CD & DVD Reviews

Brian Berryman & Cornelius Bode "Almost Home"
Own Label, 2016

Not two students from Hogwarts, but two serious musicians who have both come to traditional music from unusual directions: Berryman is a Nova Scotian living in Germany with a background in classical and historical flute, while Bode is a German guitarist skilled in many different genres including Irish folk. Together they play one short track and four monster medleys - averaging over eight minutes each - of traditional tunes from Scotland, Ireland, and of course Nova Scotia. Everything about this CD says home-made debut recording, but there's no doubting the musical ability of this duo, and they are very honest about their place as outsiders keen to pay homage to three great traditions.
The opening Cape Breton set of a strathspey and three reels is typical of Berryman and Bode's music here: each new tune shifts the tempo up a gear, and the melodies are played very straight with good tonguing on the flute but surprisingly little breath control, until the speed outstrips the flautist's control and the final Bridge of Bamore is a blur of notes over the steady guitar. Next is a slow, slightly stilted version of the 6/8 march Blue Bonnets and a trio of Irish jigs. The air The Hills of Lorne is sweetly played, followed by strathspeys and reels in the Cape Breton style which remind me of recordings by Chris Norman, one of the few flute-players to master Canadian fiddle traditions. The fiddle is of course the melody instrument of choice in Cape Breton: you don't get so breathless playing fiddle.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and the last two sets show some of the pitfalls for newcomers to the traditional scene. The Blarney Pilgrim, though popular in some sessions, is a little hackneyed and unlikely to be recorded these days. Stan Chapman's is of course by the late great Jerry Holland, a Boston fiddler and prolific composer mainly associated with the Cape Breton style, and Frank's Reel was written by Scottish fiddle prodigy John McCusker. The final set of reels starts with a very pleasant slow take on Oiche Nollaig, moving into a slight;y idiosyncratic version of this old Irish reel, before a very fine rendition of Far from Home, and then the final Rossmore Jetty which is something of a cliché in Irish sessions and really needs a special twist to justify another recording. You live and learn. The guitar accompaniment is reliable throughout this short CD, although a little weak on the upbeat, and after only two years playing folk flute Berryman's performance here is creditable. It remains to be seen whether he masters the style and technique of traditional playing: with this level of commitment, he stands a good chance.
© Alex Monaghan

Bragr "Danmarkar'n"
GO Danish Folk Music, 2016

Nyckelharpa, acoustic bass guitar and percussion: this trio has a most unusual sound, like a cut-down version of Hoven Droven perhaps, and their music is experimental at times but always entertaining. The title track is a tune from a Swedish village called Denmark - very confusing - and it sets the tone for a gently iconoclastic album of traditional tunes and modern arrangements. Cajon, darbuka, cymbals and other exotic drums from Christine Dueholm provide the rhythm behind Perry Steinbäck's Swedish keyed fiddle, while Jesper Frost Bylling contributes rock, punk, funk and folk bass lines as needed. These two Danes and one Swede manage to produce a huge range of music, old fiddle tunes and newer nyckelharpa pieces, whirling polskas and graceful waltzes, and even a naughty little wedding song.
My favourites here are the delightful slow Andakten by 20th century virtuoso Eric Sahlström and the Timeless Waltz by Puma Hedlund. They're just ahead of a two hundred year old slängpolska by the legendary Byss-Kalle, and a traditional polska by Hjort Anders with vocal backing which reminds me of the late great Oliver Schroer, another innovator. Bragr play beautifully, but their special attraction is in the arrangements, the twists and turns behind the music, the blend of old and new, and the frequent surprises - a cymbal crash here, a guitar solo there, and those pumping bass lines. This is a short CD, only eight tracks and barely half an hour, but it is full of excitement, tension and imagination.
© Alex Monaghan

Fru Skagerrak "Fru Skagerrak"
GO Danish Folk Music, 2016

Three female fiddlers from Scandinavia, arranged round the fickle Skagerrak sea which links and separates their three countries: Fru Skagerrak, or "Lady Skagerrak" in English, unites Denmark's Maja Kjaer Jacobsen, Norway's Elise Wessel Hildrum, and Sweden's Anna Lindblad. The girls have great singing voices too, and Elise plays a mean recorder, but this debut CD is mainly fiddle music. It's a gentle album, light and cheerful, opening with a punchy little slängpolska - a sort of Swedish slip jig - and two slightly darker Norwegian dance tunes. Polskas, polkas and a polonaise make you wonder what Scandinavian music would be without the influence of Poland. Perhaps more like the Norwegian reinlender Eppingen here, or the Swedish waltz Saelbakkvisa with its brooding minor melody on alto recorder. The mood soon lightens, though, with Natalies Brudmarsch written by Anna. Maja contributes three compositions, all instant winners: the happy reel Kontinentet Kalder with Elise again on recorder, the swingy Shetland Invaders written for that most memorable and least clearly remembered folk festival, and the final improbably-named Når Mandag er Bedst which reminds me of recent music by Baltic Crossing - not too far away. Great fiddling, two fine songs, several outstanding new tunes, and a bit of fun: what more could you ask?
© Alex Monaghan

Elanor "A Clear Look"
Appel Rekords, 2016

Belgium: a surprisingly rich seam of folk music from a country with relatively little unique culture, being heavily influenced by France, Germany, Britain, and the Netherlands which share a language and many other things with the region of Flanders. Elanor, a Ghent quintet, take all these ingredients and produce a surprisingly refreshing and easily digested album: hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes for a distinctly French sound at times, accordion for an English mood on the sweet waltz Pour Elle, Irish pipes with their distinctive soulfulness, flute and guitar for a touch of exotic Balkan or Moorish music, all underpinned by electric bass and percussion giving a modern dance-band feel to many tracks.
A Clear Look takes a little getting used to, with its electro-acoustic liberties and its blend of old traditions with new ideas. Every track is a creation of these five musicians, yet there is a kinship with northern European traditions which is unmistakable. At times powerful, at others bland, this CD is surprisingly satisfying. It actually reminds me of Gentse Waterzooi, the famous Ghent soup-stew of the day's catch with potatoes, vegetables, and whatever spices come to hand. Every recipe is different, but there's a common thread, a basic template, which unifies all the various versions. The same is true of the tracks on this album: each is unique, none is the quintessence of Elanor, but all together build a picture of this diverse and dynamic band.
Talking of pictures, there's a fascinating one on the album cover, not truly deceptive but intriguing nonetheless. What at first appears to be a girl's face is actually cleverly overlaid with Elanor's various instruments, soundholes round the eyes, pipe drones providing a ponytail, and an accordion for a hat. You can admire the detail as you listen to the virtuosity of Voyage or the mysterious Masque. By the time you reach Shvesta you won't be surprised by the hints of Blowzabella, nor by the Gong-like Northern Village. The final two tracks range even further afield: Vellareels draws on North Sea fiddle traditions and Irish influences, while 0808 looks a long way east from Flemish shores. Whether you lean towards celtic, Scandinavian, or southern European music, A Clear Look has plenty to get your teeth into, always with its own Belgian flavour.
© Alex Monaghan

Nua "Flow"
Own Label, 2016

This Toronto trio plays a contemporary take on Irish and Scottish traditional music: fiddle based, with virtuoso James Law taking the lead, supported by Graeme McGillivray and Jacob McCauley on guitars and bodhrán. Flow is their second album, perhaps more considered than their brash debut Bold, and a little less energetic too. Not that this album drags its feet - far from it. The crooked-sounding slip jig Heads and Tails fairly scampers along, and the funky reel Denver has all the mad thrill of a cop chase on horseback, urged on by super-skilful guitar and bodhrán. Most of the music here is at a more relaxed pace, though, and most of the tracks actually flow together with no obvious break in the recording. Once again, this is a very impressive album with a surprisingly full sound for an unaugmented trio.
All the tunes here are claimed by Law, McGillivray, or both - but there are clear echoes of traditional melodies too. Full House owes more than a little to the Irish showpiece reel The Dawn, and Pat Came Back recalls several Scottish classics. Virginia Jigs hint at Irish ancestry, especially the second one - aptly titled The Second One. The slightly Asian electric guitar on Manic Breakfast comes as a surprise in the middle of this CD, and the following Uphill Battle also breaks the celtic mould with a more contemporary classical feel - think Penguin Cafe Orchestra or David Grubb's High Rise album. Smuggler's Cove brings us back to familiar shores, and Rest in Pineapple is fun fiddling at its finest. (Nice mandolin here from McGillivray too.) Scott's Whisky sees Nua finally cut loose, lovely delicate tipping from Jacob on another trad-flavoured jig before James and Graeme fire into a modern up-tempo reel on fiddle and tenor banjo.
As with Nua's debut CD,^[53] I'm reminded of the Tartan Amoebas, Bongshang and Shooglenifty back in the 90s, but also of newer groups: Moxie, At First Light, The Chair, and the fiddling of Hanneke Cassel on many of the slower tracks. The Jacobite has a whiff of Wolfstone about it, a slow air to set beside Hector the Hero or Chisholm's Beinn a' Cheathaich. The album cover also makes great use of the distinctive paintings of Eva McCauley, giving a strong visual resemblance to Nua's previous release. The final track reinforces the moody flowing lines of Eva's skyscapes with a brooding 11/8 air followed by the twisted jig Midnight Sunset. So many reasons to seek out Flow: Nua have samples on their website.
© Alex Monaghan

Roberto Tombesi "In 'Sta Via"
Calicanto, 2016

Subtitled "Music from Venice to the Dolomites", this album of Italian melodeon music is wide-ranging in style, embracing sounds from France, Austria, and Italian traditions from operetta to town bands. Tombesi plays two-, three- and four-row melodeons, all non-chromatic as far as I can tell, and he's joined by a double handful of friends on harp, various woodwind, sax, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, percussion, and what sounds like a French bagpipe but could be Italian. There's singing too, in Italian and Venetian dialect, ranging from folksy to light opera, with the strong and appealing voices of Claudia Ferronata and Tombesi himself.
There are actual several Tombesis here, members of Roberto's family and of his group Calicanto which seems to be doing a fine job of reviving traditional Venetian music. The material here has been collected by Tombesi and colleagues over several decades, and its sources are carefully documented in an impressive CD booklet, most of which is also given in English translation. Waltzes and mazurkas, polkas and marches, a piece called Pive which strongly resembles the Monferrina jigs popularized by New England fiddler Rodney Miller, and several dance forms particular to Italy such as the Tarantella, Gajarda, and Bassanello, are interspersed with vocal pieces. A surprising number of the melodies here are in jig rhythm, 6/8, both dance tunes and songs. Another surprise is the existence of Italian "songs for dancing", similar to the mouth music of celtic traditions, and presumably created for the same reason: people want to dance, but don't always have the means to learn an instrument. Hence songs such as Vilote Lugari and Veneziana have strong rhythms, and often nonsensical words, to provide a beat for dancers.
Roberto and friends are excellent musicians, and the arrangements here are fresh and entertaining. The recording is of a very high standard too, and the CD is attractively presented. Tombesi's music will appeal to lovers of French, English, and celtic music, and of course to fans of the humble melodeon, as well as anyone who is interested in something with a bit of Latin flair. While there are plenty of tunes here with a clear Italian character, much of this music will fit comfortably with other European traditions, or even the American old time and contra repertiore of New England.
© Alex Monaghan

The Barber Sisters "Lover's Leap"
Own Label, 2016

From Derbyshire, twins Lydia and Isobel on fiddles, with versatile sister Ellie swapping between fiddle and viola, the Barber Sisters are horribly young and talented. All three are currently studying Chemistry but spending most of their free time playing music, mostly as a trio, and this is their debut CD. They play mainly Scottish music, new and traditional, in a style influenced by the many fiddle ensembles coming out of Scotland in recent years. Playing classical violin as children, their interest in Scottish fiddle was sparked by a Blazin' Fiddles album bought on Skye, and fuelled by fiddle workshops up and down the country. These girls have picked up tips and tunes from the likes of Lauren MacColl and Rua MacMillan, but it's the intensity of their shared understanding that really makes the Barber Sisters' music exceptional. Melody, harmony, rhythm and counterpoint all come from the three fiddles, with such tight interplay that it's hard to separate the parts from the whole.
Lover's Leap is based on the Scottish fiddle repertoire, leaning heavily towards Shetland. Tunes by Tom Anderson, Gideon Stove, Steven Spence, Willie Hunter, Jenna Reid and others span several generations of Shetland music, and lend themselves very well to a fiddles-only treatment. There's plenty of that Northern Isles swing here: Ronnie Jamieson's Crystal Fiddle has a definite swagger to it, and the same joyful energy spills over into the title track of three tasty tunes by Isobel and Lydia. I'm not sure if these count as Scottish, but in any case there are a couple of English compositions by the Broughton boys and Nick Barber. Apart from that, everything comes from north of the Rio Tweed: Lexy MacAskill and Jenny Nettles at the more traditional end of the timeline, Rua MacMillan and Ross Ainslie at the other, Bruce McGregor and Ian Lowthian compositions in between. Among many highlights, there's a gorgeous slow combination of Johnny Cunningham's Night in That Land and Lauren MacColl's Crow Road Croft.
And I learnt something new in the first track: The Sailor's Wife, a great modal jig which I got from box-player Ian Greig, is credited to Neil Gow - and with some justification as he published it in 1780 - but it does appear in a publication by Johnson in 1748 when Gow was only 19. So there you go - either Gow wrote it in his youth or he simply appropriated it as with many other tunes. Be that as it may, the Barber Sisters' version is worth a listen, and Lover's Leap is likely to lead to more comparisons with Scotland's all-female fiddle quartet RANT. There are a few samples on their website, and you might also try to catch them as they tour the festivals and workshops in England and Scotland, or find them as TheBarberSisters on Facebook.
© Alex Monaghan

Vic Gammon & Friends "Early Scottish Ragtime"
Fellside, 2016

No, this isn't an attempt to claim that American Ragtime music came from Scotland: not at all. Whatever the true extent of Scottish and Irish music's influence on jazz and blues may have been, Vic Gammon is happy that Ragtime came east on the waves - although he's also collected a number of pre-Ragtime pieces which seem to show that some Scottish composers had similar ideas about syncopated rhythms and off-beat melodies. The criteria for inclusion here are the use of syncopation and/or American origins in tunes published in Scotland, crucially pre-dating the explosion of Ragtime music at the end of the 19th century. With the exception of the final set of Tyneside popular song melodies, I don't recognise any of the titles here, although some of the melodies are familiar from traditional sessions. Negro Melody is pretty close to a Sliabh Luachra polka - but to be honest that's true of almost any Western melody from Bach to Bieber. Tom Brigg's Jig is essentially a version of the Londonderry Hornpipe: interestingly, Des Cafferkey from Achill recently recorded a very syncopated version of this, more reggae-funk than ragtime, but along similar lines. Scituate Reel reminds me strongly of the Irish reel Green Fields of America - coincidence? The Bush shares melodic and rhythmic features with Shrewsbury Lasses, published in the Apted collection of popular English dances from the late 18th century. Oakland Garden, on the other hand, is very much an American tune, and a lovely one at that.
The performances here are consciously unpolished, raw, one might even say under-rehearsed. Gammon describes the recording process as "a group of friends getting together to play the tunes." But what a friendship group he has - a veritable Geordie Shore of tradtional musicians. Stewart Hardy on fiddle, Sandra Kerr on concertina, young Dan Walsh on backwoods banjo, and of course Vic himself on four-string banjo, mandolin and concertina. Fluter Desi Wilkinson from Belfast is also a long-term visitor to Tyneside. Other Northerners Steve Harrison (moothie), Cecilia Winterbottom (bass) and Sam Robson (piano) have donned vests and fake tan for the occasion. There's a nice mix of simple duets and fuller arrangements here, culminating in the Geordie Favourites Set which could come from an Alistair Anderson big band CD. Just like poor old Nellie Gray, you'll be struggling to keep your feet still on this track. Early Scottish Ragtime is a mixed bag indeed, full of tunes you wouldn't otherwise hear, the weird and the wonderful, in a fascinating hour of traditional music. It comes with detailed notes on the tunes, and a bit more background on the players.
© Alex Monaghan

Erynn Marshall "Greasy Creek"
Dittyville Music, 2016

Greasy Creek is a new CD of original, old-time fiddle-tunes by Erynn Marshall played in a traditional style. That's what it says on the website, anyway. Virginia fiddler Marshall is a leading light of the oldtime music community, and her previous recordings of tunes old and new have been a pleasure to listen to. Her own compositions here are equally fine, many of them sounding so natural that it's hard to believe they haven't come from some elderly backwoods source. The names fit right in, too: Old Barn, Decatur Stomp, Windfall, Snake Ate a Hoecake, and of course the title reel which I immediately confused with the traditional Greasy Coat.
Erynn includes a number of guests here: her partner Carl Jones on guitar and mandolin, banjomen Bob Carlin, Adam Kurt and Kyle-Dean Smith, guitarists Beth Hartness and Snake Smith (that tune title starts to make sense!), Phill Woddail on harmonica, Joe Dejarnette on bass, and Eddie Bond on additional fiddle. Marshall plays fiddle on all tracks, and doubles on ukulele banjo for Gibsons / Buck Fever, the only track to boast two toons. As a nice touch, all the fiddle and banjo tunings are given in the sleeve notes - and there are plenty of them, although about half the material here is played on the fiddle in standard tuning. For those unfamiliar with oldtime tunings, make sure you get the right one! Once that Marshall fiddle is tuned, the music just comes pouring out: the lovely Bass Cove Waltz, the swampy Deliverance delta sound of Levy's Blues, the straight-ahead breakdown rhythms of Laughing Girl or Redtail. Good tunes, great fiddle and banjo, with all the trimmings!
© Alex Monaghan

Marin / Marin "Tiden"
Dimma, 2016

Swedish fiddle music from brother and sister Mikael and Mia Marin, truly beautiful: this is their second album, I think, and contains mainly their own compositions together with a few traditional tunes. Polskas, waltzes and minuets as well as other dance forms are played on two fiddles for dancing or listening, and in an unusual touch the Marin siblings list the lead and harmony roles for each track, sometimes with several role switches in the same piece. Leo Sander joins the pair on cello for three tracks, but otherwise this is Mia and Mikael, violin and viola, five strings each but that's their only advantage. Apart from their exceptional talent, of course: Swedish fiddling is known for its high technical standards, and this pair have probably worked hard to achieve pre-eminence in their traditional music, but there is a heart and a soul in their playing too, a spirit and understanding which may not be learnt at all. Ardennermenuetten by Mia shows this soulful side, a fairly simple melody but so full of feeling, and Mikael plays it perfectly, with intuitive accompaniment from Mia.
Polska Efter Lorens Brolin is a more traditional piece, almost classical, with wonderfully eccentric harmonics in the opening phrases, followed by a grinding almost oldtime backing by Mikael. It moves deftly into Nöbbelegubbens 60-Årspolska, written by Mikael as a birthday present for a friend, which reminds me of Shetland fiddle music although I appreciate the influence probably flowed from Sweden to Shetland rather than the other way. Skröplandspolskan is a much darker track, not really a dance tune, more a musing on the wintry wilderness of central Sweden. All this music has its dark side, but most of it is bright and cheerful too. Tiden finishes with a polonais which illustrates this beautifully, a dance tune from an early 19th century fiddler's tunebook, warm yet stately, slow yet lively, its rhythm underpinned by the cello while Mia and Mikael play with the melody line. Every track here has its own life, its own spirit, contributing to an enchanting album. The CD sleeve is an exceptional work of art too, the Aurora Borealis behind an ancient clock tower inlaid with gold, and Marin/Marin's taste for the surreal. Check out the Dimma website, but also try www.miamarin.com for samples and more information.
© Alex Monaghan

MP3 "Guldvingen"
Acoustic World, 2016

An unusual choice of name, and extremely hard to find online: try googling "MP3 Swedish fiddle music" and you'll find a lot of interesting things, but not these guys. Better to search for Guldvingen, or just go to www.mattiasperez.com - because MP3 is a trio of Mattias Pérez, Mia Marin and Nina Pérez, a guitarist and two lady fiddlers from the west of Sweden, and although this is their third album in a twelve year career they don't seem to have their own website yet.
Their lack of marketing savvy doesn't affect the quality of MP3's music. From the gentle opening of Rosa Kvint to the dramatic end of Suomalainen Valssi, this CD is a powerful example of Nordic music by some of its finest exponents. The guitar is featured more prominently than you might expect, but Mattias steers rather than leads the music, like a Viking helmsman behind the muscular bowing of the two fiddles. Avrundaren and the title track are introduced by guitar solos or duets, but elsewhere the guitar is mainly used for strummed or finger-picked accompaniment, leaving the melody lines to fiddle and viola. Mia and Nina aren't averse to a spot of finger-picking themselves, which all adds to the variety here.
The strong rhythm of Lomjansguten, the graceful sway of Burdvals, and the driving urgency of Waiting to Go are added to polskas and other dances. One of my favourites here is the oldtimey Evig Rus, a swinging reel redolent of North American pinewoods. Systerspolska is another highlight, not so much for the tune as for the richness of twin fiddles and percussive guitar in close harmony. Much of this material was written by the band members, some by other musicians from Sweden and Norway, and about one quarter is traditional. A few of these tunes will soon be adopted by the global fiddle community, I'm sure: MP3's music is irresistible. The CD cover is very pretty too.
© Alex Monaghan

New Road "Stone Walls & Street Lights"
Whirling Discs, 2016

A fascinating combination of Irish and oldtime, with a few new twists and turns, this group comes out of Dublin piper Leonard Barry teaming up with the Sligo Americana crowd of Seamie O'Dowd, Andy Morrow, and real-life Californian Rick Epping. It's not immediately obvious what direction New Road will take as the band launches into a set of upbeat flings or barndances on pipes and concertina, but pretty soon the banjo and harmonica start to lead us westwards far off The Road to Lisdoonvarna, and by the time we reach Greasy Coat the backwoods sound has closed in around us in a way Burt Reynolds would recognise. Stone Walls & Street Lights continues with a mix of venerable Irish tunes and songs, music from American oldtime musicians, and a couple of detours to include the Scottish gems Cam Ye by Atholl and Now Westlin' Winds. The old Galway Shawl is dusted off by O'Dowd, slide guitar and harmonica turning it into a blues ballad, with pipes and fiddle bringing it back home and tacking Farewell to Ireland on the end. Epping trots out the cheery Saturday Night My Wife Died from oldtime revivalist Bertram Levy, and finishes the CD with the song Down in the Old Home Town to a tune better known as The Arkansas Traveller.
Five songs in all are interspersed with eight instrumental tracks. Andy Morrow's fiddle ranges from pure Irish on Ben's Brogues by Charlie Lennon to hog-roping hayseed on Garfield's Blackberry Blossom from the repertoire of eastern Kentucky fiddler Ed Haley, recorded by Haley almost a century ago. The pipes fit surprisingly well into this landscape of rye, bluegrass and cotton pickers, but they also have their moments of more familiar music: there's a lovely set of reels starting with The Cat that Ate the Candle, a fine trio of jaunty slides ending with one of the many attributed to Padraig O'Keeffe, and a pugnacious piping version of John Kelly's Hop Jig. Mandolin and jaw harp, whistle and bodhrán, and some additional vocals from Sligo maid Cathy Jordan add the finishing touches to a cracking album with its roots spread from Riverstown to Roanoke, Ayrshire to the Appalachian Mountains. There's over an hour of fresh and exciting music here, more than enough to help you down the road a ways.
© Alex Monaghan

North Atlantic Drift "Tuttle's"
Own Label, 2016

This album far exceeded my expectations. It was sent to me by a friend. You won't find much information online about this band, but their music is outstanding. With a mix of Irish and Scottish repertoires, instrumental throughout, North Atlantic Drift comprises fiddler Dan MacDonald, piper Ross Griffiths, and multi-talented accompanist Brian Talveny. Based in Toronto, the trio has a big and varied sound, drawing on Canadian East Coast traditions, American oldtime, and emigrant Irish music. Griffiths switches between uilleann pipes and Scottish border pipes, as well as various flutes, and Talveny can offer guitar, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki and more. Together they cover all the bases from Edinburgh to Ennis, Cape Breton to Cumberland Gap.
The opening track is not representative. On Arty McGlynn style electric guitar, Talveny launches into a slow version of Porthole of the Kelp. Flute and fiddle join in on John Naughton's Reel, and the uilleann pipes pick up Billy MacLeod's Testimonial by Nova Scotian fiddler Carl Mackenzie with a rock band bass line. The other eleven tracks are more traditional: reels and jigs, strathspeys and airs, more reels and jigs, all pretty much as you'd expect, but exceptionally well played. The old jigs Scotsman Over the Border and Tenpenny Bit - the other one - are sweetly handled on fiddle, mandolin and flute. MacDonald makes a beautiful job of Braigh Loch Iall and Miss Brodie's, with ringing fiddle harmonies and crisp ornamentation. Jerusalem is a cracker too: not the Parry/Elgar anthem, but oldtime standard Jerusalem Ridge coupled with a pair of Jerry Holland reels.
For me, North Atlantic Drift are at their best when the pipes are blowing: Paddy on the Turnpike and Lord Gordon's are fiendish fiddle and pipes reels. Sandy McGaff is a version of The Kesh Jig fitted nicely on the Border pipes. Larry Redican's great Galway Reel ends a storming set, and Phil Cunningham's Hogties Reel is driven powerfully on the Scottish pipes with more of that rock band guitar. These guys are so much more than just a Toronto pub band, and Tuttle's should win them a wider audience.
© Alex Monaghan

Samantha Robichaud "Simplicity"
Own label, 2016

A sixth album from New Brunswick's fiddle diva, Simplicity is well named - nothing too daring or complex, old tunes well played, and some new compositions by Sam. All accompaniment is by the talented Chris Colepaugh, although Ms Robichaud backs herself on cello for a few tracks. No piano - unusual for a Canadian CD - but there's a lovely rhythmic bounce to the guitar and percussion. The fiddling is sublime on Andy DeJarlis' Jig, Growling Old Man, Shelburne Reel and other Canadian classics, as well as jigs and reels from Ireland, Scotland, England even. Robichaud has a smooth cosmopolitan fiddle tone, with just a hint of the rasping New Brunswick style, and a leisurely tempo which allows her to put plenty of expression into dance music standards like Morrison's and The Teatotaller. Her own compositions Hand to Hold and Kempt Shore are delightful, a waltz and a slow jig, both with bags of character.
There's a quirky hidden ending which harks back to the wilder side of some of Sam's earlier recordings, and in many ways Simplicity could be a watershed album. Completed when Sam was expecting her first child, the CD artwork takes full advantage of her fashion-plate looks: a gorgeous shot of our heroine paddling in the Atlantic waves, fiddle in hand, and on the back cover - oh shoot, she's dropped the fiddle! Where did it go?! But seriously, this is a level of glamour you'd expect for a singer like Shakira, Paloma Faith, or at least Shania Twain. There is one vocal track on this short release, written and sung by Samantha, but I think it's clear that singing is not her biggest talent, and I hope she'll focus on the role of fiddle diva where there are some great role models in the Canadian Maritimes. It may be a while before her next album, so make the most of this lovely musical portrait of the enchanting Samantha Robichaud.
© Alex Monaghan

Summers & Silvola "Widdershins"
Dell Daisy Records, 2016

This husband and wife duo play Scottish-Scandinavian fiddle and Finnish guitar, a powerful combination. I'd put Widdershins in the folk rock category - more Ragnarok than Edinburgh rock, in fact, with Sarah-Jane Summers' classical-edged fiddle showering Scottish presbyterian fire and brimstone on the pagan music of Juhani's homeland. The opening Sydänyö by Silvola has hints of Russian gypsy music, perhaps the cooler end of the Hot Club de Paris. while the title tune is unashamed showpiece fiddling - sort of Neil Gow meets Jack Black. Bellag the Drover is a firmly traditional set of reels and jigs, but this duo manages to breathe fire into it nonetheless. Things only cool down on Vaajakosken Maija, a lovely slow jig by S-J for a good friend. Then it's off again with the reel Sister Donna Kelly and the intriguing Skype-Clype which apparently has nothing whatsoever to do with the popular converged communications engine acquired by Microsoft and now integrated with its Lync product suite - so there!
Widdershins fills that nebulous space between Scottish, Scandinavian and Stateside oldtime music: bowed and plucked strings, deep resonances and driving rhythms, curious harmonies and modalities. Juhani's Silver Spring Reel is a good example, a stomping dance tune on fingerpicked guitar and fiddle, which wouldn't be out of place on a Flatt & Scruggs LP or a Frigg CD. Keppoch Desolate is a mournful Scottish air from about three hundred years ago, marking a brutal double murder, but it could just as easily form the backdrop to a bluegrass tale of misery and mountain winters. That backwoods desolation continues through two more compositions by this talented pair, although Burning Sands builds to a peak of such ferocity that it sounds more like the climax of a travelling preacher's sermon on eternal damnation. A pair of old Scots strathspeys bring us back to the old country, and S-J's final Spike on a Bike is firmly in the modern Scottish reel idiom. Widdershins finishes with a flourish from both fiddle and guitar, virtuoso playing to the end. This recording will certainly be in my 2016 Top Ten.
© Alex Monaghan

Bottle Bank Band "Bottle Bank Band"
Hooky Mat Records, 2016

Fiddlers - four of them - from Newcastle or thereabouts, with no visible support, playing mainly music from the North-East. Different definitions of the North-East of course. Lots of Northumbrian music, from the North-East of England: James Hill hornpipes including The Wonder, The Factory Smoke and the one that gave this band its name. Northumbrian jigs too, in the shape of Fogabella and Bellingham Boat. And reels, naturally: Blaydon Flats, not to be confused with steeplechases or hurdling which could all be Blaydon races, plus recent compositions by Newcastle-based Roger Peppe and Stewart Hardy. Off to Shetland, the most North-East region of Scotland, for Tom Anderson's tune Da Sweerie Box, and the wonderfully titled Du's Bön Lang Awa an A'm Tocht Lang to See Dee.
Time for a roll-call: Stewart Hardy, tutor on the Newcastle traditional music degree, plus three of his former students Sophy Ball, Chloe Jones and David Jones. Top players all, and steeped in the Tyneside fiddle tradition. Less so in the ragtime tradition, specifically the tunes of Thomas Henry Lodge from Rhode Island in the North-Eastern United States whose Temptation Rag is a highlight here, transposed from its very fiddle-unfriendly Db key signature to a more reasonable E. North-East US seaboard still for Andy Statman's Klezmer classic Flatbush Waltz, then almost directly due north-east for a thousand kilometres to reach Îles de la Madeleine, a beautiful Quebec air which ends this splendid recording. A few tasty new Hardy compositions, a stately and slightly unusual version of Mr Isaac's Maggot, a touch of soft southern tradition from Yorkshire and beyond, and there you have it: the Bottle Bank Band's debut CD, a reet belter.
© Alex Monaghan

Red Hot Chilli Pipers "Octane"
Own Label, 2016

The usual maverick mix of piping and pop, trad and trendy, funk and folk: it's amazing to think that "bagrock" is now a normal part of both the piping world and the wider Scottish music scene, but such has been the impact of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers over the past decade or so that they are no longer an outlier. Similar groups have been spawned in Scotland and beyond - Germany, Japan, North America - but with half a dozen albums under their sporrans already RHCP are still ahead of the pack. Octane reconfirms their pre-eminence, with some wonderful music, some fresh weirdnesses, and some frankly wacky moments.
Four pipers, four brass-players, a rock band and a few other bits and pieces combine to give a big sound on almost every track here. Songs by Muse, Coldplay, Van Halen, Queen, and a bunch of people I've never heard of are interspersed with more traditional pipe tunes - new and old - in a relentless cascade of sound. The Fallen, a moving slow air by piping pioneer R S MacDonald, has become a commemorative anthem for the firefighters lost in the Twin Towers disaster and other emergencies. Grand old jigs and reels such as The Kesh and Rip the Calico - two thirds of it anyway - are mixed with more recent classics Pressed for Time and Dancing Feet, as well as a few by the band themselves. Fat Bottomed Girls is paired with a cheeky new Scots reel that should quickly become a session favourite. The Willis Clan composition Chasing Love provides another moment of calm, while the folk club chestnut Wild Mountain Thyme is truly surreal with its Barrowlands vocals: I honestly thought this was a bonus track, and was very surprised to find it followed by Urban for an excellent finale.
Jump and Starlight, Seven Nation Army (inspired by The Hobbit I assume), Neon, and Everybody Wants to Rule the World - late-night ceilidh favourites probably, and they certainly get the blood pumping. This album provides high energy music throughout, and as you'd expect the performance is flawless. If there's ever a Scottish mission to Mars, Octane could certainly provide the rocket fuel.
© Alex Monaghan

Christine Melanson "Constellations"
Own Label, 2016

A debut CD from yet another impressive Canadian fiddler in her early twenties, this time from the French-speaking end of the Maritimes. Christine Melanson belongs to the Acadian community of New Brunswick, settled mainly by French immigrants whose culture mingled with the Scots and Irish and the indigenous population to produce a music which combines the rhythmic drive of Quebec and the sweet melodies of Nova Scotia. Christine actually pulls her tunes from all over Canada and beyond: Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and even Saskatchewan, as well as Scotland, Ireland, England and the USA. There's a great set of modern reels and jigs duetting with fiddler sibling Janelle Melanson, and a number of places where the LeBlanc family from Prince Edward Island join in on flute, whistle and accordion. Cape Breton guitar prodigy Maxim Cormier backs most tracks, and Jean-Pascal Comeau provides upright bass to complete the picture. The album opens with Shane Cook's catchy Cottonwoods, and there are great tunes here by Troy MacGillivray, Liz Carroll, Dave Richardson, John McCusker and Brendan Mulvihill with his Compliments to Sean Maguire, plus several traditional favourites. Christine Melanson's playing is bright and sparkling, dark and earthy, full of energy and passion, quite remarkable for such a young player.
As well as playing fiddle, Christine accompanies herself on piano - a neat trick if you can manage it. She may also be step-dancing, you never can tell with these Canadians, or even writing poetry which is another of her talents. She ends Constellations with a piano solo medley, recorded live, which starts with a slow air version of the Irish reel Maid Behind the Bar, moving into a Natalie MacMaster quickstep, and then the flowing reel Swinging on a Gate before returning to Maid Behind the Bar for an up-tempo finish. In fact, the two previous tracks are also live takes, both on fiddle with guitar accompaniment. Four Melanson originals show that low grinding Acadian style on strathspeys and reels, followed by a powerful performance of the Quebec classic Reel de Pointe au Pic. There are four more of Christine's tunes scattered through this recording: the bouncy Housecoat Happiness with flute from Philippe LeBlanc, the frantic fiddle reel In a Flurry, the feisty jig Real Housegirls of the Maritimes which slips perfectly into André Brunet's La Fée des Dents, and the beautiful air Farewell to the Red Shoe dedicated to Mabou's great music venue and pub. Melanson is joined on this track by Pastelle LeBlanc on piano accordion to create a sound which is very close to Bain and Cunningham at their best. If all this isn't enough, there's even a Christine Melanson poem - in French and English - hand-written on the reverse of the sleeve notes. Samples and more information are available on Christine's website.
© Alex Monaghan

Bazar Blå "Twenty"
Own Label, 2016

Two decades on the road, apparently with a few sticky patches in recent years, Bazar Blå is a Swedish trio based around the nyckelharpa of Johan Hedin, with the somewhat surprising addition of drums and bass behind this renaissance folk instrument. Although Twenty is their sixth album, this is the first time I've heard Bazar Blå's music - not so surprising, as they lean strongly towards world music and don't really incorporate the Swedish dance traditions I am more familiar with. In over an hour of new compositions, only one or two of the dozen tracks here approaches the driving dance style of much Scandinavian music: the rest is dark, brooding, intense, following another strand of Scandinavian tradition, well played and absorbing but more tantric than toe-tapping.
Ten of the numbers on Twenty were written by bass-player Björn Meyer, with the other two credited to Hedin. Percussionist Frederik Gille doesn't get involved in the composing, but his contribution to the sound is pivotal, providing the rhythm which holds these shifting wintry tapestries together. He has an over-fondness for sleigh bells, but otherwise the percussion is first class. I had hoped for more sparkle in the nyckelharpa, and this only really comes through on Strax and Dussinpolskan - although the bass mandola does add some brilliance to Bazar Blå's music too. There is a strong Swedish character to this album, mixed with Middle-Eastern and Asian flavours, so if you enjoy the gloomy and mysterious aspects of Nordic music, or the more laid-back side of Balkan or Arab traditions, Twenty may well suit your tastes.
© Alex Monaghan

Cheyenne Brown & Tory Dugan "Road Soda"
Bird Creek Recordings, 2016

Harp, fiddle and keyboards from an Alaskan duo with celtic roots, this music is just right for a road trip. Familiar, straightforward, pleasant enough with few surprises, Cheyenne's harp and Tory's fiddle stick mostly to the well used highways of the tradition: Carolan tunes, old Scottish and Welsh melodies, with an excursion to Flanders for a bear dance. There are a couple of newer Scottish compositions here too: Farquhar MacDonald's splendid Tongadale Reel, and Fred Morrison's quirky Lochaber Badger, both gently handled at well below the speed limit. Road Soda keeps a steady relaxed pace throughout, with only one tune per track and the faster pieces stretched by extemporised passages on Cheyenne's harp or Tory's keyboard.
The last three tracks are slightly different - a slow traditional Israeli tune Evening of Roses, a sweet simple waltz by Brown called Ali's Tune, and the final air Grey Heron written by Edith Clark. Deft harp and bluesy fiddle work very well on these slower pieces, and provide an interesting contemporary take on the more familiar dance music and airs. The keyboards add a number of different textures, slightly over-used at times in my view, but the level of technical accomplishment on all three instruments is high and this duo's music is very easy on the ear. Tory's fiddle takes a bit of a back seat on several tracks - I'd like to hear more of it in future recordings. Both Cheyenne and Tory have websites worth checking for samples of their music: Google is your friend in this respect if no other.
© Alex Monaghan

Novar "Emerald"
Appel Records, 2016

Another Belgian band based around bagpipes, box and gurdy, playing music which is clearly at the contemporary end of the folk spectrum but still identifiably related to Flemish, French and indeed English traditions. Novar don't have the same fire and freshness as Elanor or Hot Griselda, but they have a persistence and boldness which is appealing. The title track drives on relentlessly, becoming almost hypnotic. Thionne is a stark contrast, dull by comparison, and the attractive waltz Blue Ciel Belge doesn't kindle much excitement. Sharky has more urgency, but it falls away in Bateau. The first time this CD really grabbed my attention was on A Kiss in Berlin, half way through the album already. Some great accordion combines nicely with woodwind and weird percussive effects to make this a truly exciting track.
Backing traditional instruments with mandola, and keyboards, adding saxophone for that brazen edge, there's plenty of scope for inventiveness here, and sometimes it works really well. The musicianship on Emerald is impressive but not startling, although Novar contrive to meld their instruments into a full band sound which is greater than the sum of its parts. The second half of the CD keeps a pretty high standard - the swaggering march down Rue Savaron, the stuck needle carillon of L'Effraie du Clocher, the piping virtuosity of Ostal and the dark menace of the pursuing penguins. Plus de Café could use a caffeine rush, and Nico has a resigned lethargy about its slow cascade of notes, but Les Flamands Roses builds to a satisfying conclusion. I'm not sure I would listen to all of Emerald again, but it certainly has moments of brilliance and there are a few tracks I will definitely come back to.
© Alex Monaghan

Dowally "Dowally"
Own Label, 2016

Fiddle, accordion, whistle, guitar, piano, and ocasional cello, Dowally are a young trio or quartet from Edinburgh whose debut album is something slightly special. Fiddle and guitar pairing Rachel Walker and Dan Abrahams have written all the material here, admittedly only seven tracks, but every one is a winner. With Phil Alexander on keys and Graham Coe moonlighting on cello, the sound is strong and expressive, and it's the raw fiddle line which cuts through, whether on the raunchy Emily's Tune or the pastoral beauty of Cosy House. Tune titles are a strong point too: Wally Pumpkin, Horny Turkish Zebra in Croatia, and The Last Song Ever. Of course it's not really the last song ever, but it's a lovely tune and a sweet end to a CD that's all too short. Do give these guys a listen, one of the big surprises of the year for me. They're doing the rounds of Scottish folk clubs just now, and I hope they get a chance to play on some bigger stages. Their website doesn't give much information, but you can also find them online at BandCamp and YouTube. They seem to be the only Dowally, apart from a village in Perthshire.
© Alex Monaghan

Duo Rivaud Lacouchie "Ordich!"
AEPEM, 2016

Anne Rivaud and Alexandra Lacouchie play French melodeon and fiddle music from the Limousin region, a tradition with much in common with the better known Berrichon and Auvergnat repertoires, but with its own character too, leaning towards the mountains of southern France. Some of that can be seen in the titles: Quò es lo Mairilhier e lo Curet, Barra-La Emb Clau or Los Chaumelhos, old southern French with the pronunciations and spellings of the Pyrenees.
While most of the music here is for dancing - bourrées, scottishes, giates, sautières, mazurkas and waltzes - there are some melodies which clearly have or had words. Quand Je Suis à la Messe Allée and Charmante et Beauté Que J’Adore are presumably two song airs, but played as instrumentals here. Rivaud and Lacouchie do sing a version of the well known Provençale song Digo Janeto which has been recorded in many styles: by Mont Joîa, Les Mezzaluna Tarbes, Les Laids Crétins des Alpes and others. That's their only vocal outburst though, which is a shame because they sing it beautifully.
The fiddle and accordion playing is beautiful too, perhaps a little stark at times, but crisp and skilful. La Champagnac packs a good punch, as do the bourrées Delai lo Rivatel and Lo Merle. There's a lovely polka piquée from the Marche region on the southern edge of modern Limousin, and the giates are a delight, local dances very similar to the bourrées tournantes of Berry, fast and rhythmic in 3/4 time. Duo Rivaud Lacouchie can be gentle and graceful too: Brenne-Valse is almost Parisian in its sophistication and charm, and Dans un Pré is delicate and precise. This CD is definitely worth a listen, even if you are not already a fan of French dance music.
© Alex Monaghan

Eileen Ivers "Beyond the Bog Road"
Own Label, 2016

A New York fiddler with deep Mayo roots, Eileen Ivers is a mistress of many styles and a massive influence on contemporary Irish music. Her recordings over the last three decades have been sparse but splendid, and the latest one is no exception. Ivers celebrates Irish emigration, and immigration to North America, with a range of songs and tunes from the firmly traditional to the downright funky. Her song Walk On combines Cajun and country sounds with the Irish fiddle to describe the journeys from the old world to the new, the pain and the promise, the hope and the hard slog. Kitty's Wedding unites an old Irish hornpipe with the strikingly similar Smith's Delight from the American oldtime repertoire. One of the most intriguing pieces here overlays the Irish song Paddy Works on the Railroad with the Lead Belly classic Linin' Track: two very different complaints about the same hard labour, put together here for what I'm fairly sure is the first time.
Beyond the Bog Road is a lavish production, with fifteen musicians involved. Vocals are supplied by Deirdre Brennan, Niamh Parsons, Tim Shelton and Tommy McDonnell. Cillian Vallely plays uilleann pipes, with the great Joannie Madden on whistles, and Martin "Buddy" Connolly on button box. Eileen Ivers wrote half of the tunes, including two towering slow airs. Crossroads is a fitting tribute to those who lived and died through the Irish famine of the 1840s. The final Coming Home is a more cheerful air, a waltz in the modern folk style, gentle and lilting. In between are the very different songs Farewell My Love and Irish Black Bottom, two contrasting sides of immigration, and some rousing tunes: a medley of Ivers strathspey and reels, inspired by the Cape Breton Scottish diaspora,and a pair of Quebec fiddle tunes from the French Canadian tradition with its mix of European and Native American fiddling. Eileen's playing is superb as ever, embracing these varied styles with easy understanding, and marrying them to her own Mayo heritage. Beyond the Bog Road is a brave attempt to link all the strands of emigration, and to remind us that our ancestors have all been through this process at some point: Ivers pulls it off perfectly.
© Alex Monaghan

The Fretless "Bird's Nest"
Own Label, 2016

A third CD from this Trans-Canadian band Canada playing string band music is a treat indeed, especially as they are still sticking to their winning formula of fiddle family instruments only! Fiddles, violas and cellos - that's it - but the range of music is astonishing. Bird's Nest is mostly the band's own compositions, in various folk fiddle genres from the arctic to the equator. They throw in a few Irish and Scottish reels, and the unattributed Maybe Molly, but the rest comes from the collective imaginations of Sawitsky, Freeman, Hernandez and Wright. Since the album was recorded, Ivonne Hernandez has sadly left the group, but this CD still benefits from her brilliant fiddling and her fabulous tune Jig Jog.
Cellist Eric Wright opens proceedings with his swirling modern reel Alphonzo McKenzie's, groaning bass notes underpinning a skittish melody line, challenging rhythms and dissonances. Trent Freeman's Salkantay fits right in, and his Jig of the Blood Moon strides out confidently over a driving accompaniment before surging into the traditional Kylebrack Rambler. Karrnnell Sawitsky's Rohim Road has that infectious blend of backwoods and bar-room which just makes you want to dance. Hidden View by Wright is a simply lovely evocative piece, smooth fiddle melody with percussive cello and rich harmonies. And so it goes, intense string music without a fret to be seen. More jigs, more reels, and the final dramatic slow air 38 & Gone. Check out the samples of Bird's Nest on line - I don't think you'll be disappointed.
© Alex Monaghan

Nathan Gourley & Joey Abarta "Copley Street"
Own Label, 2016

There seems to be an Irish community which extends from New England through New York and New Jersey down to Maryland and maybe further, and which produces magnificent musicians including fiddlers, accordionists, and many fine pipers. Both Gourley and Abarta were brought up further West, but are now long-time residents of Boston and established members of this Irish music mafia - in a positive helping-hand way, not a hit-man and horse's head way, although I appreciate that fiddle cases feature prominently in both aspects. Nathan is the fiddler, a Minnesota man and veteran of more Irish festivals than you can shake a shillelagh at. Joey is the better dressed of the two, perhaps feeling the cold compared to his California birthplace, preserving the air of a southern gentleman piper.
Two things I find particularly attractive about this album are the American accent which this duo imparts to Irish music, and the intensity of their duets. American musicians have had the benefit or the burden of a relatively isolated existence until recently, and there are many explanations for the differences in repertoire, versions and style, but these differences are perceptible and I believe they also come with a bit more swing than most Irish music, perhaps from exposure to American popular music including jazz and blues. Whatever the reason, there's a refreshing otherness to Copley Street which adds to its appeal. This would not be enough to make it exceptional, but Gourley and Abarta also seem to boost each other's music, in terms of both aesthetics and acoustics: there's a shared understanding, a shared expression, which makes their two instruments sound almost as one, and to my ear there are also shared resonances, a physical kinship between the pipes and fiddle which is not often heard. Joey has a quite florid style, on the chanter as well as the regulators, and somehow Nathan's harmonies and ringing strings seem to intensify the sound, creating a deep earthy rumble behind the flurry of melody notes, similar to the effect achieved by the best oldtime fiddlers.
Jigs and reels, hornpipes, marches, barndances, airs and waltzes sparkle here, mostly with Owen Marshall providing first class accompaniment, on bouzouki I think. Only a few of the tunes here are frequently recorded these days: many have been fished out of old pools of LPs or out-of-print collections, and others come from archive recordings or were passed down in sessions. While their names are familiar, it's great to hear young musicians dusting off the likes of The Glasgow Gaelic Club, Miss Johnstone, The Boys of 25 and The Banks of Newfoundland. This is grand old music powerfully played, a fine testament to the rude health of Irish music in Boston.
© Alex Monaghan

Katie McNally Trio "The Boston States"
Own Label, 2016

From the first cuts and runs on this album, it's clear that we're dealing with a first class Scottish fiddler, and it soon becomes obvious that this lass leans towards the rhythmic style of Cape Breton. Her strathspeys are seriously snappy, her reels are reely rapid, and her pipe jigs are pretty much perfect. Kicking off with Colin Mackintosh by Dan R MacDonald and John Morris Rankin's Black Horse Reel, Katie follows up with Scotty Fitzgerald's as if she were Nova Scotian by blood as well as inclination. But no: Ms McNally is from Boston Mass, so she has to pay for her own healthcare, but she does have the right to bear arms as part of a well regulated militia. And indeed we can see her bare arms on the CD cover, and note that she has become a trio since her 2013 debut solo album Flourish: on one arm she bears viola man Shauncey Ali, and on the other arm she bears pianist Neil Pearlman. I would tell you about the guests, too, and maybe about the meaning of the CD title, but the writing on the sleeve is so small that I had to use my iPhone to magnify the notes on each track so my attention to the footnotes is limited!
After the beautiful slow air or lyrical strathspey Down the Burn Davie Lad, McNally launches into a jagged Neil Gow strathspey with spiky accompaniment from Pearlman, and then her own Batmoreel with bat-cave effects from Ali. Back to sanity for the great John Roy Stewart and the evergreen Kenny Gillies with brilliant guest piping from Finlay MacDonald. The Martlet, a catchy slow reel, opens a whole slew of new tunes by McNally and Pearlman for each other and for close family. The Polliwog and The Claw may not be cleared for international travel, so let's call them White Lives and Trump's Wig for now: those names are appropriately sugary and menacing. Donald John the Tailor is one of several pieces where McNally's fiddle goes all feathery and stratospheric, like she's bowing wisps of cirrus, quite tingly on the spine, with some great accompaniment on keys and viola. The boys get to play a bit on Neil's tune The McNallys of Frances Hill (not the Frances Hill of the Salem witch trials, although that would be quite appropriate too), and The Millers of Newbury really shows off the trio as a tight ensemble. Finally, She's Sweetest When She's Naked - who ends an album with that? - a very attractive traditional Scottish waltz probably written in all innocence, another one to rename, is very strongly played here, providing a graceful finish to this high class recording.
© Alex Monaghan

La Machine "Super Gain"
AEPEM, 2016

A few unusual albums of hurdy-gurdy music have come my way recently - I'm not complaining, it's always interesting to hear something new, whether it's immediately accessible or not - but this one is somehow different from the others. Firstly, it's on a label which is all about tradition, and in fact the music here is traditional, just not played as you'd expect. Secondly, this is the fourth album by La Machine, but it's five years since their last one and I haven't come across them before. And thirdly, despite the first two points, I know these guys! Grégory Jolivet plays with Blowzabella, Julien Barbances plays with Bougnat Sound, and they are both featured on the AEPEM release Mélodies en Sous Sol. Turns out I know some of their teachers too, from Bourges and Vierzon, but that's another story.
Long story short: virtuoso pipes and hurdy-gurdy from central France, turned into reggae, rai, rap, and pretty much anything else they like, with the addition of bass, drums, and powerful vocals from Barbances. Half a dozen traditional songs are interspersed with thoroughly modern melodies, creating sounds which are at once ethereal and visceral, tantalizing;y familiar and totally alien. If this appeals to you - and I think it will - do check out their previous three albums at www.lamachine.info and see if you agree with me that Super Gain is actually less weird than their older stuff.
It's still pretty weird, though. Dessus le Pont de Bayonne as a Bob Marley tribute, Mazurka des Loups straight out of a Marakesh marketplace, Vive l'Amour arranged for church choir and harmonium, and the final Fontfrin like one of the medieval dances from Le Retour de Martin Guerre - this music has travelled since it was plucked from the banks of the Cher and the Yèvre, and not always first class. La Machine is all about the groove, the beat, the melding and dissolving of virtuosity into a collective sound, losing yourself in the music, and then getting the shock of your life when the next piece kicks in!
© Alex Monaghan

Maxence Camelin "Quand la Craba Crabidarà"
AEPEM, 2016

A remarkable collection of dance music and songs for dancing, based on the music of the craba or bodega, the large mountain bagpipe of the Montagne Noire area between Toulouse and Béziers in the Languedoc region of France. This region's name comes from its particular local language - Occitan - a language previously spoken from Provence to Spain and now being revived with some degree of success. Camelin is joined by other pipers and singers here for a mix of two parts instrumental music to one part vocals - songs for dancing, dances for singing, and regular run-of-the-mill songs. The instrumentals also feature saxophone, harmonica, percussion, flute, jaw harp, kazoo, and numerous vocal effects provided either by the musicians or by the local wildlife.
As elsewhere, much of the Occitan language is bound up with the local music, in songs and tunes, and many of these are found across France but with different titles and lyrics, and with fewer sound-effects. Le Rossignol Dans la Fôret here, for instance, has a young man speaking French to a shepherdess who replies in Occitan. It's not clear whether the poor fellow understands her responses, but in any case he does not get his way. The suite of mazurkas, or Seguida de Masurcàs, opens with a well known melody which is named here as Arrestatz que Beurem un Còp but goes by other names in the Auvergne, Berry and Limousin regions. La Bufatièra is a dance where the music is sung, again in Occitan, a mix of sense and nonsense words as in Gaelic puirt-à-beul. It's followed by a selection of five waltzes, charming pastoral airs on the craba and baritone sax, and then a pair of song melodies which could pass for 4/4 bourrées at a pinch, joined to the universal Complainte du Juif Errant.
Love songs, polkas, farandoles, comic songs of old men and young brides, in Occitan and French and sometimes both, all expertly recorded but with the sounds of farm and field in the background: Quand la Craba Crabidarà is a unique glimpse into the truly rustic traditions of what is still quite a remote area, despite being surrounded by tourists and airports nowadays. Although the melodies are mostly simple, the arrangements are lively and imaginative, making this a very entertaining CD. There are also detailed and informative notes, in French, covering the music, the sources, the musicians, the instruments, the regions, and the culture of the Montagne Noire area. If that all sounds exhausting, you may need the pretty Occitan lullaby which ends this collection, only the second bagpipe lullaby I have heard: Son Som Som, Vèni Vèni Vèni.
© Alex Monaghan

The Shee "Continuum"
Own label, 2016

See what they've done here? The Shee have gone back along the timeline of folk music to their heroes of previous generations - some nearly as old as me - and drawn new water from those deep wells to irrigate their own music, joining the old and new into a seamless flow, a continuum of styles and sounds. For Continuum this all-girl group based out of southern Scotland has commissioned works from Andy Cutting, Brian Finnegan, Martin Simpson and Chris Wood, as well as borderland divas Kathryn Tickell and Karine Polwart, to supplement their own mixture of new and traditional material. Fiddle, flute, harp, accordion, mandolin and strong vocals combine to produce a broad but consistent folky sound on this recording.
Whether by accident or design, Continuum is more downbeat than the three previous albums from The Shee. The five vocal tracks here are menacing, miserable, maudlin by turns: dark music, even when the sentiments are optimistic. Some of the instrumentals are equally sinister, especially the old modal Northumbrian sound of Tickell's Ower late for the Lasses and wintry Scandinavian Sheepolska. Jauntier pieces do brighten the mood occasionally: Don't Work Too Hard and The Soaring Seas are both lively tunes to get your feet dancing, and even The Vampire Rabbit of Newcastle is more Billy Elliot than Bram Stoker. Add to this the new and varied feel of Andy Cutting's Lady Grey, the Martin Simpson waltz Jasper's, Chris Wood's Cradle Song melody or Brian Finnegan's re-imagining of The Birds of Salim Ali, and Continuum stands as a fine example of British folk and a fitting marker of The Shee's first decade together.
© Alex Monaghan

Xabi Aburruzaga "KeltiK"
Own Label, 2016

A wonderfully joyous and energetic album, KeltiK is based around the Basque button accordion or trikitixa, but attempts to pull the extended celtic family into one coherent sound. By and large it succeeds, combining Gaelic song, Irish fiddle, Galician pipes and much more with the powerful rhythms of Basque music. Familiar names from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Spain, and other places join Aburruzaga here, as well as some great Basque musicians, perhaps the most well known being the txalaparta ensemble Oreka TX. There are too many names to list, but just the last track will give you an idea of the calibre on this CD: the closing anthem Laster Arte features Ed Boyd, Joaquín Garcia, Brian Finnegan, Alasdair Fraser, Natalie Haas, Ross Ainslie and Gus Sicard.
Uniting celtic music, and particularly putting the humble Basque button box at the heart of it, may seem a mammoth task for any musician, let alone one you've probably never heard of before (I hadn't). However, this is at least Aburruzaga's fourth album, and he has a lot of friends. There are well over a dozen internationally renowned folk musicians on KeltiK, and many more Basque and Spanish names which I probably should recognise. I've rarely heard such a full sound, and the trikitixa really does hold it all together. Xabi plays various different boxes, but all have the same diatonic push-pull configuration with rows arranged in fourths, unlike the Irish chromatic design. Despite these limitations, Basque players are as fast and flamboyant as anyone else in the world, and this is clearly demonstrated on pieces like Ortigueiran and the opening Maestro Zubeldia dedicated to Xabi's teacher.
Lilly's Reel is another favourite for me, the introduction highlighting the push-pull technique required by this simple but powerful instrument, before the trikitixa is joined by Dave Munnelly, Rua MacMillan, John Joe Kelly and others - think Sharon Shannon with the gloves off, or Shona Kipling with the gloves on! These guys can also do soft and slow, of course - Scottish Connection and Izaro both show the sensitive side of Basque music - but most tracks end up in a storm of notes, an irresistible dance beat, and sometimes screaming. Almost all the music here was written by Xabi Aburruzaga, and it's good stuff - jigs, fandangos, waltzes, reels, and three songs. Tutti has words in seven languages - none of them Spanish - sung by Ellen MacDonald, Niamh Ní Charra, Xabier Díaz, Héctor Braga, Morwenn Le Normand, Aitor Antruejo, Ana Mayandia and Xabi himself, about the joy of music and song, and the relative unimportance of money. This recording must have cost a fortune to make, though, unless Aburruzaga simply kidnapped every musician touring in the Basque country and relied on Stockholm Syndrome to get the tracks down. There is a nyckelharpa kicking around on Arku-Chantada - coincidence? In any case, as long as it was produced legally, I love KeltiK and it's going on my 2016 Top Ten for sure.
© Alex Monaghan

Garizim "See the Birds are Coming"
Gammalthea, 2015

Saxophones, hurdy-gurdy and double bass, with a little bit of guest violin: this is not what you might expect from a Swedish folk group, and in fact this is one of the most unexpected albums I have come across in 2016, but it's also one of my favourites. Garizim produce a wide range of refreshing music, most of it broadly folk, but spanning Spanish, Scandinavian and Semitic (Arab, Jewish, and North African) cultures. Elias Frigård's saxophone provides a strong melody line, with the rhythm coming from the persistent buzz of Johannes Geworkian Hellman's hurdy-gurdy, while Jordi Carrasco Hjelm underpins the mix with bowed and plucked bass notes. There are a couple of traditional pieces here, but See the Birds are Coming is largely written by the trio, individually or collectively.
Starting with Hellman's Song for Valentin, there's a considered pace to Garizim's music which masks the technical brilliance of all three players. Hellman's dexterity with legato and staccato notes, Frigård's high-register improvisation, and Hjelm's subtle bass line build into a towering wall of sound, a wave rushing to break over you, then dissipating in the shallows. The traditional Umoja takes a similar approach with the melody from the Irish polka known as Britches full of Stitches, an idea I might just steal. The title track and Tuesday Tune are more modern, more lavishly arranged and produced, swinging from jazz to electronica around a folk/acoustic core. Calling Out evokes the Balkans, Turkey, maybe even further eastwards, while Heading South is more Moorish, southern Spain and beyond. Polska brings us right back to Scandinavia, a great patchwork of tunes knitted together, combining the kleinbürgerlich brass band sound with the rural fiddle and dance traditions of Sweden. There's even a snatch of The Humours of Tulla in there. Hjelm's Home Again ends this recording on a deep, grinding, satisfying note which is like the roar of the sea, the blare of a ship's siren, or the creak of timbers as your boat comes to rest against the jetty. Close your eyes and see what Garizim conjures for you.
© Alex Monaghan

Jenny Gustafsson & Hans Kennemark "Månsing"
Own Label, 2016

Fiddle music from Västergötland, or Westrogothia, or West Gothland - a Swedish province which fans out eastwards from Gothenburg to southern Sweden's large central lake, the aptly named Vättern: this is polska country, and there are some prime examples here. Gustafsson and Kennemark take the rough with the smooth, embracing both the old modal style of rural fiddlers and the more classical-influenced music of more cosmopolitan players. The opening Tröskverket polska is a powerful dance tune named for the hard manual work and subsequent social gatherings of the threshing season. In great style for dancing, the duo follow this with the delightful airy Ornungavals from a small community some forty miles east of Gothenburg. Polskas and waltzes, a few other dances like the delicious dark Bleking efter Carl Aron Hakberg and the stately Millevitt efter Blåsarn i Bragnum which is similar to the drinking song Gaudeamus Igitur, lead us finally to Nicklassons Brudmarsch, a charming end to a great hour of music.
The album title Månsing seems to refer to the secret - or at least little-known - dialect of the West Gothland traders who would come into the city to sell their goods. Here it describes the well-kept secrets of their folk music and dance, plenty of great melodies and probably some fine steps too. My Swedish is not up to the job of translating the detailed sleevenotes - they might even be written in Månsing - but I can tell you these are all old regional tunes, mainly from the 19th century or earlier, passed down from musician to musician, or entrusted to manuscript books. Two dozen tunes, roughly one per track, are expertly played on two fiddles, with strong harmonies and variations. Polska efter Axel Hakberg, Astorvalser, Urmakarpolska, the fragile Polska efter Anna Brita and the ominous Hungerhult: there are too many good tunes to list here. Complex rhythms, virtuoso technique, and beautiful melodies combine to make this a most rewarding CD. The accompanying booklet has some wonderful photographs as well as three or four pages of Swedish notes. Drop Hans a line at hans.kennemark@telia.com for more information.
© Alex Monaghan

The Western Flyers "Wild Blue Yonder"
Own Label, 2016

Music from Texas: Wild Blue Yonder is fast, frothy and fun. Most of this album consists of well known songs from somewhere between oldtime and jazz, a blend of Texan country and Western Swing. Along the Navajo Trail is taken from Roy Rogers, and I'll See You in my Dreams was recorded by Bob Wills himself. There are also influences from Willie Nelson, Old Fashioned Love from Haggard (Merle apparently, not H Rider), and even a Frank Sinatra number I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter. Joey McKenzie sings and plays guitar in a smooth confident style, and is backed up by Gavin Kelso on upright bass and Katie Glassman on fiddle. The song arrangements are very polished and entertaining.
On the instrumental side, Glassman shines on four tracks: Carroll County Blues from Mississippi via Doc Watson, The Wild Dog which I think is based on a showpiece by swing fiddler Joe Venuti, a medley of old Texas fiddle reels, and a great version of Sweet Georgia Brown. Katie is the current US swing fiddle champion, so despite Joey's numerous past fiddle championship wins he leaves the scraping to her. She doesn't return the favour though, stealing the lead on no fewer than three vocal numbers, including the Patsy Cline classic Never No More, and duetting with McKenzie on the obligatory Tennessee Waltz. The Western Flyers don't quite have the flair and frisson of the Hot Club of Cowtown at their best, but they come pretty close at times.
© Alex Monaghan

Whalebone "Mirabilia"
Own Label, 2016

Of course it's tempting to make puns and use metaphors that relate this music to whaling, scrimshaw, and even women's undergarments, but there would be little purpose: despite the long tradition of whale-related songs and tunes, this music seems to have nothing to do with cetaceans at all. Whalebone is an English mainly-acoustic instrumental folk trio of modest scope but prolific output, and this is their sixth album in ten years. I say English, because although Whalebone is based close to the border with Wales I don't detect any strong Welsh influence. There is Americana, Balkan, and a little bit of Irish - the odd slip-jig for instance - but mostly Mirabilia seems to come from Albion's heartland.
All the material here is the band's own, with strong traditional roots in some cases, hints of old reels or song airs, but each track is carefully crafted by Whalebone from the skeleton of the tradition, using simple tools: guitars, fiddles, more guitars, some percussion and a bit of bouzouki and mandolin. There's no mention of ebows or cappos or anything else fancy, although I suspect there is a lot of double-tracking to boost the trio sound. The quality of compositions and musicianship is uneven, but there are enough high points to prove that this band's longevity is no fluke.
With two guitarists, it's hard to know who is playing what, and there's some lovely guitar artistry on several tracks. Momentum features bluesy note-bending and gentle finger-picked cascades, while Bedrock mixes acoustic guitar harmonies with electric solos. Whalebone don't make a habit of electrics, but they are used on two or three tracks. Sarah Ibberson's fiddle bow heads the posse on Butterfly and the slower Echoes. Much of Mirabilia is relaxing, almost easy listening: the punchier tracks include Thynge, Mouse 16 with Charlotte Watson's bouzouki, and the positively peculiar Holding Aces featuring Steve Downs on slide mandolin. Check out their previous releases on the website too.
© Alex Monaghan

Goodland Trio "Skogen i Staden"
Gammalthea, 2014

A trio, surprisingly, of saxophone, accordion and guitar - more suited to jazz you might think - this band is based around Gothenburg and plays music mainly based on the Swedish fiddle tradition. The members do have backgrounds in jazz and world music as well as folk, but their aim is to stay within the Nordic idiom, and this CD certainly sounds Scandinavian enough. The stately Fanfar, the more dance-based Falun, and the gentle Leahs Vaggvisevals are typical of this group's music, with Hanna Wiskari Griffiths and Jonathan Larsson interweaving their soprano sax and piano box melodies, while Oskar Reuter provides rhythm and rises to take the melody line occasionally on guitar, mandola and mandolin. There are guest fiddles and percussion on a few tracks, and French Canadian fiddler Pascal Gemme provides melody and foot-stomping for Kanadensarn which is probably the liveliest track here. All the music was written by the trio members, largely in traditional style, although Stugan and På Väg Hem stretch the Swedish envelope somewhat. The opening Glasögonpolskan is a catchy tune despite its twists and turns. Skägget seems like an old backwoods tune, crooked and modal, but actually describes the anxious weeks of waiting to get just the right length of hipster beard. Sids Polska is absolutely beautiful, slow and sweet, written for an unborn child. The Goodland Trio finish with the title piece, a flowing, almost formless swagger, a celebration of life. Skogen i Staden - bringing the forest into the town - is a fascinating mix of musical influences and textures.
© Alex Monaghan

Gubbaduon "Quintonius"
Gammalthea, 2015

A selection of Swedish dance music on melodeons and fiddles, in twenty-seven short bursts of two minutes each, a little shorter than the real dances but this allows Gubbaduon to pack a lot of tunes into one CD. Veteran fiddler and one-row melodeonist Mats Edén is joined by two-row player Sven Ljungberg with occasional cello from Leo Sanders.
Many of these tunes have crept into the Danish and English repertoire too: Polka från Manskog efter Oskar Andersson, Den Vanliga, the nightingale waltz and the opening Rejländer från Toten efter Oskar Andersson for instance. The fiddler Oskar Andersson from Mangskog in western central Sweden, not far from the Norwegian border, is the source of most of the tunes here. He liked old and knobbly pieces with plenty of room for expression, and that's how Gubbaduon play them: this is rustic, personal, ephemeral music, not the smooth polished performance of many Swedish master musicians. The tunes are not virtuoso pieces either: there are relatively few complex polskas, more polkas and waltzes and rejländers. Oskar Andersson was born in 1898, and much of his music comes from around that time or earlier. He died in 1986, but not before passing his legacy to Mats Edén and others.
Despite the rough and ready feel of Quintonius, the music here is highly enjoyable, catchy and cheerful for the most part. Norska Bonnvalsen, Eva i Paradis, Polska efter Verner Persson (another one which will be familiar to English musicians), the jerky rhythm of Strejkleken, the biting fiddle bow on Krokodilvalsen: there's plenty to get your teeth into on this CD, as a musician, a dancer, or just a listener. Gubbaduon have included notes on all the tunes in English and Swedish, and some great photos too!
© Alex Monaghan

Arum "Arum"
Own Label, 2016

Alan Reid on banjo, Conor Crimmins on flute, Karen Hickey's fiddle and Martin Barry's guitar make up this exciting, energetic group who are writing new Irish music and adding influences from the world of sounds available to today's traditional musicians. Reels, jigs and polkas, and some other things less easily classified: the band has composed eight instrumental tracks on their first album, and borrowed a song. The notes are sparse and cryptic, but Arum's music speaks for itself.
There are many comparisons which could be made, from Bongshang to Buille, Moxie to Martin Green, but the truth is Arum have their own character. Every note is plucked, bowed, blown or sung: there's relatively little technomancy here, despite the avant garde sound which Pádraig Rynne and Sylvain Barou have achieved in the studio. From Reid's slow reel The Flang to Hickey's quirky Pumphouse quasi-polka, it's all done the old-fashioned way, by writing good tunes and getting great musicians to play them. There's a refreshing honesty here too: the middle track Harbinger is described in Pythonesque terms as "a broody slow centre piece that paves the way for the rest of the record". In other words, they needed a few minutes to catch their breath, so they put this slow piece in there. It does the job, and lifts the mood nicely after the song.
Ah yes, that song. I can understand why this grabbed Arum's attention - it's a great story, a wonderful title, and an attractive tune. The lyrics are a bit untidy, muddying the storyline in places, but the first few verses are very compelling. The vocal delivery isn't maintained though, and just as the theme flags the singing also starts to struggle. With a bit of tweaking, and a stronger singer, Brightest Sky Blue would be a stand-out winner: I'm sure it will feature on a few albums in the near future.
On to the second half of the record, then: polkas, reels, quark, strangeness, and more polkas. The Kestrel and Keeper of the Treasure are both punchy polkas which fit right into the Sliabh Luachra vibe, so much so that it wouldn't surprise me to hear Jackie Daly playing them. Beechwood Bound and The Drumderg are probably already on the session scene's radar, catchy reels with flowing flute and Bren-gun banjo. Acoustic Dance is one of the stranger tracks here, slip-jig fragments interspersed with space-invader effects on fiddle and flute. The monster final Geo Sound medley actually contains far more than polkas: it's a mini-suite, with pauses and fillers, and someone should probably write a play that uses it as incidental music. If this hugely enjoyable debut recording is any indication, Arum are a band to watch.
© Alex Monaghan

Benoît Schryer-Lefebvre "Kaleidoscope"
Own Label, 2016

Yet another young Canadian fiddler with musical roots, Benoît is nephew to Pierre Schryer and has long been part of the Ontario fiddle community. On this debut recording he also plays viola, mandolin, guitar, tenor banjo, and he even sings and stomps a bit. As if that wasn't enough, Benoît is joined by nine other musicians, mostly from his extended family (it's cheaper that way of course), on pianos, guitars, second fiddle, jaw harp, didge, flute, whistle, and backing vocals. The humble tin whistle doesn't get much air time on Canadian albums, so I'm particularly pleased to see Eli Howard introducing it. About half the material here was composed by Benoît and friends, with the rest coming from North American and Irish traditions, plus modern composers such as Brian Finnegan, Liz Carroll, Colin Farrell, Shane Cook, and the very popular work of guitarist Brian Pickell. Benoît gets stuck in with Butter Tart Special, apparently noting his obsession with a certain dairy spread: how far this obsession goes is unclear, but I'm reminded of the cautionary tale from Orkney, Butter on the Bow.
The popularity of Mr Pickell's fne tunes is no surprise once you've heard Kimberley's Smile and Benoît's Pool played here: there ought to be a name for this type of jaunty jiving reel, and Pickell has written a bunch of them. Maybe they are turlutes in the Quebec style. In any case, Benoît follows them with no fewer than four tunes of his own: the more serious reel Rebecca Lessard, the duo of Mary Schneider's Waltz and Steve Schneider's Reel commissioned by each for the other and tailor-made by Schryer-Lefebvre, and lastly his Cabin Waltz - home sweet home on fingerpicked guitar. My vote goes to Mary, but they're all perfectly good tunes.
Benoît's contra band Lady's Chain step up for a most un-contra-like track, Eli Howard and Colin Savoie-Lavac giving it laldy on three modern tunes with Irish connections, jigs and reels, stops and starts, great stuff, while Benoît fiddles and works his feet. The Irish thread continues through the well-known Tom Bhetty's Waltz on tenor banjo and what sounds like a virtual sackbutt, into a couple of popular session reels, and in fact almost as far as Liz Carroll's great tune Potato on the Door. Patrick O'Gorman's charming air Daughter's Return is worth a wee mention in passing. The uplifting oldtime ballad I Truly Understand showcases growly vocals on a song where the best you can say is nobody dies, but it's a great vehicle for maudlin fiddle harmonies. Two more Schryer-Lefebvre pieces, the first in that crossover country between the Liffey and the St Lawrence rivers, the second more firmly on Canadian soil, and a fine flute reel by Patrick O'Gorman, exhaust the guest musicians on Kaleidoscope. As a final flourish, Benoît plays an unaccompanied solo in a grain silo, complete with Harrison Ford hat: he chooses Caoimhín Ó Raighallaigh's resonant What What What for his first class debut's final showpiece. Did I say final? There's an extra little Easter surprise at the end too!
© Alex Monaghan

Shane Cook & Jake Charron "Head to Head"
Own Label, 2015

Canadians again! Not as irritatingly young as usual, but boy are these two talented. Shane has won I don't know how many fiddle competitions in Canada and beyond, and also step-dances. Jake is a master of guitar and piano accompaniment, that role reserved for the relatively few Canadians who it seems can't quite handle a bow. Together they produce a fantastically full sound, funky and folksy, with both fun and finesse from their flexible fiddle and fast-fingered fretboard.
Enough with the F words already! Head to Head is packed with tunes from several traditions: Shane's native Ontario, the Scottish-influenced music of Cape Breton Island, a blast or two of Irish tunes from recent prolific composer such as Liz Carroll and Ed Reavy as well as traditional gems, and of course several Stateside standards which crossed before they built Trump's Wall to keep the North Mexicans out. All are handled with skill and aplomb, and a level of showmanshi which comes from a career on the competition scene.
Fast tunes abound: The Old Maid of Galway, Whitefish in the Rapids, Ciaran Tourish's Reel, Wheel Hoss, Maudabawn Chapel, Snowflake Breakdown, The Drunken Landlady, Sir Wilfrid Laurier. There are great compositions by Jerry Holland and Brian Pickell, and several by Shane Cook: I particularly like his reel Sump Pump, the supremely graceful Waltz for Jillian, and the stellar Space Fiddlers Polka. Jake has written a tune or three as well, and this CD finishes with a charming piano air Memory Box which shows all the sensitivity so often masked by fiery fiddle front-lines. Back to F there briefly, although the tune is actually in D, unlike my two favourites on Head to Head: the delightful slip-jig Liam Childs is beautfully played on piano and fiddle in G major, while the growling low-down dirty blues showpiece Pierre's Right Arm seems to be in C# minor, maybe with a non-standard fiddle tuning! It's worth the pain though, for a fabulous tune and a true champion performance as the highlight of this excellent album.
© Alex Monaghan

Michael Cleveland "Fiddler's Dream"
Compass Records, 2016

It's hard nowadays for an instrumental musician to release a solo album on a major label. Even in our broad niche of folk music, the number of instrumental albums on labels such as Topic, Greentrax, Sugar Hill, Tara, and even Compass, has dwindled dramatically. It seems you have to be a singer to sell albums, despite the longevity of sales of musicians from Michael Coleman to Jimmy Shand. If you don't have difficulty lifting your gaze above your own navel, and at least a semblance of a beard - or in the case of the ladies no beard at all, which rules out many of the best oldtime musicians - most commercial labels won't invest in you. Well Michael Cleveland has none of those things - he's clean-shaven, probably doesn't think about his navel much, and just happens to be a phenomenal fiddler in bluegrass and other styles - but I don't reckon Compass needs to worry about their investment. This CD should sell like hot cakes, and indeed that's a great simile: it's round, it's tasty, it's certainly hot, and it leaves you wanting more of the same.
This is Michael's third solo album - the previous two were in 2002 and 2006, on a label more like a ball than a compass - and he's been busy with his band Flamekeeper and with several other projects recently. Fiddler's Dream brings together various friends and collaborators, some of whom I recognise: Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Vince Gill and Andy Statman for instance, all icons of American folk music. Starting with the bluegrass virtuoso title track, with full backing line-up of banjo, mandolin, two guitars and bass, Cleveland doesn't even change gear as he heads into his own Henryville breakdown which I would characterise as more country fiddle than bluegrass. Blues next, and Grappelli fiddle behind Bush's vocals, followed by twin fiddling with Jason Carter on the Bill Monroe tune Tall Timber at chainsaw speeds. Very impressive, but I prefer the slow but no less stunning performance on mandolin and fiddle on another Michael Cleveland original, Blues for Bill, with a naughty dobro solo by Jerry Douglas too.
Things slow right down for Where is Your Heart Tonight, a most peculiar song about organ harvesting with some very fine fiddle breaks, and then it's back to Michael's native Indiana style for Sunday Drive. I'm reminded of those cheery Loyal Dawson songs on Unwanted Love, virtuoso bluegrass bowing between the vocal harmonies, with some great guitar and banjo picking too. Cleveland's next tune conjures up the anguish of an abandoned cheesecake, or the lack of consideration shown to a trifle, in one of those poignant diner scenes from old movies. Then it's a race to the finish, with the great barn-raising tune Earl Park, followed by the burning hot Northeast Seaboard Blues, before Statman's Klezmer-tinged Nashville Storms. And breathe, after this whistle-stop tour of fiddle virtuosity from a fiddler who's won almost everything and is just hitting his stride at the age of thirty-six. We can look forward to a lot more great music from Michael Cleveland, and a truckload of album sales too!
© Alex Monaghan

Dougie MacDougall & Friends "At the End of a Perfect Day"
Brechin All Records, 2016

This is a remarkable collection of Scottish dance music and airs from a master of the 3-row push-pull chromatic button accordion. Dougie MacDougall of Alturlie has been at the heart of the Inverness music scene for as long as most folk can remember, and his style is very typical of that city: as much Gaelic as East Coast, with a large dose of pipe music, and always with a ceilidh in mind. It's almost irrelevant that Dougie is making his recording debut at eighty-seven years old: his music certainly doesn't seem to have suffered much with age. I'm reminded of that great album Jimmy Shand - The First 60 Years which I saw in Virgin Records in Edinburgh many moons ago. Well, MacDougall is a very different player from Shand - comparisons with Sandy Coghill or Will Starr are more appropriate, or perhaps with Bill Black. Dougie's early years in Argyll show through at times, but his playing is centred further east than Fergie MacDonald's or Iain MacLachlan's, although he's borrowed tunes from both of them here. Crisp pipe marches, soulful Gaelic waltzes, driving jigs and reels: this is music from the heart of ceilidh culture, very well played, a great selection of old favourites plus a few of Dougie's own tunes.
Pipe band standards Ballochyle and The 93rd at Modder River, Fergie reels and jigs The Silver Walk and Ness Bothan, Hebridean classics Tuireadh Iain Ruaidh and Mo Mhathair: Dougie MacDougall's playing is fresh and expressive, great for dancing or listening. He's joined by well over a dozen friends and family on accordions, fiddles, whistles, drums and more. He also plays electronic pipes on one track. There are some challenging pieces here, but despite his years this man gives them all his best shot: Mrs MacPherson of Inveran, The Brolum, Kenny Gillies of Portnalong, Pipe Major Jim Christie of Wick, and not least Freeland Barbour's dedication Dougie MacDougall of Alturlie, a fine 2/4 march. There's a good balance of fast and slow pieces, a nice variety of textures with some tracks almost pure accordion and others fiddle-led or flute-topped. Dougie's own compositions are mainly waltzes: the lovely Petty Bay and a trio of tunes for friends and family, with the march Jimmy the Joiner completing the set here. There are a couple of delightful Phil Cunningham creations, and brief forays as far afield as Shetland and Ireland, but most of this CD is well established material from the Scottish accordion repertoire, back when it was all fields around Alturlie. Of course, it still is pretty much, with the Moray Firth to the north. At the End of a Perfect Day finishes with one of my absolute favourite Gaelic airs, An Aitearachd Ard, a perfect end indeed.
© Alex Monaghan

Adam Sutherland & Hamish Napier "Nae Plans Volume 2"
Own Label, 2016

Subtitled "Live from the 1st Planned Scottish Tour", this is a follow-up to Hamish and Adam's hugely successful studio album and sell-out concerts in 2013. The duo decided to take this simple formula on tour: turn up at a venue in some far-flung corner of Scotland, no preparation or rehearsal to worry about, and just see what happens. Musicians have been doing this for centuries, of course, but very few of them have had the guts and the ability to record the results, and as far as I know nobody else has ever released a CD on this basis. Surprisingly, or not given the calibre of Sutherland and Napier's music, the products of this Nae Plans approach continue to be pretty good.
Volume 2 presents the pair in Wick, Orkney, Mull, Meigle, Loch Ness, Strathspey, and Ullapool, some of which are a considerable walk from the nearest whisky still. Adam's fiddle is supplemented by Hamish's piano, flute and vocals - quite a lot of vocals actually, more than half the album, from The Auchengeich Disaster to Lord Won't You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz. Napier copes with country, gospel, folk, and guid auld shortbread Scots. I particularly like the bothy version of Alexander's Threshing Mill, family entertainment at its most basic.
On the instrumental side, there's a great set of Gordon Duncan classics, a nice slow unidentified flute opus (UFO for short), a couple of well-known slip-jigs with honky-tonk piano and a twist in the tail, and two sets of surreal highland tunes set to the sound of the siren on the Cal Mac ferry doors. Sutherland plays a fine country fiddle, saws through swamp and swing, and picks a convincing piano solo to finish. Long on surprises, short on disappointments, definitely a unique experience (I hope), Nae Plans Volume 2 is all this and more, with an attractive monochrome cover design that is subtly different from Nae Plans Volume 1. Give it a listen online.
© Alex Monaghan

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