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1 Pocket Caravan Thr3e (Pocket Caravan PC03). English guitarist Peter Michaels and Brazilian fiddler Felipe Karam confect an earnest Latin-Balkan instrumental mash-up, inoffensive easy listening world muzak, root- less roots music for the pocket pod of every- man.
pocketcaravan.co.uk
2 Ian Bell Forget Me Not When Far Away (Sound Reconstructions 013). An affec- tionate re-creation of the songs and music associated with Great Lakes sailors in the 19th Century mainly derived from one manuscript and assembled by a fine performer who is also a museum curator on Lake Erie.
www.ianbellmusic.ca
1 Tom Yates Song Of The Shimmering Way (Epona EPO 003). A re-release of the last of Tom Yates’ three albums, recorded in 1977. Although some of the arrangements are unnecessarily elaborate and a certain feyness has crept into the lyrics, his distinctive and catchy melodies are still delightful.
www.eponarecords.com
1 The Albion Band Rise Up Like The Sun (Beat Goes On BGOCD1130). Touchstone album given re-mastering, packaging turned sideways, great background from John O’ Regan, sadly no extras. This completes a hand of Albion releases from BGO, however the Fledg’ling issue from 2003 has the edge due to bonus material.
www.bgo-records.com
2 The April Maze The April Maze (Own label A-MAZE005). Memorable pop hooks with quality vocals and musicianship from cello-toting Australian duo with a fondness for ’70s retro clobber and folksy Beatles cov- ers. Claims to “evoke the true essence of folk music” are bobbins, but it’s good stuff nonetheless.
www.theaprilmaze.com
2 Hanami Philomelos (Smugglers Records, no cat no). Feisty, versatile acoustic duo croon and roar their merry way through ten songs with titles as incongruous as Hearts Of Yarn and Go Tell Someone Who Gives A Fuck. Folk, protest, swing, chanson and garage-punk, with no little aplomb!
www.hanamimiusic.co.uk
1 Red Hippo Trichotomous (Own label, no cat no). Three expansive tracks of ska- flavoured Celtic jazz-folk, delivered with joy- ous skill and invention by Peadar Long, Simon Chantler and Daz Jones on saxophones, fid- dle and sousaphone, respectively. Ace live, but this is more a demo than commercial release.
www.redhippomusic.com
2 Roving Crows Deliberate Distractions (The Floating Globe). Enjoyable recording of original material by Anglo-Irish outfit. Unusu- al blend of trumpet and fiddle that works well with strong vocals in front. High energy.
www.rovingcrows.com
1 Seamus Fogarty God Damn You Mountain (Lost Map Records LONG 00°4'11.2013"). Ten appealingly odd songs about T-shirts, walking sticks, dinosaur-women and other surreal topics, performed on vari- ous creaky and clonky folk instruments, with added field recordings, found sounds, elec- tronics and West of Ireland Devendra-isms. Includes bonus remix disc.
www.lostmap.com
2 4 Square Hearth & Home (Square Roots. SQR0003). This crew have upped their game and gone beyond the clouds. Like this much- ly; as Mancunian jazz trad chops get funked and spiced, you’ve also got the stirrings of decent vocalising (Sweet Jayne, Hold Back The Tide). All this plus Jean-Luc Ponty goes roots.
www.4squaremusic.co.uk
@ Adam Holmes & The Embers Heirs And Graces (Gogar Records GR1AH). This young Edinburgh balladeer’s mellow, easy-on-the- ear songs, though capably enough crafted, mostly come across either as ersatz John Mar- tyn or tenderly plain-but-weary. Even John Wood’s warm production can’t disguise the lack of character in Adam’s music.
www.adamholmesandtheembers.com
@ Wim Claeys De Zwanenzang Van Kaeel Waeri (Wild Boar WBM 21117). Wim is the Belgian diatonic accordeon player who has played for many years with impressive groups like Tref and Ambrozijn. He is now in the pro- cess of “re-inventing himself as a singer”. His material is drawn from around his home town of Ghent set in a variety of styles. On this evidence his playing is much stronger than his singing.
www.wildboarmusic.com
2 Neda Neda (Nomeolvides-co 003). Lovely slithery, winding melodies on ney, violin, oud and double bass, composed then developed with improvisation, by excellent Greek quar- tet – Christos Barbas, Giorgos Papaioannou, Victoria Taskou and Pavlos Spyropoulos – with strong connections with Ross Daly’s Labyrinth workshop on Crete. Beautifully evocative eastern Med music of beguiling, innovative creativity.
www.nedamusic.com
2 Firil Smile Som Sumarsole (Etnisk Musikklubb EM74). Attractive set of tradi- tional songs and tunes from Norway’s Hallingdal in varied, sensitive arrangements by a finely-balanced quartet of classy musi- cians: singer/hardanger-fiddler Margit Myhr, top hardanger-fiddler Olav Luksengård Mjel- va, Anders Hall on viola or octave fiddle, and guitarist Adam Johansson. UK distributor
www.discovery-records.com
1 MU Folhas Que Ardem (Own label, no cat no). Portuguese band with a beefy, ener- getic blend of diverse acoustic instruments including didjeridoo, cello, nyckelharpa, jew’s-harp, accordeon, female vocals and per- cussion in broadly European folk music-influ- enced compositions mostly by didj-ist Hugo Osga and guitarist Ferrer Leandro.
www.mu.com.sapo.pt
1 Mamani Keïta Kanou (World Village WVF479080). Light-voiced Malian singer, some time backing singer for Salif Keita, with a vaguely rockist (with hints of traditional) band. There are moments, but she doesn’t quite seize the stage.
store.harmoniamundi.com
Mamani Keita
2 Gabriel Fliflet Valseria (Etnisk Musikklubb EM107). One of Norway’s most motivating and eclectic musicians with a com- missioned set of songs and instrumentals with a warm spirit of Europe’s waltz era. His distinctive singing, piano and accordeon are joined by Jorun Marie Kvernberg’s fiddles, chord zither and voice plus guitar, mandolin, tárogáto and double bass.
www.emcd.no
1 Anne-Mari Kivimäki Aikapyörä (Kiht- inäjärvi K&JCD003). Short rhythmic ideas on a Russian two-row melodeon, interspersed with material from a concert involving tech- no and sampled rhythm touches, some vocals and archive samples of a storyteller. Jottings from Sibelius Academy thesis work.
www.puhti.eu/suistamo
1 Tranotra Tranotra (Gammalthea SEWJN13). The name’s a condensation of ‘Trading Nordic Traditions’. Fiddlers Olaug Furusæter (Norway) and Sven Midgren (Swe- den), clarinettist Benjamin Bech (Denmark) and accordeonist Markus Räsänen (Sweden/Finland) with tunes original and from their four countries.
www.tranotra.com
1 Kaja Tre Trappor Upp (Kakafon KAKACD016). Elegant original, eclectically- inspired music with something of a mittel - European, faded red velvet and gilt Viennese café atmosphere from the Swedish violin/ viola, accordron and double-bass trio of Livet Nord, Camilla Åström and Daniel Wejdin. Also on vinyl LP.
www.kakafon.com
1 Tetra With Friends Viv Tolerans (Foot- print FRCD 067). Four Swedish vocalists: Ingrid Brännström, Sanna Källman, Anna Ottertun, and Greek-born Maria Stellas of the Ale Möller Band, harmonise in songs from Europe and Africa, backed by oud, gimbri, Ale’s dulcimer, Sten Källman’s saxes and per- cussion, Jonas Simonson’s flute and the mem- bers of Kaja.
www.footprintrecords.com
2 Blått Gådn Blått Gådn (Ta:lik TA111CD). A Norwegian folk band sans fiddle! From Val- dres, heartland of Norway’s fretted zither, the langeleik, played by main singer Ingvild Lie, with guitar, Indian harmonium and man- dolin, in a well-varied, melodious mix of trad, and their own composition. UK distributor
www.discovery-records.com
2 Sudan Dudan Inntil I Dag (Ta:lik TA100CD). Popular Norwegian traditional- music duo Anders Erik Røine and Marit Karl- berg sing and play nicely interlocking lan- geleik and guitar, and rather funky jew’s- harp. Half the tracks here feature just them, the rest are bigger productions, by Odd Nord- stoga, who contributes electric guitar, organ and accordeon with other well-known play- ers on fiddle, bass and drums.
www.talik.no
2 Svestar Svestar (GO’ Danish GO1113). Songs and tunes from Danish tradition to which Anne Roed Refshauge takes a consid- erably classically-trained vocal approach. Beautifully-played, spirited arrangements of interesting material on fiddle and piano plus guest flugelhorn and cello; a shining example to some classical singers’ uncomprehending patronisation of ‘a simple folk song’.
www.gofolk.dk
1 Anja Præst Trio Resonans (GO’ Danish GO1413). A set of her own melodious tunes and songs by clarinettist Anja, a pioneer of the Danish folk revival. With her Phønix col- league Jesper Vinther on accordeon and dou- ble-bassist Peter Sejersen, plus guests includ- ing Mikkel Thomas and Rikke Lundorff who do the singing.
www.gofolk.dk
2 Lyy Två (Dimma DIS012). Fresh trad and new compositions in nifty arrangements on second album by a notable Swedish quintet on a label that’s been remiss in sending review copies. Light-voiced singer Emma Björ- ling, and well-harmonising group vocals, with the rich bowed strings of fiddler Anna Lind- blad and David Eriksson on nyckelharpa, plus guitar and percussion.
www.dimmaswe.com
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