Litha

Is this the first time in almost four years of Fiddlefreak reviews that I’ve let an entire month pass without a post? Gack! So here we go with the first review of 2012, and by God it was worth the wait. Scotland’s Aaron Jones and his partner Claire Mann make up half of a brillant new Celtic-German group called Litha. They just released their new record with an official launch at Glasgow’s huge annual music festival Celtic Connections.

Dancing of the Light (on Artes Records) contains 8 songs and 6 instrumentals from Scotland, Ireland and Germany that range from introspective contemporary folk to raging sets of traditional jigs and reels. Words cannot express the beauty evoked by Litha in this brilliant release. With excellent choice of material, impeccable performances, and exquisite production values, this is a master work of artistic creativity and execution.

Litha did not spring to life fully formed. In fact, the quartet released a previous album titled “Until the Cows Come Home” under the moniker of 2Duos. From the band’s website:

The 2Duos started out as a collaboration between Claire Mann and Aaron Jones from Scotland and Gudrun Walther and Jürgen Treyz from Germany. Although initially 2Duos started out as an experimental collaboration, we enjoyed playing and touring together so much that we decided to take the ‘project’ further and form a permanent band with a new name. ‘Litha’ is an old Anglo-Saxon word for the month of June, the time of light and the summer solstice celebrations. The band first met at Wimborne Folk Festival in England during the height of the summer in 2006 and so Litha felt like the perfect name for the band.

Dancing of the Light

Litha consists of Gudrun Walther (accordion, fiddle, vocals), Claire Mann (flute, fiddle, whistles, vocals), Jürgen Treyz (guitar, dobro, vocals), and Aaron Jones (bouzouki, guitar, vocals). Jürgen did all engineering, mixing, and mastering, and the band did all its own arranging and production for Dancing of the Light. Simply amazing.

LISTEN: Rosie´s Reels

LISTEN: Gypsy

LITHA WEBSITE

LISTEN/BUY

Genticorum

Close your eyes and let the smooth flowing music of Genticorum transport you to another time and place, where French fur trappers and intrepid loggers navigate the roaring rivers and limitless lakes of the North Country. The core trio consists of Pascal Gemme, Alexandre de Grosbois-Garand, and Yann Falquet, and they are joined on their latest release Nagez Rameurs by guests that include Olivier Demiers (of Le Vent du Nord) and American Grey Larsen, among others. Like a virgin white pine of the Quebecois woods, Genticorum stands tall among the finest of the new wave of French-Canadian bands. Their new record is, in a word, fantastic!

Nagez Rameurs

LISTEN: Turlutte Hirsute

LISTEN: Les Menteries

Genticorum Website (English)

Ruthie Dornfeld

The latest record from Seattle fiddler Ruthie Dornfeld is a wide-ranging collection of traditional folk tunes, originals, and early music titled “Duets Abroad.” Why not let Ruthie introduce it?

Duets Abroad

Last year I traveled to Finland, Denmark, France and Hungary to record duets with some of my favorite European musicians: Petri Hakala, Tapani Varis, Pekka Pentikäinen, Jouko Kyhälä, Morten Alfred Høirup, Patrick Desaunay, and Balázs Dongó Szokolay. The music covers quite a range – traditional tunes, some originals, and a bit of early music. I play both violin and vielle (medieval fiddle) in duets with bagpipe, shepherd flute, jaw harp, accordion, mandolin, guitar, singing bowls — it’s an adventure!

Here are two samples: the first a Finnish polska with Petri Hakala on octave mandolin, the second an American fiddle tune with Petri on mandolin. Brilliant!

LISTEN: Savioja’s Polska

LISTEN: Garfield’s Blackberry Blossom

Artist Website HERE

Le Vent du Nord

Earlier this fall, I was lucky to again meet and see Le Vent du Nord (“The Wind from the North”) perform at The Sebastopol Celtic Festival, where fiddler Olivier Demers passed along to me their 2009 release La Part du Feu. While remaining firmly rooted in the Quebecois tradition, the band has matured and expanded its sound by incorporating elements of French, Celtic, jazz and pop music into this record. And it sounds GREAT.

La Part du Feu

Band members scour diverse sources for their material, from medieval texts to their own modern compositions. From Acadia to Brittany, Cape Breton to Maine, and of course their native Quebec, comes their spicy mix of pulsing dance tunes and nostalgic story-songs.

At a live show, the listener just can’t sit still while Olivier fiddles and pounds out the beat with his feet, Nicolas keeps his hurdy-gurdy happily buzzing, Réjean tickles his accordion, and Simon strums guitar. All four band members are multi-instumentalists that skillfully blend ancient elements with a modern sensibility. Quebecois call-and-respose vocals play a large part. I’m no expert on the music of Quebec, but it’s safe to say that Le Vent du Nord rules the roost up north. Fiddlefreak recommended!

Le Vent du Nord Is:
Simon Beaudry: Vocals, bouzouki, guitar
Nicolas Boulerice: Vocals, electroacoustic hurdy-gurdy, piano, piano accordion
Réjean Brunet: Basses, diatonic accordion, jaw harp, piano, vocals
Olivier Demers: Violin, guitar, foot-tapping, mandolin, vocals

LISTEN: Élise (MP3)

LISTEN: L’attente (MP3)

Visit Le Vent du Nord Website

Preview/Buy La Part du Feu

Black Prairie

Unless you’ve been living in a cave this year (like Fiddlefreak), by now you probably know about the debut release of Portland goth-folk group Black Prairie, released in April, titled Feast of the Hunter’s Moon. The band is comprised of three members of indie rock powerhouse The Decemberists, along with two other acoustic musicians from the fertile Portland scene (including Annalisa Tornfelt, formerly of Bearfoot, who contributes lead vocals throughout). They have appeared just about everywhere, from NPR to SXSW to KCRW (OK, that’s not until Sept. 14, but you get the point). The word is out about Black Prairie and little old Fiddlefreak ain’t telling you nuthin’ new.

But wait—Sugar Hill has just released free downloads of two brand new unreleased tracks, both featuring the fetching vocals of Annalisa Tornfelt. Check them out here, and if you want to add them to your collection, click here.

The Blackest Crow

Turn It into Gold

FREE DOWNLOADS HERE

Black Prairie Website

Buy Now

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