Fiddlefreak Folk Music Blog » bagpipes

Julie Fowlis: Uam (MP3)

Stuart Mason — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:47:46 +0000

Julie Fowlis

Uam

Julie Fowlis has the voice of a Celtic angel. With her ancient Scots Gaelic songs of earth and sky, she calls up a salty North wind that whistles through the mossy crags of remote, forgotten islands. On her latest release Uam (Cadiz Music/Shoeshine Records) she harnesses a stable of veteran musicians, including her Dublin-born husband Éamon Doorley (of Danu fame) and Scottish fiddler Duncan Chisholm. This flawless album is a gorgeous nod to the now-thriving but almost-lost Scots Gaelic tradition. And a smattering of lively Irish tunes keeps it fun.

From her press release:
Here, she has brought a grandaughter of Scotland and Ireland back to its roots with a bilingual version of “Wind and Rain,” a mystically gory folk song from the Scots-Irish tradition that American folkies will find familiar … the next track, “Thig am bàta,” is the same song, but preserved in the Hebrides by generations of waulking women, sitting around a table hand- (and sometimes foot-) massaging tweed as part of the shrinking process.

LISTEN: Wind And Rain

LISTEN: Thig Am Bata

Julie Fowlis Website

Buy Now

Battlefield Band Preview Track (MP3)

Stuart Mason — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:02:42 +0000

Battlefield Band

Photo Credit Rob Van Sante

For about 30 years now, the Battlefield Band has been a mainstay of the Scottish traditional music scene. Here’s a brand new sneak preview from their new album, as well as a video from a couple years back. Enjoy!—Fiddlefreak

Battlefield Band are still hard at work in the recording studio at Temple Records, working on their new ‘Zama Zama’ album. The album’s full title is ‘Zama Zama – try your luck’ and the core theme running through it is the pursuit of wealth and its effects. All of the tracks are now recorded, and mixing is well underway, so if all goes to plan the new album should be out in late summer or early autumn this year.

We promised to bring you a few sneak previews from the album, so here’s the first one: a new song written by Alan Reid called ‘Robber Barons’. The song looks at greed through the ages, from the ‘Robber Barons’ of the Middle Ages in Germany to the modern day politicians and bankers.

LISTEN: Robber Barons

Temple Records

Band Website

Old Blind Dogs at Live Oak (photos)

Stuart Mason — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:31:29 +0000

Fiddlefreak was in attendance at Live Oak Music Festival 2009, a fundraiser for KCBX, Public Radio for the Central Coast in California. Being the folkie that I am, my favorite band this year was Scotland’s Old Blind Dogs, who performed on the main stage Friday afternoon and then later at the Hot Licks dance. Joe Craven jumped in on percussion as Johnny Hardie (fiddle), Ali Hutton (pipes and whistle), Aaron Jones (bouzouki), and Fraser Stone (percussion) rocked the packed house until after midnight. Photographer Gary Robertshaw captured the action as the Old Blind Dogs captured the hearts of all Oakies. Enjoy!

Bua: An Spealadóir (MP3)

Stuart Mason — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:26:15 +0000

Irish trad band Bua

Bua: An Spealadoir

From the Pure Drop Department: Bua is a Chicago-based Irish band that delivers traditional jigs, reels, horpipes and the occasional song with a precision and intensity that is rarely heard on this side of the Atlantic. Jackie Moran (bodhran, banjo, vocals), Chris Bain (fiddle), Seán Gavin (uilleann pipes, flute), Brían Ó hAirt (vocals, concertina, tin whistle), and Brian Miller (guitar, flute, vocals) are poised to take the world of trad music by storm. Their new release An Spealadóir (Mad River Records) shines like the sun as it breaks though the ragged rain clouds over Connemara.

So duck into that pub on the corner, shake off the bitter cold Midwestern wind, order up a pint of stout and enjoy the spirit of the session. Irish music has been given a mighty boost by Bua!

LISTEN: Johnny Henry’s/Martin Wynne’s No. 4/Miss MacDonald (MP3)

Bua Web Site

Listen/Buy

Wicked Tinkers: Rant

Stuart Mason — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 21:21:52 +0000

What do your think of when you hear the words “Celtic music?” Is it the mighty dance tradition of the Celtic lands: jigs and reels on flutes and fiddles? Is it beautiful, mist-mystic new-age tunes played achingly slow on harp and hammer dulcimer, and drenched in reverb? Or maybe it’s the song tradition: balladeers singing cheerfully of women and drink in four-part harmony? Whatever. You can now add “tribal Celtic pipes and drums” to the mix.

The Wicked Tinkers are a pipe-and-drum outfit based in the LA area. But this band of hell-raisers is nothing like your usual military-grade marching pipe band. The Tinkers storm the stage like Vikings with their sights set on the finest Scotch in the lord’s castle. Their newest release “Rant” is their best album so far, and with a half-dozen releases under their belt, these lads know what they’re doing.

Last week we shared the stage with them at the Utah Highland Games outside Salt Lake City, and they handed me a copy of this very fine record. The core of the group has always been piper Aaron Shaw and drummers Warren Casey and Keith Jones. On this release, Aaron sings some ancient-sounding pieces, and didgeridoo player Jay Atwood contributes a sense of theater and drama with his layered looping technique. Jay also plays the Bronze Age Irish horn, creating a haunting sound that seems to come from a prehistoric time and place.

Much of the so-called Celtic music being produced these days has a large contemporary component. Which is a good thing–it’s the best way to bring new fans into the fold. But there’s nothing modern about the sound of the Tinkers. (OK, so I admit they could not have had a didgeridoo in ancient Scotland!) On “Rant,” the Tinkers take the listener to a fantasy land of swirling bagpipe and ancient chant, pounding drum and droning didg, clan kilt and peaty Scotch.

It’s a fun place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

Wicker Tinkers Web Site

Wicked Tinkers MySpace (listen)

Here are the Tinkers on TV with Craig Ferguson: