The exotically-titled Metagama Ensemble take their name from the SS Metagama, a ship whose voyage across the Atlantic in the 1920s, marked the beginning of a mass emigration scheme from the Hebrides to Canada.
The Metagama Ensemble explain the aim of Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey as follows:
“Movingly commemorating and celebrating the lives of the young emigrants, from the heartache of homesickness and separation, the emotional poignancy of tragedy and loss, to the lively fun of cèilidh tunes on the dance floors of North America, this album gives voice to the experiences of those who left and those who were left behind, telling the story of an important but little-known period in Hebridean history, the devastating impact of which is still felt in the islands today.”
Originally conceived as a live show, Atlantic Odyssey began life as a Creative Scotland-supported tour of the Highlands and Islands in 2023. Since then, the Metagama Ensemble project has grown exponentially. Interest in the project and the stories around the mass emigration, has been widespread, with capacity audiences throughout the tour, followed by a sell-out show at Celtic Connections in 2024.
Countless requests for a recording of the concert prompted the Ensemble to release an album. It was recorded in Black Bay Studio on Great Bernera and in The Wee Studio on the Isle of Lewis, while also including several live tracks from Celtic Connections and Eden Court Theatre.
Across thirty-six tracks, a mixture of traditional Gaelic songs, brand-new songs performed by the ensemble in English, original instrumental pieces and spoken-word segments, the album features writer and poet, Donald S Murray; pianist/singer-songwriter, Liza Mulholland; Gaelic actor and 7:84 Theatre Company co-founding performer, Dolina MacLennan; Gaelic singer and piper, Calum Alex Macmillan; fiddler, Charlie Mackerron; singer-songwriter, Willie Campbell; and cellist Christine Hanson.
Poignantly commemorating the lives of the Hebridean migrants and of those left behind, Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey is a gripping collection of beautifully-performed music and compelling storytelling.
Two Boats Under the Moon is the solo song debut of Scottish musician and musical instrument inventor and builder, Donald WG Lindsay.
Writing in the accompanying album notes, the Scottish folk musician Alasdair Roberts observes:
“Donald WG Lindsay is rightly renowned as a piper of considerable skill, and many will be aware of his innovative work as the inventor of the novel extended-range chanter system which bears his name. However what many piping aficionados (as well as more general listeners) might not know is that he is also a very fine singer, guitarist and writer of songs.”
“It might seem confounding that it’s taken Donald until now, in his late forties, to release his first full-length album of songs (following the 2003 Album of pipe tunes To the Drum of the Sea). But he’s a careful, patient man; one surmises that he’s been quietly and diligently serving out a very thorough apprenticeship, emerging when he feels the time is right as a fully-formed master craftsman. And, as if making up for lost time, he’s generously bestowed upon the world a long-awaited double album, spanning some ninety-one minutes over fourteen tracks.”
Two Boats Under the Moon is a two-disc collection of 14 live-in-the-studio recordings, made during December 2024 at Watercolour Music in Ardgour, in the Scottish Highlands.Lindsay sings, plays guitar, and plays on his own Lindsay System Scottish smallpipes. Roo Geddes plays fiddle, and on three numbers, piano.
The first disc is themed as a disc of original songs, including ‘Casuarina’ inspired by the casuarina trees Lindsay encountered during his three-year stay on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. They are also known as the whistling tree, after the distinctive shushing or whispering sound made by its pines when even a light breeze blows through them. The title track ‘Two Boats Under the Moon‘ is another song Lindsay wrote during his stay on Ascension Island. This first disc also includes a setting of a Scots poem by Vale of Leven poet Hugh Caldwell to an original tune he wrote a few years ago, and a rendition of a little-sung number by Allan Ramsay ‘An Thou Were My Ain Thing’.
The second disc is themed as a disc of traditional, mainly Scots, songs from a variety of sources and directions. These are songs that have held their seat in Lindsay’s repertoire for many years – in most cases for many decades. This second disc also includes two instrumental sets, pairing Roo’s fiddle with Donald’s Bb Lindsay System Scottish smallpipes.
Released back in May, the album has received numerous plaudits from reviewers as well as attracting warm reactions from fellow musicians as diverse as singer-songwriter, Tom Brosseau; piper and composer, Matthew Welch; and rock and roll legend, Iggy Pop.
With a voice rich in character, poignant songwriting and inspired interpretations of traditional material, Donald WG Lindsay’s Two Boats Under The Moon is a delightful album with beautifully-evocative musical accompaniment.
Travelling North is the debut album from this Edinburgh-based folk trio. Curmudgeon is made up of Donald Gorman, Laurie Brett, Donald Gorman and Andrew Macintyre
Donald Gorman is a highly rated Edinburgh-based fiddle player specialising in traditional Scottish music. He also plays mandola and adds accompanying vocals on the album.
Laurie Brett, meanwhile, is the band’s lead singer and guitarist and although originally from Essex, he’s spent the last four decades based in Scotland.
The third member of the trio, Andrew Macintyre, is a familiar figure on the Edinburgh folk session scene and a teacher of small pipes and highland pipes. In the band he plays Scottish small pipes and various whistles as well as providing vocals.
Photo: Caitlynn Neil
The ten-track album features five songs interspersed with five tune-sets. The songs are drawn from the trad. arr. canon with a couple of contemporary folk-scene favourites thrown in, including a reworking of the Richard Thompson classic ‘Beeswing’. Meanwhile the tune-sets feature a charming array of traditional jigs, airs, reels and hornpipes originating from Scotland and the north of England.
There’s a quiet, gentle dignity about the trio’s music but no shortage of creativity. The arrangements are built around the wonderful musical interplay between the three musicians. The warm, engaging vocals of both Brett and Macintyre bring empathy and sincerity to the storytelling in each of the songs and informative liner-notes provide insightful background information on the origins of each of the compositions.
Regardless of the name, it’s clear the trio have been anything but curmudgeonly in the way they’ve approached the making of Travelling North. A lovely debut.
Growing up in Glasgow, Frances Morton is a much celebrated flute-player with familial roots in both Scotland and Ireland. Learning piano at a young age, she later took up whistle and flute, winning several All-Ireland medals and becoming immersed in the session scenes in both Scotland and Ireland.
Since then, Morton has performed at festivals and concerts across Europe and the USA and has appeared in programmes for the BBC and TG4. Now living in Ireland, she has been active in the session scenes in Belfast, Galway and Donegal, playing alongside local musicians.
Sliocht is Morton’s debut solo album. Meaning ‘trace’ or ‘lineage’, it celebrates Morton’s Scottish and Irish musical heritage where, from her extensive repertoire, she has curated a selection of jigs, reels, strathspeys and marches that have held a particular meaning for her throughout her life, all accompanied by an extensive set of liner notes, tracing the origins of the traditional tunes and explaining where she first learned them.
Produced by guitarist, Eamon McElholm, the album features a number of the top-flight traditional musicians Morton has collaborated with over the years, including fiddle-player, Ciarán Tourish; singer, Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde, on the one vocal track; Mark Maguire and Seamus O’Kane playing bodhrán on several tracks; and Ryan O’Donnell and Malcolm Stitt on bouzouki. Julie Langan, fiddle player from Mayo, also plays on one track.
From lively jigs to mighty reels to graceful airs, this album is packed full of majestic tunes and equally majestic playing, immediately transporting the listener from wherever they may be to the bars, community halls and timeless rugged landscapes of Scotland and Ireland. Dedicated to the memory of her late father, Sliocht celebrates Frances Morton’s musical heritage in style and does her forebears proud.
Eilidh Shaw (fiddle and vocals) and Ross Martin (guitar) are best known for their work with two leading Scottish traditional bands. Shaw for her work with The Poozies and Martin with Daimh. Between them they have spent over two decades touring with both their own bands and as guest artists with an vast array of top performers, including Julie Fowlis, Bonnie Prince Billy, Tony Christie and Arnaud Ciapolino.
Performing under the name Birl-Esque, Stay Here All Night is their second album as a duo. Born out of the long musical winter of lockdowns and cancelled gigs, the obvious choice faced by many couples was to either order another case of wine or build a home studio. Eilidh Shaw and Ross Martin did both of these things. The resulting album is a festival of creativity, full of the style and character that the duo has become known for.
Eilidh Shaw’s fiddle takes the lead on the instrumentals, such as ‘Swimmy Tunes’ above. The duo comment: “Two tunes written by Eilidh after a glorious west coast summer swimming in the sea around Arisaig. No swimming in this video as, although still very beautiful, it was a very cold day in January. The beautiful islands of Eigg and a snow-capped Rum in the background.”
New compositions such as this sit alongside old Highland classics like the ‘Thief of Lochaber’ and ‘Paddy’s Waltzes’, a set of Gaelic waltzes taken from her father’s home-made music book.
The four songs on the album include covers of contemporary Scottish writers such as ‘Stoned Again’ by Sandy Wright and ‘Better Off Dead’ by Willie MacAskill while the title track ‘Stay Here All Night’ showcases Shaw’s own songwriting.
Ross Martin’s consummate guitar arrangements tie the album together while the whole project is further decorated by a star-studded list of guest musicians that happened to be either passing the duo’s Highland home in Morar or had made the same decision during the dark days of covid and contributed from their own home studios.
With a combined total of 74 years of gigging experience and over 100 album appearances between them this dazzling duo seamlessly blur the lines between the traditional and the contemporary with a uniquely mischievous style.
A contemporary Scottish fiddle and guitar duo featuring fiddle player, Neil Ewart, and guitarist, Ali MacQuarrie, the pair came into one another’s orbit through the bustling live music scene in Inverness and the band’s name pays homage to that, where it’s not unknown for in-demand musicians to play up to three venues in one night, shuffling up and down the city’s Church Street as they do so.
Church Street Shuffle:“Recognizing a shared vision, they embarked on a collaborative effort to blend Neil’s multilayered fiddle loops and chops with Ali’s intricate guitar work, bass lines, and beats. Despite their modern approach, they remained steadfast in honouring the timeless traditions of Scottish music, infusing each track with authenticity and reverence.”
The inspiration for the album’s name, meanwhile, harks back to an old expression about a musician’s typical lifestyle during the winter months, where the weekends would extend beyond the conventional working week.
Neil Ewart’s musical journey began at the National Centre for Excellence in Plockton, where he honed his skills before pursuing a degree in Applied Music at Strathclyde University. His innovative and daring compositions are deeply entrenched in the rich heritage of Scotland’s west coast. Echoing the creative spirit of pipers from centuries past who improvised variations on Gaelic airs, Neil breathes new life into the genre by infusing it with contemporary harmonic structures and rhythmic complexities.
Ali MacQuarrie’s masterful guitar playing and infectious grooves, meanwhile, are also a key feature of each track. He continues to refine his craft at the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, enriching his musical repertoire with classical training. His reputation as a sought-after guitarist in the Highlands continues to soar, which has seen him share stages with acts such as Calum MacPhail and Cala.
Recording the album, the pair joined up with established recording engineer and producer, Barry Reid, who also plays synths and percussion.
A contemporary and fresh-sounding take on Scottish traditional music, the duo have created an instrumental album that’s both fizzing with innovation yet also feels like the warm embrace a familiar old friend. The Five Day Weekend is an impressive debut.
I first came across Jack Rutter when three precociously-talented but slightly nervous teenagers took the stage at Fairport’s Cropredy festival back in 2011 as that year’s BBC Young Folk Awards winners as the trio Moore Moss Rutter. Since that time, Rutter has made a major mark on the UK folk scene. As well as periodic albums with Moore Moss Rutter, there have been collaborations with the likes of Sam Sweeney, Seth Lakeman and Molly Evans, plus his own solo career.
Jack Rutter:“Folk songs and music captivate me and make me happy. This album is a love letter to the music and the whole folk scene that has been a constant in my life and so many other lives down the generations and I hope it stirs something back into the big folk melting pot.”
The third in a trilogy exploring British folk songs and featuring nine songs in the trad. arr. cannon, this latest offering is yet further evidence of Jack Rutter’s growing stature as a performer. Now un-disputably, one of the finest singers and interpreters of traditional material on the UK folk scene today, This Is Something Constant is a truly excellent album from Jack Rutter.
Hot on the heels of What Are We Trying To Say, released back in March of this year, husband-and-wife duo, Stu and Debbie Hann, have another new album out, this time in collaboration with playwright, Kieran Knowles. Described as a “play with songs” The Herald began life as a short UK tour telling the story of a small-town local journalist, with Knowles providing the spoken-word parts and Megson delivering the songs. Following the success of the tour, the three teamed up once more to produce an audio recording of the show.
Megson: “It has been a fascinating process to take part in and observe the many parallels between scriptwriting and songwriting. The outcome of the project is something we are immensely proud of.”
Linking the songs, Knowles delivers a well-written and convincing narrative that serves as a worthy tribute to the finest traditions of local journalism: holding those in power to account, giving a voice to the local community and standing up against injustice. And what superb songs and superb storytelling we have from Megson here, some of which will surely develop a life of their own outside the format of this particular project.
Picking up best newcomer award at the BBC Folk Awards back in 2012, Lucy Ward went on to have an impactful career on the UK folk scene but things have been rather quieter in recent years as her attention has turned to her family. Unanswered is actually her first new album to be released in five years and she’s teamed up with fellow singer-songwriters, Svavar Knútur from Iceland and Adyn Townes from Canada.
Lucy Ward:“It’s the true story of an old telephone, clearly disconnected for many years, that still sometimes rings… though no-one ever dares to answer to the ghostly caller.”
A multi-national collaboration borne out of lockdown and two years of Zoom exchanges and finally recorded at a remote location on Iceland’s northern coast, the album brings together three performers with their own unique styles to create an innovative slice of contemporary indie-folk. Stark and melancholy as befits the subject matter, there’s an intimacy and a tenderness to the songs on this album, the three contrasting voices melding with some incredible musicianship to produce something memorable and highly creative.
Notching up ten years and five albums together, The Colour Of The Night is the latest from Ninebarrow, the duo of Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere. It follows the excellent A Pocket Full Of Acorns, released in March 2021 just as the UK was heading into lockdown.
Jon Whitley:“The world has certainly felt a bit topsy-turvy since our last album but we are lucky to have received wonderful support that kept our spirits high – some of the songs here reflect that sentiment.”
The Colour of Night comprises five original songs and one instrumental piece, alongside several covers, an adaption of a Victorian poem and one traditional song. The duo’s signature vocal harmonies are set against the lush instrumentation of cellist, Lee MacKenzie, double-bassist, John Parker and percussionist, Evan Carson, alongside the duo themselves on piano, mandola and reed organ. A beautifully-uplifting album, Ninebarrow once again deliver their trademark folk magic.
An award-winning Uilleann Piper, flautist and composer, Calum Stewart has chalked up an impressive musical cv working with the likes The London Philharmonic Orchestra, The London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Julie Fowlis and Nitin Sawhney, in addition to pursuing his solo career. His most recent albums; True North (2023) and Tales from the North (2017) bring together traditional melodies and lyrical compositions, inspired by the landscape and heritage of the north of Scotland.
Calum Stuart:“Through this collection of music, I aim to pay tribute to the traditional tunes that have stood the test of time, while also expressing my personal connection with the north of Scotland through self-penned tracks. The songs reflect the memories, experiences, and encounters I’ve had in this captivating region.”
Featuring five traditional tunes and five new compositions from Calum Stuart, there’s a vibrancy and a freshness about True North which makes for an exhilarating celebration of Scottish traditional music and the timeless beauty of the Uilleann pipes.
The self-styled ‘Gaelic Supergroup’, who have now been around some twenty-five years, are back with another new album. Sula was recorded on the Hebridean island of Bernera and captures the band in fine form performing a mix of traditional Gaelic songs and new band compositions.
Dàimh: “SULA is the old Norse name for the Gannet, the largest seabird in Northern Europe. As graceful soaring above the waves as they are swimming far beneath them, Gannets find strength by gathering together in close knit communities on isolated windswept outposts and perfectly embody Dàimh’s enduring connection to the Hebrides and their surrounding waters.”
Evocative bagpipe-led instrumentals, exhilarating fiddle-playing and the captivating Gaelic-language vocals of Ellen MacDonald, this is another album that wonderfully captures the beauty, vibrancy and resilience of the Gaelic music scene.
Described in the press publicity as being “the Dad’s Army of the current folk scene” the double disc album of veteran folkie, Ian Bruce, features a host of musical guests: Barbara Dickson, Bob Fox, Jez Lowe, Allan Taylor, Mike Silver and Alastair McDonald to name but a few.
Three years in the making, this ambitious project encompasses thirty-three tracks and over one hundred collaborators and initially came about as a crowd-funded lockdown project when the Covid pandemic denied Bruce his regular income as a working, gigging musician.
Ian Bruce:“Together Forever delves into personal preferences, influences and loves of the music I grew up with.”
Although there’s an acoustic folk sensibility at its heart, this is an album that spans many influences. The selections range from traditional Scottish ballads, to songs written by stalwarts of the folk revival, like the late Rab Noakes, to an impeccably tartaned-up version of Peter Sarstedt’s ‘Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?’. The comforting familiarity of many of these songs will put a smile a smile on your face and give you a warm glow inside.
Classically-trained, professional harpist, Sarah Deere-Jones, performed for many years with symphony, opera and ballet orchestras but, latterly, she has turned her attention to performing her own arrangements of traditional songs and creating original music.
A keen environmental campaigner, Deere-Jones was inspired to put her love of nature and concern for the future well-being of the natural world at the heart of A Little Piece of Eden.
Sarah Deere-Jones:“This album particularly reflects my personal feelings on the changes in rural life, from my childhood in north Dorset, to where I live today in rural Cornwall – the crash of biodiversity, the diaspora of small communities and the damage of intensive farming, these are all changes that I have witnessed with my own eyes – but in recent years the growing rewilding movement gives us hope that these problems can be solved.”
Featuring four original songs alongside eleven traditional songs and tunes and with accompaniment from guitar, gazuki and melodeon player, Phil Williams, A Little Piece of Eden is an inspiring showcase for both Sarah Deere-Jones exquisite harp-playing and her bright-burning passion for a more sustainable future.
Gareth Williams is an Irish-born composer and singer-songwriter based in Scotland. As a musician he has always sought to work across musical boundaries, from musical theatre to pop, from chamber music to opera.
In using literature as its inspirational starting point, Williams’ latest project is not unusual for a folk-based album. What does appear to be a unique approach, however, is in merely using the final line of each story as the starting point for a song.
Gareth Williams:“These songs all have one thing in common – they begin on the final page of a book. And, all the books I chose for this collection also have something in common – when I read them, I didn’t want them to end. So I took what I found in the final lines, with no words added and none taken out, and built verses, choruses, bridges, and refrains. Stories never stay on the page anyway – these ones just became songs.”
In the hands of someone less talented this could have fallen flat and risk taking us into the realms of gimmickry. But in Songs From The Last Page, Gareth Williams pulls off something that is both thought-provoking and musically interesting. Some of the books referenced I knew (Sherlock Holmes and Treasure Island – for example). Others I was completely unfamiliar with. Nevertheless, Williams’ skills as a songwriter and musician were enough to draw me in, his somewhat sombre piano providing the main musical backdrop to each of these literary flights of fancy.
Always entertaining on stage, Blazin’ Fiddles (a project that initially started out as one-off collaboration for a short five-day tour) mark their twenty-fifth century anniversary with a new release.
Recorded as-live in the studio with the aim of capturing the spontaneity of a concert performance, the album features a line-up of Bruce MacGregor, Rua Macmillan, Jenna Reid and Kristan Harvey on their respective fiddles who are joined by Anna Massie on guitar and fiddle and Angus Lyon on piano.
Blazin’ Fiddles: “Our purpose as a band has been to promote the fiddle styles of the highlands and islands and you will find the melodies of these traditions are to the fore. We’re also a band that loves to travel and absorb cultures, so we have melodies from our trips and adventures as well as a number of new compositions by band members.”
XXV is an invigorating music celebration from a band who have more than earned their place as a fixture of the Scottish traditional music scene this past quarter of a century. Highly enjoyable.
“Vibrant, inventive and joyful” is how I summed up The Light Of The Moon, the second album from Gnoss, when it was released back in 2021. Now they are back with a follow-up, Stretching Skyward. Always vibrant and joyful, the inventiveness, too, certainly continues on this, their third album. Containing all original material, save for a cover of Gillian Welch’s ‘Hard Times’, the album fizzes with virtuoso musicianship, enticing melodies and rich sound textures. And in ‘Hamnavoe’ the second track on the album that celebrates Orkney’s Viking heritage and mythology (written, like the other original songs on the album, by vocalist Aidan Moodie), they have turned out a genuine, bona fide folk anthem.
Aidan Moodie:“Each track is centred around a story that has change at its heart. Those stories gave us pause to look at the change that’s taken place in our own lives over the past few years. We wanted to reflect this idea within the sounds we used to construct the album.”
Once more with the established line-up of Aidan Moodie, Graham Rorie, Connor Sinclair and Craig Baxter, this album again features Braebach’s James Lindsey on electric and double bass. In keeping with the theme of change though, the band embrace less traditional sounds, too, including synths, electronic samples and state-of-the-art production techniques.
A stunning album from a band demonstrating they are still very much at the top of their game and passionate about their rightful place at the cutting edge of Scottish folk.
Both highly sought-after musicians on the Scottish traditional scene, harpist, Rachel Hair, and guitarist, Ron Jappy, first came together to record as a duo back in 2019 with the album Sparks. Élan is the pair’s long-awaited follow-up comprising Hair’s original compositions alongside a number of traditional tunes and a handful by other contemporary writers.
Rachel Hair:“Élan is more closely related to who we are as musicians and people, than my previous releases. There are nods to my Highland background, with tunes from the Captain Simon Fraser collection, tunes I’ve written to do with Ullapool and Lochbroom, as well as pipe tunes. There are also sets of Irish tunes as a nod to the Glasgow-Irish music scene, and from the Isle of Man where my husband is from.”
A delightful album, the distinctive combination of acoustic guitar and harp brings a fresh perspective to traditional Celtic music and the duo’s treatment of tunes, both new and old, is invigorating and rather moreish. An album I’ll definitely want to return to.
Gavin Marwick & Wendy Stewart – Quarterdays: Whitsun
Whitsun is the second release in a series of EPs released by fiddle-player, Gavin Marwick, under the banner of the Quarterdays series of EPs being released across 2023. On this release, featuring new contemporary tunes composed by Marwick in a traditional style, he is joined by the renowned Galloway harpist, Wendy Stewart, with whom he also works in the alternative/folk string quintet, the Galloway Agreement.
Gavin Marwick & Wendy Stewart:“This second EP is a voyage of discovery into the lore and history of Whitsun. It’s a celebration of May and the beginning of the summer – the beasts are now all out in the fields, the primroses are still blooming – and in religious/spiritual terms it is mixed in with Pentecost and Beltane, holy wells and weddings. There are balmy warm days yet still the chance of bitter cold.”
While I’m late coming to this, the beautiful melodies and gentle interplay between Gavin Marwick’s fiddle and Wendy Stewart’s harp perfectly capture the atmosphere of a warm late-spring and come next May I’ll definitely be celebrating my favourite time of the year with a few spins of the Quarterdays: Whitsun EP.
An album of traditional songs and tunes from the Galloway area of south-west Scotland, singer and fiddler, Jo Miller, is joined by several musicians with close connections to the area. Miller is well-known for her work in community-based traditional music, formal education, and academic research. This recording draws on her research in the uplands of the Glenkens where she grew up, interviewing local residents and investigating historical sources.
Jo Miller:“I’m delighted to be sharing these songs and tunes which all have a personal association for me. You will also hear the spoken word, birdsong and singing for dancing – an aural landscape which not only evokes the former life of the Glenkens and its people, but also points toward its lively music culture in the present.”
Both poignant and entertaining, not to mention being a wonderful piece of living social history (with the performances on the album seeking to recreate the intimate atmosphere of performances at rural schools, individual homes and small schoolhouses where these songs were traditionally performed), A’ The Wat To Galloway is a wonderful celebration of the music and cultural life of this particular corner of Scotland.
With a blend of traditional Scottish and Irish folk, fused from a melting pot of gypsy melodies, bluegrass, Spanish, and Balkan influences (and much more besides!) Dallahan are Jack Badcock (guitar), Ciaran Ryan (banjo and mandolin), Andrew Waite (accordion and Benedict Morris (fiddle). Formed a decade ago, Speak of the Devil is the band’s fourth album.
Jack Badcock:“We believe it’s the band’s most accomplished and assured album to date. It’s been a while in the melting pot because each member of the band was incredibly busy with commitments as Covid eased off and the music world opened up again – not least Ciaran who was still working at a job he picked up during the pandemic as a fine dining chef!”
Featuring ten tracks of original material (four songs and six tunes) Speak of the Devil showcases a band that exudes confidence and creativity and is never afraid to be that bit different. The plethora of different influences and traditions that the band pull into their music, from the nifty banjo-playing to the jazz-like licks to the Spanish and Latin-American themes in the song lyrics, means that this album will appeal far beyond the confines of traditional folk, with much to enjoy here for devotees of bluegrass, world music and more.
Awakening is the third album from Glasgow-based folk aces, Ímar – their first in five years. Featuring Mohsen Amini (concertina), Tomas Callister (fiddle), Adam Rhodes (bouzouki), Ryan Murphy (pipes, flute and whistle) and Adam Brown (bodhran, guitar), the album (featuring cover art of the 9th century king from which the band takes its name) offers up ten tracks of mainly original tunes.
Mohsen Amini:“The idea behind this album was to take it back to where we came in with all the vibes of our debut album, Afterlight. As the band progressed, the music became more produced. We loved it but we never had more enjoyment that those original days at the inception of Ímar.”
Fresh, exhilarating and inventive, Awakening sees Ímar take us on a breathtaking ride through a stunning new collection of tunes that both showcase their virtuosity while giving every impression of a band having a huge load of fun during the making of it.
Westward The Light are Charlie Grey, Sally Simpson, Owen Sinclair and Joseph Peach. Formed in 2018, the band have won acclaim on the folk scene for their innovative arrangements of Scottish traditional tunes on fiddle, viola, piano and guitar. Flow Country, named after the region of rolling peatland between Caithness and Sutherland, is their second album.
Joseph Peach:“Flow Country is a record on which the tune takes precedence. There are no gimmicks, there’s jus straight up traditional music which we feel really captures the essence of our Scottish culture and heritage.”
A lovely collection of tunes that instantly transport the listener to the rugged landscapes and long-cherished musical heritage of the north of Scotland and which showcase some stunning interactions between these highly-skilled instrumentalists, Flow Country leaves its mark from the very first listen.
Still only in his mid-20s, melodeon-player and composer, James Kerry, has been a noted presence on the UK folk scene, playing at festivals such as Warwick Folk Festival and Broadstairs Folk Week and establishing a reputation for passionate, rhythmic playing rooted in the folk dance tradition. Source is Kerry’s first solo project and features mainly traditional English tunes with a handful of original compositions and a couple of contemporary pieces by other writers thrown in as well.
“Source is a true representation of James’ style and passions and reflects his huge respect for traditional music and his desire to pass it on,” we are told in the album sleeve-notes.
A fine showcase for James Kerry’s skilful playing, supporters of traditional English dance tunes will simply love this album – which also boasts a stunning line-up supporting musicians in Tom Kitching, James Delarre and Danny Tonks.
Neil Pearlman is best known for his ground-breaking approach to the piano in Celtic music. In that capacity he tours regularly with Kevin Henderson, Katie McNally, The Pine Tree Flyers, and as a solo pianist, while playing more irregularly with a wide variety of side projects featuring top Celtic, Americana and Jazz musicians. His latest project, Refractions, is a collection of traditional Scottish and Gaelic tunes, arranged especially for solo performance on the piano.
Neil Pearlman: “The choice to focus on traditional Scottish melodies is my way of paying respect to my roots. Traditional Scottish tunes are some of the very first music I ever heard or played, so going into that repertoire and having a conversation with it as the artist I am today was a powerful experience, and a good way to explore both who I am now and where I come from.”
Some of the tunes on Refractions are familiar, others less so, but what Pearlman does throughout the whole album is find the inherent beauty in each individual tune and present them in an entirely new light. It makes for a poignant and highly intimate album with some exceptional playing.
And finally, while there’s been a heavy focus on instrumental albums in this latest round-up, the ever industrious Irish-born, Dorset-based singer songwriter Owen Moore also has a new album out, another compilation – this one with an Irish theme.
Owen Moore:“My new album is called Songs From The Shamrock Bar and is an anthology of recordings that have all appeared on previous Owen Moore albums and singles over the past ten years or so. All of the songs have a link of some sort with Ireland, which is where I was born (70 plus years ago) and many of them take a nostalgic look at days gone by.”
Always entertaining, with a penchant for engaging storytelling, catchy melodies and gentle guitar picking, Owen Moore’s own brand of Americana-infused singer-songwriting with that special touch of Celtic magic is very much on display here.
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