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Kan
pipes is make them an instrument in themselves – like a fiddle – that works in any musical genre. Pipes are always thought of in a pipe band context; people rarely think of them as an instrument in their own right. We’re interested in exploring new directions. I’ve maybe taken that from my teacher, Gordon Duncan, who was really interested in fusing the pipes with other instruments and other genres of music. Over the years I’ve been lucky playing with other bands, like Salsa Celtica – a salsa and Scottish mix – or India Alba – an Indian and Scottish collaboration. When I formed Treacherous Orchestra with a group of pals in Glasgow, there was basically no genre. I quite like that lack of boundaries. There aren’t rules in traditional music!”
Boundary-bending has been grist to the mill for Lau, who have already made an encouraging dent on the world stage. With several albums, awards, international tours and festival appear- ances under their belts, their traditional music pedigree combines with a genre-hopping curiosity and love of experimentation in form. Fiddler Aidan O’Rourke is at Womex both as a member of Lau and of upbeat tune-driven Kan. The common link, Aidan aside, is the musical democracy at play in both line-ups.
Kan, with just one album, Sleeper, under their belts, unite four cross-border traditional musicians including Aidan’s own expressive Highland fiddle with Armagh’s Brian Finnegan’s virtu- osic flutes, the percussion of James Goodwin and the guitar of Ian Stephenson, both English. While they have had a fair degree of work in the Celtic nations of Brittany, Galicia and Asturias (as well as a tour in Japan), they are looking to expand their international touring options.
“Everyone’s targeting similar work at Womex. It’s a global showcase. There are several territories that have opened up in the last few years that people are keen to get to – South America, Japan, India…”
“Lau and Kan are very different beasts. Kan works well on a big stage with the drums; part of it is to get people dancing. Kan comes from a pretty heavy tune-based background. You could draw a line from Moving Hearts, for example, to what Kan do, whereas Lau are drawing on other progressive influences. Lau go a bit deeper, a jour- ney from the start of show to the end. They are two things I enjoy very much and which are complementary. They both work me out in different ways: musically, cerebrally and physically.”
Given the nature of that professional audience, could taking people on ‘a journey’ have some potential pitfalls in this context?
“Womex has been quite sensitive to how much the delegates can take in in terms of showcases, giving everyone a decent times- lot. As far as how we draw people in and keep them there, it’s not really any different to any other festival gig. You just have to be engaging. People can move on, go to the bar, go for a breather at any time. Being honest and presenting what you’d normally do as a festival set is what will win people over in the end. You can’t be too contrived. We’re gonna turn up with a load of CDs, smiling faces, mingle, do some gigs, see some friends – approach it like a festival!”
9Bach, who evoke the magnificent slate-grey landscapes of
North Wales in their sound, are veterans of the Womex show- case, having been part of the Welsh squad in Copenhagen in 2011. As a direct result, by way of example of the potential impact of these slots, they’ve played at Womad in the UK and in Cáceres. Guitarist Martin Hoyland remembers his zeal in approaching the showcase experience.
“I didn’t really have a grasp of what Womex was. My prepara- tion was to contact every single festival that was there in advance and when I got there I ran around like a blue-arsed fly. You’ve got to streamline it really! My advice to anyone doing this is that on the first day you get there, don’t do anything except walk around and get a feel, take it all in.”
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