and performance dates, and catch the Folk Ensemble live if you can.
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
There are some great old tunes here: Oh Gur Duine Truagh Mi, Mo Rùn Geal Òg, She Put her Knee on the Old Man, My Mind will Never be Easy, and the lively Shetland reel Up Da Stroods. Chaimbeul's harp is captivating on Nighean Donn nan Gobhar, while Moynihan's fiddle fires up the Scandinavian number Norsken. There's a catchy little Breton jig too. One Two delivers a double whammy with the duo's own compositions: the delicate Kyle Tune, the punchy Steaph's Red Shoes, the soulful Harry's Handbells and others. Apart from the fiddle and harp, Chaimbeul adds a squeeze of harmonium and that's all: no guests, no fancy effects. The sound stays fresh and vibrant, but this short album is over all too soon, so I'm already looking forward to Jenna and Màiri's second CD!
© Alex Monaghan
Coop Breizh, 2017
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
© Alex Monaghan
Own Label, 2017
With assistance from Hanneke on fiddle and piano, Katie on fiddle, Yann Falquet on guitar and Alasdair's partner in grime Natalie Haas on cello, Rachel delivers a full and satisfying sound here. Her fiddle is firmly to the fore, with the exception of some piano pyrotechnics from Andrea. The Reeds style is driving, earthy rather than delicate, a little rough around the edges but full of energy and enthusiasm - great dance music, although she doesn't quite have the snap on strathspeys and those dotted Scottish jigs yet. Rachel's own compositions grace five tracks here, ranging from the very traditional-sounding Stradspey, through the catchy contemporary reel that lends its name to this CD, to the graceful strathspey/march Allie and Siena's which leads into a great set of reels. Sparkjoy finishes with a big set of reels, including the cheeky Little Donald in the Pigpen which has taken New England by storm this year - I can't think why. There's lots to enjoy here, and plenty of new tunes too: it's a recording I'll come back to, and the start of what I expect will be an exciting journey for a new young talent. Rachel Reeds is one to watch, and one to listen to!
© Alex Monaghan
