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

Bua

Another Victory for Bua. Guest review by Patrick Fitzell, Program Director at AccuRadio, an Internet radio station based in Chicago.

In the spring of their musical careers, Chicago-based trad group Bua is in full bloom. After a hectic summer festival tour schedule, it’s amazing they somehow found time to spend in the studio. The result, their sophomore release Down the Green Fields is a wonderful compilation exemplifying each musician’s years of dedication to their craft.

Down the Green Fields

Brían Ó hAirt provides pristine vocals on songs “shrouded in mystery” like “My Parents Reared Me Tenderly.” He is also a skilled sean-nós or “old style” Irish dancer and can liven up any crowd with a stomp of his foot. Séan Gavin breaths new life into “The Happy Days of Youth,” a tune popularized by flute player John McKenna back in the 20s. Brian Miller, whose picking skills are in high demand, executes perfect accompaniment on bouzouki to Ó hAirt’s vocals for the playful minstrel-like songs “Baba ‘con Raoi” and “Bó na Leath-Adhairce.” Just as Gavin plays a piper’s tune and shines, so too does Devin Shepherd on fiddle performing “Hughie Traver’s Jig.”

Having only released two full-length studio albums, Bua’s contributions to the trad scene are invaluable. (Previous Fiddlefreak review is here.)  The liner notes of Down the Green Fields list the origin of each song and tune. It’s a testament to their level of commitment to preserving and furthering traditional Irish music. Look for them on tour in 2012. –Patrick Fitzell

LISTEN: Eddie Maloney’s / Micho Russel’s (Mason’s Apron)

LISTEN: The Happy Days of Youth / Lucky in Love

BUA WEBSITE

LISTEN/BUY

Colleen Raney

Colm MacCárthaigh

Portland singer Colleen Raney is a rising star on the West Coast Irish music scene. (Previously reviewed HERE.) Her new record, titled Cuan, is a duo project with Seattle-based Colm MacCárthaigh, who plays guitar and cittern. Together they cover a nice range of Celtic material with style and grace, bringing a lovely lift to both old favorites and obscure gems that range from traditional to contemporary pieces. A strong contribution to the pantheon of Celtic song, Cuan will help to put Portland on the Irish music map! Enjoy these samples.

Cuan

LISTEN: Bound for Caledonia

LISTEN: Western Highway

Colleen Raney Website

Listen/Buy

Irish mandolin genius Marla Fibish may be relatively unknown outside California, but she certainly deserves fame for the warm, lilting lift she gives to traditional tunes. In recent years she has been playing out more, performing with her trio Three Mile Stone and teaching classes and workshops. Her new release “The Morning Star” finds Marla and her old Gibson mando taking a joyful romp through traditional tunes that include slip jigs, reels, polkas, waltzes, and planxties. The breadth and depth of this collection should finally bring Marla the recognition she deserves as a master of Irish-style mandolin.

Marla teamed up with the legendary Jimmy Crowley to create this unique and delightful recording of Irish music played only on double-strung instruments. Though the world knows Jimmy as a great singer, this is an all instrumental album featuring traditional tunes of all sorts, along with an original or two from each of them, played on mandolin, mandola, mandocello, bouzouki, and a big bass bouzouki called a dordán. The project was hatched over an evening of playing tunes together at Marla’s house on one of Jimmy’s trips through the Bay Area back in 2009, and recorded in three busy days in April 2010. Fiddlefreak recommended!

LISTEN:

The Humors Of Bandon / A Fig For A Kiss / The Dusty Miller

LISTEN:

The Rocky Road To Dublin / Comb Your Hair And Curl It / The New Mown Meadow

Listen/Buy

Marla Fibish Website

Jimmy Crowley Website

The Kane Sisters

Traditional fiddlers Liz and Yvonne Kane are sisters from Letterfrack, a small village on the wild and scenic coast of Connemara, in County Galway.  They released their third album Side by Side in July 2010, and kindly sent me a review copy all the way from Ireland. This record deserves attention as a brilliant example of top-shelf Irish traditional fiddling from two internationally recognized masters of the art. Playing in unison as they would in a pub session, they weave an enchanting spell that can only come from musicians joined by family and blood. Lovely backing for the tunes is provided by Daithi Sproule on guitar, Mick Conneely on bouzouki, Patsy Broderick on piano, and Ottawa Valley stepdancer Nathan Pilatzke.

Side by Side

For material, Liz and Yvonne like to explore modern compositions from fiddlers such as Paddy Fahey and Paddy O’Brien, writers of  shifty tunes that don’t always stick within preconceived boundaries of minor or major scales. Their repertoire encompasses mostly reels and jigs with the occasional hornpipe or slow air. Recording in their home in the late hours of evening, they often play the tunes in unusual keys. In a recent interview in Irish Music Magazine, Liz said, “We changed a lot of normal keys to different keys. We prefer it; it sounds brighter and nicer.”

THE KANE SISTERS WEBSITE

LISTEN: The Starry Lane to Monaghan / Star of Ireland / Sean sa Ceo

LISTEN: Paddy Fahey’s Jig / Manorhamilton The 8th of May / The Wednesday Visit