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for life!…
fRoots is a truly independent,
activist magazine that recently cele-
brated its 30th anniversary! We are
very proud that we have published
every single issue on time.
If you value, enjoy and believe in
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You will then receive every fRoots
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ed this music through thick and thin
for nearly three decades.
We’ve set a minimum of £550 for the
UK, £750 for Europe and surface else-
Photo: Philip Ryalls
where, £950 for airmail outside
Bella Hardy
Europe. But if anybody feels able to
be a more generous patron, they can
folkloric feel that reflected the nascent cultur- blooded performance that pitches the voice
specify their own figure.
al confidence of the nation (reflected also by right at the front of the mix. Her fiddle play-
lyrics that were changed from Spanish to Lin- ing, too, is strident and bold – she may not be
Every Lifetime Supporting Sub-
gala and Kikongo where applicable). the greatest musician to come out of Der- scriber will also get access to the
European-style polka piké, plus Latino
byshire but her forthright style and pro- digital edition, the option to claim
biguines and rumba rhythms were still extant
nounced bow strokes are an integral element
free VIP tickets for any events we
during this period, but the rudimentary of her unusually passionate and charged
promote, and automatically receives
recording standards can’t hide the increas- delivery. The elongated intro to The Trawler-
any special CDs we are involved in.
ingly sophisticated musicianship as those man’s Wife is a case in point, admirably
influences were bent and twisted around demonstrating that bare honesty is sufficient
More info at
www.frootsmag.com
local styles, and despite one or two modest to engage her audience in tune and story.
selections the biggest surprise listening to This uncompromising conviction in the
these cheerily attractive sounds is how quick- strength of her material is refreshing; it bribery!
ly some of the artists here seem to have dis- makes plenty of demands on her listener, but
appeared from history (perhaps through the
great singers can do this and Hardy is gener-
1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION BRIBE!
advent of electric guitar?).
ally good enough to carry it off.
As an introductory offer to new first
Boniface Koufoudila is the most tradition-
Low Down In The Broom, for example, is
time 1-year subscribers, we'll give
al and exciting of the relative unknowns, an
a classic study of understated drama and ten-
you 3 FREE BACK ISSUES of your
artist operating at the crossroads of the vari-
sion, Chris Sherburn’s churchy concertina sup- choice – double issues with CDs
ous styles with songs driven by likembe and
plemented by the doom-laden strings of fid- count as 2 – from the list at
fluid, attacking Cubano-Congolese
dle, cello and viola. As on Night Visiting, Cor-
www.frootsmag.com
polyrhythm, over which are laid sawing violin
rina Hewat’s harp also has a key role – linking
and chanted vocals. There’s plenty of sweeter
the narrative beautifully on Hardy’s best orig-
2 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION BRIBE!
stuff elsewhere, not least the five tracks by the
inal song on the album, Mary Mean, and cre- Open to new subscribers or
most enduring of the artists captured here.
ating the sense of countryside at the heart of renewals: a FREE CD if you sub-
Adikwa Depala went on to record with the-
Rosebud In June, though the deceptively
then Zaire’s Loningisa label – home to Franco’s
scribe for 2 years. See the full list at
dainty backdrop she creates behind the bru-
OK Jazz – and Moni, Moni Non Dey, his version
www.frootsmag.com which
tal killing at the heart of Cruel Mother isn’t
of El Manisero (The Peanut Vendor), is typical
includes albums by Oumou San-
entirely convincing. Various members of the
of the album, containing early bubbles of the
gare, Jim Moray, Chango Spa-
wellspring of interlocking guitar rhythms out
Hardy clan are again pressed into action on
siuk, Franco, Bellowhead, Eliza
of which a revolutionary musical flood was
the localised Castleton hymn All In The Morn-
Carthy, Les Amazones De Guinée,
about to burst. History in the making.
ing and while Ten Thousand Miles may have
become a bit hackneyed of late, Anna
Toumani Diabate, John Spiers &
www.honestjons.com, distributor: Proper.
Massie’s guitar accompaniment lifts it.
Jon Boden, Kries, Orchestra
Con Murphy
More intriguing is Bella’s songwriting.
Baobab, Yasmin Levy, Martin
She may never write anything as good as
Simpson, Oysterband, Balla Et
Three Black Feathers but her imagination
Ses Balladins, June Tabor, Blue
BELLA HARDY continues to flare. The unnervingly poppy Blokes 3, Andrew Cronshaw, The
In The Shadow Of Mountains Noe NOE2
Sylvie Sovay is an audacious attempt to Copper Family and great compila-
update the old trad song Sovay and if it does- tions including Authentiques, Step-
If Bella Hardy was n’t quite work on that level it’s still a vivid
ping Up, Hidden English and various
fazed by all the modern parable. Even more provocatively,
Rough Guides.
acclaim heaped on Smoke & Ashes offers an anguished picture of
her first album Night the human hardships vested on rural commu- Allow 3 weeks for UK delivery,
Visiting and the pres- nities by foot and mouth disease. longer abroad. Alternatively, pick 6
sure of coming up with an original song to
That’s the difficult second album accom-
FREE BACK ISSUES – double issues
match the peerless Three Black Feathers, then
plished. Roll on the difficult third. with CDs count as 2 – from the list at
it doesn’t show. Far from it, Hardy’s most
www.frootsmag.com
potent weapon is her voice and she uses it
www.bellahardy.com distributor: Proper.
fearlessly – dangerously so at times – in a full- Colin Irwin
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