FolkWorld #74 03/2021

German Letters

Letters to the Editors


Omiri


Omiri

"Postcards from Portugal"

Omiri @ FROG

www.omiri.eu

  Omiri: Alentejo, Vol.1: Évora

Many thanks, I hope you’re doing fine. There is something that you should know about all the process in Omiri, it all starts from the video field recordings that are then worked so they sound like you hear on the albums. All the electronic sounds are field recordings, you can check the videos:

All the best and a great 2021 for you and your family. Vasco Ribeiro Casais


Mats Edén

"Den Kaldsteikte"

matseden.se

  Guro Kvifte Nesheim & Mats Edén: Den Kaldsteikte

Dear FolkWorld, I am very happy about to read the review on our CD Den Kaldsteikte, with Guro Kvifte Nesheim and me, in your magazine recently.

Some things, in addition to the positive mentions, I still have to comment on.

In fact, despite what is stated in the review, I am not Danish but Swedish. Our countries here in the north are good neighbors, but despite that we each have our own peculiarities and traditions.

Secondly, all the music we play on the CD is dance music despite what you write about Kjempe-Jo and Jondalen. Jondalen is a springar with a so-called short third where the beat can be described as heavy-heavy-light or in notes 3 + 3 + 2/16. Kjempe - Jo is a gangar. Gangar can be played with two beats per pulse or 3 beats per pulse, ie 2/4 or 6/8.

Sincerely And a Happy New Year, Mats Edén

ps: Example of Gangar, here in 2/4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ5yHQswo9E


  The Lasses

Dear everyone,



The Lasses @ FROG

www.thelasses.nl
www.janoskoolen.nl

Here we are again, earlier than we planned, because we've had to share some bad news on social media last week. A lot of people have probably heard it by now but maybe not everyone, so we felt we had to send out a newsletter now. Margot is seriously ill. She started chemotherapy last week. We are hoping for recovery, but even if her treatment is succesful she won't be playing for a while. All of our plans from our previous newsletter have been put aside. In the weeks before the diagnosis we were anxiously waiting and we've tried to keep focusing on the things we could still do, despite the emotional turmoil.

First about the concerts we had planned for the rest of this year and 2021. Margot cannot perform right now, but she would be very sad if that means we would have to cancel everything. That's way we've decided to ask Janos Koolen to stand in for Margot temporarily. He produced our album 'Undone', played on almost every song on it and knows our repertoire very well. He is an amazing musician on the mandolin, banjo and guitar, but he can also sing - and we didn't know that until now! Janos will do some harmonies during the gigs on which Margot cannot participate. We are very happy that Janos is supporting us in these strange times.

For now, Margot cannot perform. That's unbelievable. She is mostly tired and weak from the chemo and of course from the emotional blow. It's so strange to me that I can do lots of things now and she can't. In the weeks before we knew for certain what was going on, we've tried to take our mind off things by making music. Margot had been working on an adaptation of a Scottish poem for our Scottish theater program. Because I really loved this song and even though I wasn't finished with my instrumental part for this yet, I tried to convince the guys of Mokum Sessions to record us on very short notice. We asked violinist Siard de Jong to play an instrumental solo. So here is our latest song, recorded on a rainy day in the Amstel park in Amsterdam!

The Lasses - The Farewell • Mokum Sessions #436

After our latest newsletter we received a lot of positive responses to our Spotify playlist. So we made a couple more! Here is a beautiful list of female folk singers from Margot, and a list of quiet winter songs from Sophie.

These are emotional times. We found corona already difficult, not being able to hug anyone, our possibilities for doing what we love best constantly changing. But what is happening now is quite a bit worse. The sweet messages we've received from you via our mailbox and on social media are warming our heart. We thought it, but now we know it's true: we have the sweetest fans! It's difficult to respond to everyone personally, so we would like to thank you here so much for all the love.

Hanging Tree Guitars

"Hanging Tree Guitars"

www.hanging
treeguitars.com

Lots of love from us and hopefully better news next time. Courage! Sophie from The Lasses

P.S. (01/10/2021): There is also some relatively good news from Margot: the chemotherapy appears to be working, so the doctors are continuing the current treatment. Meanwhile Janos and I decided to do an online show to keep our focus despite all of the cancellations. You can still see and hear it via YouTube. So if you are curious how that sounds, Lasses-songs with Janos on mandolin, guitar and harmonies, you can watch it here! There will be another online concert on the 8th of February, thanks to the Muziekgebouw Eindhoven & Ad van Meurs Presents. That will be a really special show because I will be playing with award-winning double bass player and composer Camiel Jansen, who has toured all around the world with his ensemble Ikarai. The show will be opened by songwriter Ellen Shae and we will probably also sing some songs together! The link will appear on this website a bit closer to the date. There is a new playlist with lots of hopeful folk songs that I love to listen to these days. If you are on Spotify and you like to hear some old and new things, listen here :)


  The Eye of Freeman Vines

One of Music Maker’s most important partner artists, Freeman Vines, has lost his right eye. This is the story of a caregiver who came to the rescue — and about the obstacles that all our elderly partner artists face as they struggle to get the medical care they need.

Read the Story: https://musicmaker.org/the-eye-of-freeman-vines/

— Tim Duffy


Elisabeth Cutler

www.elisabethcutler.com

April Verch

www.aprilverch.com

  Thank You ...

"The Loon's Call: Tunes from the North Shore by Anne Delong"

I read the review in Folkworld #73, and I would like to thank you both for selecting ''The Loon's Call" for a review in FolkWorld, and also for your kind words about my tunes and about Steafan and Saskia's performances. This is my first experience in the music recording world, and everyone has been so friendly and helpful. I created a YouTube sampler video for the album which you can watch if you like: https://youtu.be/qABNdbE8ipY.
Anne Delong (annedelong.timetraces.ca)

The Black Brothers "Glackanacker"

Thanks for the good review. We appreciate it. Unfortunately, we never got to promote the album as we were in the middle of an album release tour when all hell broke lose last March. Roll on 2021 and hope we can get back playing.
Michael (www.michaelblack.info)

Elisabeth Cutler "Silence is Rising"

Thank you so much! This means a lot to me; someone is listening... to the silence ;)
Buona notte, Elisabeth Cutler (www.elisabethcutler.com)

Colum Sands "Song Bridge"

Many thanks for letting me know and congratulations to you all for putting the magazine together in these strange times. Please give my thanks and best regards to Michael and to all at FolkWorld. There is much hope and inspiration to be found in the music and in all the stories behind the making of it. Thanks so much for spreading the word and I'm looking forward to meeting again in safer and better times.
All the best for now and Happy New Year! Colum Sands (www.columsands.com)

April Verch "Top of the Hill"

Oh lovely - thank you for the great write-up! Really appreciate it :) You’re such a wonderful support. I released this today, and it’s meant for you too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3HJohyBP_U
April Verch (www.aprilverch.com)


  Season 2021 ...

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we have decided to postpone Shrewsbury Folk Festival. It will now take place from August 27th – 30th, 2021. We know that many people will be disappointed – we are too. Our small team is hugely passionate about the festival and our summer just won’t be the same without it. But, as our festival preparations move into full swing, we feel we have no alternative given that the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic will be felt for some time to come. We wanted to make this announcement now to give you as much notice as possible. Our priority must be the health and welfare of our festival family – the festivalgoers, volunteers, performers, caterers, traders, contractors and many, many more people who come together to make it the magical event it is. This is not a decision we have taken lightly when many musicians are already feeling the pressure with gigs and tours on hold. Please continue to support them where you are able. We will be transferring our 2020 line up to 2021, providing performers are available, and we hope people will retain their tickets and join us for the mother of all parties next year! We know that our loyal contractors, traders and our charity partner will be adversely affected by this postponement but these are unprecedented circumstances for which none of us could have been prepared. We look forward to working with them again in 2021. In the meantime, we want to thank everyone for your ongoing support and we will see you next year. Please keep well, stay safe and look after yourselves and those around you. With love from Sandra and the festival team (www.shrewsburyfolkfestival.co.uk)

Hello and a Happy New Year! We hope this update finds everyone well and healthy as we begin 2021. As most of you will know, fighting Covid-19 is an ever-changing situation. This makes for challenges that we have not faced before as we seek to deliver the kind of HebCelt festival that we can all enjoy. There are positive rays of light as vaccines have become available and they are being rolled out in countries across the world. What remains uncertain though, is when we all might return to some kind of normality. As an event we are not on the same timeline that we might usually be. By now, pre-Covid, we would have our tickets on sale and the majority of our programme announced. That is not the case this year. However, we would like to assure everyone that we are currently working towards a plan for 2021, a key consideration of which is the safety and protection of HebCelt and, importantly, our local community. The kind of event we create depends on so many different elements, influences and changing circumstances, but we are committed to developing as best a solution as possible for our HebCelt community. We will bring you further updates as our plans develop and a path forward becomes more detailed. For those who currently hold a rolled-over ticket from 2020, we can confirm your money remains safe. In the meantime, we would like to thank everyone for the continued support that we are grateful to receive. (www.hebceltfest.com)

The days are warming up and the Government's announcement last week mapping out the way to a new normality this summer, has put a bounce back into our step. The vaccination rollout spearheaded by the remarkable NHS has been pivotal in moving forward and ,fingers crossed, come the end of July, everything will be on track so that we can spring back on the 20th, 21st and 22nd August 2021. We are remaining cautious though, as there is still some way to go and things can change in the blink of a jackalope's eye. COVID has changed the way we might meet and gather and we are having a bit of a rethink as to how the festival might look so that everyone on site is able to enjoy first class music, art, food and good company in a safe and worry-free environment. So, for this year, FolkEast will be slimmer (unlike some of us who have eaten our way through lockdown ... Ed) and our audience capacity will be reduced. The elements that create the FolkEast festival atmosphere, quirkiness and quality will still be there and over the coming weeks we will be sharing with you our Footpath to FolkEast 2021. At the heart of FolkEast is the folk who make it unique; artists, crew, stallholders, crafters, heritage, food and drink providers, volunteers and audience. We cant wait to see you again this summer at Glemham Hall. (www.folkeast.co.uk)


  Get Wet: Highlandbeat

"Eine kleine Erfolgs-Story"

"Highlandbeat"

Hello, I've got a copy of a Get Wet CD from my German neighbour. There are 15 songs on the CD, but I don't know their names.

I recognize 4 songs: Under the sun, What´s your life about, Man of the world, Red balloon. Can you help, or what can I do?

Ib Nielsen, Kolding, Denmark

Hello, as far as I know there was a CD in the 1990s but including only 6 tracks. Just google "get wet highlandbeat" for the titles. However, their promotor from back in the 90s is still working, maybe they can help out: http://www.master-promotion.de/. Good luck, let us know if you find out anything. All the best, T😊M


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