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

Jason and Pharis Romero

Jason Romero first came to my attention through his artisan banjos, and Pharis through her membership in her oldtime band Outlaw Social Club. After stints in Chico and Arcata, CA, Jason migrated northward though Portland and settled with Pharis in the remote outpost of Horsefly, BC, where they create beautiful instruments and music. Their previous releases include Shout Monah from The Haints Oldtime Stringband and Back Up and Push, an ambitious collection of fiddle tunes from sawyers all over the West Coast, previously reviewed here.

Chris Mateer just published an in-depth interview with the couple on his blog Uprooted Music Review. From that interview:

‘We didn’t really plan out complementary tunes on the album, but we both seem to have a sense of songs that needed learning or writing to fill what might have been otherwise a gap. A good example would be “My Flowers, My Companions, and Me” — that was the last song we learned before we recorded the album, because we realized that a vocal duet with just banjo accompaniment would be a great contrast to much of the other material.’

A Passing Glimpse

Here’s that song, and another. Hope you enjoy this listen!

LISTEN: My Flowers, My Companions, and Me

LISTEN: Where Is the Gamblin’ Man?

Pharis and Jason Romero Website

UMR Interview

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)

Grada

From the Better Late Than Never Dept: Here’s a post on Grada’s latest release Natural Angle. I hate it when I’m rummaging through some random pile of desktop detritus and find a CD I should have reviewed a year ago. That’s what happened with Natural Angle, which came out early in 2010. It’s so good I can’t let it pass.

Based in Ireland, where they began playing together in 2001, Grada mixes traditional Celtic and Appalachian tunes and songs with contemporary pop and Americana songwriting. Produced by Tim O’Brien in Nashville and featuring guest appearances by Odessa Jorgensen (Bearfoot) and banjo queen Alison Brown, as well as O’Brien, Natural Angle reflects the worldwide roots of Grada’s members, which include Canada and New Zealand, as well as Ireland. If you’re familiar with the sound of supergroup Lunasa, you will hear a similar approach in their smooth and intense tune sets, which are layered upon a foundation of double bass. Vocalist Nicola Joyce shows remarkable range and brings to mind the stage presence of Dervish’s Cathy Jordan, who also plays bodhran.

Natural Angle

Natural Angle solidifies Grada’s stature as one of the great Irish folk ensembles. Fiddlefreak recommended!

LISTEN: Five Jumps

LISTEN: John Riley (a Tim O’Brien song)

BAND WEBSITE

LISTEN/BUY

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