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central role in the JAMS succession of fero- ciously talented folk dance groups. It is no wonder then that he figures so prominently in Wolfgang Leyn’s authoritative historical account of the scene between 1976 and 1990, Volkes Lied Und Vater Staat – Die Ddr- Folkszene 1976-1990 (People’s Song and Father State…) published in June 2016. Meyer did something else. As few East Ger- man folkies did, he made the transition. He has a relevance for the current folk and folk dance scene. A great deal of that has to do with Polkaholix.


Polkaholix grew out of some random lis- tening at a party in December 2002. ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s The Hot Rocks Polka came on. If you’ve never listened to it, check it out any- way – and not only because it catalysed Polkaholix. It is a two/four outpouring that polka-ises in rapid order It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It), Brown Sugar, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Under My Thumb, Ruby Tuesday and umpteen others. Seed planted, Polkaholix grew.


The nod to Ian Dury in the album title gives more than a little away. There’s zani- ness, nods and musical allusions everywhere. That certainly applies to the original songs in German and English. When they Yankovic-ise anything it has to be good. This album’s mas- terpiece is Cher’s Bang Bang. Andreas Wiec- zorek’s over-the-top lead vocals (and the band’s vocal swells) are sublime while the whole things stays totally danceable. Mario Ferraro’s English-language Jalapeño is cousin to the Yankovic songbook – and that is the highest of praise. Verse one rhymes senorita and margarita, tango and mango and does it cleverly and memorably. For German-speakers the German song material is full-tilt fun, fun, fun. The closing number, Amadeus, takes Mozart onto the dancefloor through the medium of Falco’s Rock Me Amadeus.


When it comes to redefining polka’s con- temporary appeal for dance and, importantly, listening to, Polkaholix is a band beyond com- pare in Europe.


www.polkaholix.de Ken Hunt


THE FRETLESS Bird’s Nest The Fretless TFCD003


The Fretless are an innovative Canadian acous- tic quartet of fiddles, violas and cello, who meld the worlds of Irish/Scottish/North Ameri- can traditional music, jazz and Classical cham- ber music into a unique sound of their own. They have won multiple national music awards in Canada. Bird’s Nest is their third album: an all-instrumental collection of their own origi- nal compositions alongside arrangements of some traditional tunes. The Fretless take tradi- tional fiddle tunes and folk melodies (such as Maids Of Castlebar, Maybe Molly, Bird’s Nest) and transform them into intricate, beautiful, high-energy arrangements.


Musically, the goal of this young group is to expand the rhythmic, harmonic and struc- tured arrangement style of the many folk genres they play using only string instru- ments. There are countless fiddle styles across Canada and around the globe that have been stagnating over time, and The Fretless is working to incorporate a new approach and a new audience. All four members of the band have come from very different tradi- tional and contemporary backgrounds, and are influenced by a broad spectrum of music. However they are unified in their ambition to continually develop their amalgamated sound in order to expand traditional music as far as possible.


In the band’s compositions and in their arrangements, the cello and violas infuse a classical depth and gravitas, while the fiddle


The Fretless


styles flit effortlessly between Irish/Scottish traditional, North Americana, jazz and con- temporary. The sheer poise and polish of this music is cinematic in its evocative clarity, its sweep and power. Imagine adding a big, warm, bluesy, jazzy element to film sound- tracks like The Piano or Last Of The Mohicans. And Fretless integrate it all so seamlessly: try the gorgeous piece Hidden View for one such.


It is no coincidence that two members of Fretless are graduates of Boston’s Berklee College of Music (which gave us Hanneke Cassel). The variety of their musical influ- ences, the complexity of their interpretations and arrangements, and the skilful subtlety of their musical expression puts Fretless into the elite category of boundary-pushing ‘tradi- tional’ artists such as Lau, Berroguetto and Moishe’s Bagel. www.thefretless.com


Paul Matheson


CHRIS WHILE & JULIE MATTHEWS


Shoulder To Shoulder Fat Cat Records FATCD035


Chris and Julie are celebrating 22 years of musical partnership, and their tenth studio album shows they’re still one of the premier songwriter-performer teams in contemporary acoustic music. Shoulder To Shoulder is no exception in demonstrating all the duo’s trademark qualities – brilliant vocal tech- nique, insightful writing, clean-textured recording and impeccable presentation values.


Although Chris and Julie have something of a reputation as ‘go-to’ writers who may be reliably called upon to contribute to other projects, their prolixity doesn’t lead to any lowering of standards, rather the reverse. And, though many of the songs’ themes are familiar, they invariably seek out and deliver fresh thought-provoking perspectives. The theme of enforced separation gives rise to Chris’s moving narrative Pinjarra Dreams (first heard on the Ballads Of Child Migration pro- ject), which is balanced by Leap Of Faith (a mother reunited with her lost daughter). The deceptively uptempo Nothing Yanks My Chain (Like You Do) is a laconic look at the nature of a compulsive relationship (a touch Thompsonesque?), while Slim To Nil insight- fully examines the chancy nature of long-dis- tance love. The last-named three songs, inci- dentally, come from a new co-writing part- nership between Chris and Charlie Dore, and fit completely naturally into the While & Matthews canon.


One of the CD’s immediate standout songs is the heart-rending Ordinary Day, on which Julie explores with eerie simplicity the contrasting personal and global effects of the loss of a life. There are powerful political messages too: Are We Human? (last year’s MOAS charity single) calls for compassion to address the current refugee crisis, while Pride pleads passionately for solidarity against LGBT discrimination; the latter song finds an uplifting counterpart in The Skin I’m In. Typi- cally joyous musical eclecticism is in evidence on the hypnotic gospel-flavoured chant Tree Of Life, while the CD’s final mando-flecked sea-voyage sees My Salty Dog And Me sail off wistfully into the sunset.


High-calibre instrumental support comes from Johnny Heyes and Danny Hart as well as regulars Neil Marshall and Neil Fairclough, with guests Liz Frencham, Ken Nicol, Chris- tine Collister and Kellie While, and the pro- duction is as always of exemplary clarity. Chris and Julie are on top form and just can’t put a foot wrong.


www.whileandmatthews.co.uk David Kidman VARIOUS ARTISTS


Greentrax 30th Anniversary – The Special Projects Greentrax CDTRAX S8616


Greentrax Records are celebrating their 30th anniversary, and during those years have not only released albums by many individuals and groups, but also numerous ‘special project’ CDs. They’re marking their milestone with a low-priced double CD featuring 30 tracks from those project albums, as a fascinating snapshot of their history.


These albums include Aly Bain & Friends,


Scots Women, Far, Far From Ypres, Gaelic Women, The Scottish Diaspora, the whole Scottish Tradition series and too many more to mention. The artists on the compilation range from Lizzie Higgins to Dick Gaughan, Ishbel MacAskill to Gordon Duncan, Alastair Fraser to Eric Bogle, Brian MacNeill to Siob- han Miller, Tony McManus to The McCalmans – you get the picture. All in all a remarkable collection of material carefully selected and put together by Ian Green, in a varied but surprisingly cohesive listening experience. Pretty good Christmas presents for all your mates, I reckon.


www.greentrax.com Bob Walton


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