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Ten of the songs are original while a take pelling new show is to give a voice to the overlaid with salsa piano and horns and
on Skip James’ Special Rider Blues finds men and women whose lives were shaped by undercut with springy digital beats. Not as
Najma singing in English as Lucas bleeds the drive to build through the ages; it’s a tri- idiosyncratic as Radiokijada, but a good few
washes of electricity around her. The perfor- umph, and proves the worthiest of compan- notches above the run-of-the-mill processed
mance is emboldened by an eerie intensity, ions to Mick’s previous works in this format. mish-mash exotica you hear dribbling out of
both artists channelling the weird beauty
www.wildgoose.co.uk, via Proper.
the wrong sort of bars.
that always shadows James’ compositions.
Here the duo sound uncannily like Led Zep-
David Kidman
www.cumbancha.com/novalima
pelin at their most inspired.
Jamie Renton
Najma’s voice remains extremely grace-
ful, an instrument that conveys innocence
RADIOKIJADA
and sorrow. Lucas creates remarkable pat-
Nuevos Sonidos Afro Peruanos Wrasse
MCCALMANS
terns of sound. Fans of his work with
233
Coming Home (Live) Greentrax CDTRAX336
Beefhart-Buckley won’t be disappointed by
the spatial dynamics he creates although
NOVALIMA
The McCalmans have been performing tradi-
some of the Asian community may find tional Scottish material and their own songs
Lucas’s reverb-heavy guitar a more aggressive
Coba Coba Cumbancha CMB-CD-9
since 1964 and this is their 27th album. They
accompaniment than what normally accom-
Radiokijada are Gotan Project’s Swiss tech
consist of three vocalists, three guitars and
panies their favourite ghazal singer.
whizz Christoph Muller and Peruvian percus-
have a great audience rapport. They’ve been
Rishte is dynamic and challenging, a 21st
sionist Rodolfo Munoz, who have been work-
around for so long that their signature close-
century Indo-American blues fusion that sug-
ing together over the last five years to create
harmony-singing is coming back into fashion,
gests the West and East can communicate
this unusual combination of Afro-Peruvian
courtesy of Fleet Foxes!
with much greater ease than many of our
tradition and Euro digitalism. Their sound is
The McCalmans stand out in fairly stark
politicians would allow us to believe.
based around the irregular clack of Peruvian
contrast to the current trend of ‘folk’ music as
www.worldvillagemusic.com, via Harmo- rhythms (played on donkey’s jawbones, collec-
niche consumer entertainment. In an age of
nia Mundi: www.harmoniamundi.com tion boxes and the like) on to which are graft-
increasingly slick, virtuoso ‘folk’ musicians, it’s
Garth Cartwright
ed unobtrusive computerised bleeps and a pleasant change to encounter performers
bangs to create something that can sound like the McCalmans who manage to totally
stark, dark and cavernous one minute and be engage their audiences, not just entertain
MICK RYAN & CO.
sweetened by trumpet, acoustic guitar, cello them. This ‘live’ album consists of perfor-
or passionate female voices the next. At times mances in local venues: village halls, theatres
The Navvy’s Wife WildGoose WGS 361CD
the music tips a nod to Cuban styles, as on the and folk clubs across Scotland and Denmark.
punchy Tumba Y Cajon, whilst always retain- Folk aged 6 to 96 attend the McCalmans’
This ‘musical drama’, the latest of Mick Ryan’s
ing a strong Peruvian flavour. Munoz’s shows and you can hear them on this album
‘folk-operas’, is arguably the finest, for in this
improbably deep and cool growl of a voice is a joining in with the singing (and they didn’t
instance Mick has a special, and profound,
most unusual instrument and the pared-down even know they were being recorded!).
degree of empathy with his subject. Several
arrangements have more than enough sur-
Listening to this infectious album, I won-
of the songs were originally written to
prises to keep the attention. With good pack-
der how many of today’s young academy-
accompany Ultan Cowley’s lecture The Men
aging and impressive sleevenotes from Sue
trained ‘traditional’ musicians would touch
Who Built Britain, later forming the basis of a
Steward, this is an all-round attractive propo-
the McCalmans’ repertoire with a bargepole:
show on that theme commissioned for 2006’s
sition for those unafraid of the unusual.
openly sentimental ballads, comedy songs
Chester Folk Festival. For the present revival,
www.wrasserecords.com
and this recording, Mick has gathered
and passionate anthems in defence of asylum
together a superb little company comprising
Novalima take similar musical ingredients
seekers. Ian McCalman has a talent for com-
Heather Bradford, Judy Dunlop and Jackie
but treat them in a much more straightfor-
posing comic songs, and this album contains
Oates (to portray the all-important women’s
ward fashion. Again mixing Peruvian rhythms
his send-ups of recycling and drunken lech-
roles), together with Paul Downes and Roger
and melodies with contemporary styles (and a ery. Nick Keir is also a fine songwriter and his
Watson (for instrumental backing and sup-
dab of Cuban musical hot sauce on top), but Corryvreckan Calling is the true story of an
porting male roles). Mick is in commanding
with a greater emphasis placed on conven- Edinburgh woman’s escape to a better life.
and glorious voice as Paddy himself, but
tional dancefloor-friendly beats and clear-cut Nick’s songwriting style is impressionistic,
though his is a key role he doesn’t hog centre
song structure. This, their second album, is a vivid and yearningly romantic. But the stand-
stage, and the show’s most poignant
more consistent and confident release than its out song on this album has to be the rousing-
moments are (entirely fittingly) the province
predecessor, at its best on the skanking reg- ly performed title track. Coming Home offers
of the women, for whom Mick writes with
gae-flavoured Ruperta/ Puede Sera. Elsewhere Scottish identity to the world’s refugees as
true compassion, understanding and dignity.
there’s a range of rootsy voices and percussion their fundamental right. It is impossible not
The songs’ timeless styling enables the
creative interweaving of a linking commen-
Novalima
tary and poems; it’s all Mick’s own work,
although a few of the songs are set to tradi-
tional melodies. The show takes a loosely his-
torical-chronological approach (the role of
the navvy through the industrial ages),
through which runs the common thread of
the navvy’s life, emotions, work and loves,
with the tragedies in both the workplace and
the personal arena leavened by episodes of
broader humour. The impact on the women
in the navvies’ lives occupies the sharpest
focus however, powerfully examining issues
such as poverty, rootlessness, racism and atti-
tudes to death. The ladies’ idealism and real-
ism are brilliantly conveyed in The Women’s
Song and Judy’s matchless performance of
the show’s title-song, while particularly ten-
der moments of personal heartbreak occur
with Heather’s Farewell My Son and Jackie’s I
Miss Him. Some archetypal lilting-patter is
cleverly built into Don’t Forget, while Roger’s
railway contractor (Brassey) and retired navvy
(Just Like You), and Paul’s priest make for
convincing individual character-portraits.
Great virtue is made of the small instru-
mental complement through some excellent
musicianship, with Paul’s expert, nifty guitar
(occasionally augmented with banjo or man-
dolin) providing the principal undercurrent,
subtly enhanced by Roger’s melodeon or con-
certina and Jackie’s five-string fiddle-viola.
Mick’s supreme achievement in this com-
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