Low whistle
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Brian Hughes – Whirlwind
Brian is joined on Whirlwind by guest musicians Garry O’Briain, Nollaig Casey, Brendan O’Regan, Donnchadh Gough (Danu), James Blennerhasset and Bruno Staehlin.
Copperplate is very proud to have this title on our roster and to help it achieve its full potential will be supporting this release with a full-scale promotional mail out to media and retail.
Press Reviews
… “superb technique and a fine feel for the music. We’ll be seeing more of Brian Hughes, and the sooner the better”.
The Living Tradition (reviewing Whistle Stop)
The Folk Diary
Brian is from Co. Kildare and is known as a flute-player and uillean piper, but this album is devoted entirely to his playing of the simpler tin whistle and a lovely job he makes of it with some sparkling playing and a lovely fluid, liquid tone. He plays a wide variety of rhythms and we hear in play in quite a range of settings, but it is always the whistle that is well to the fore. His playing is at its most interesting when he is playing highly decorated slower items and the two airs, De Bharr na gCnoc and Nóirín Ní Riain’s standing out.
In one sense, we can judge Brian’s status by the company that he keeps, for some of the top names associated with Irish music are here in including Nollaig Casey, James Blennerhasset and the man who was also the album’s producer, Garry O’Briain. Vic Smith.
Irish Music Magazine May 07
This is a lovely album of whistle tunes delivered by one of the sweetest players on the scene. Brian Hughes’ first album “Whistlestop ” was a revelation: his second is a confirmation. Sticking pretty much to the old Generation whistles in D and C, Brian effortlessly handles a wide range of Irish dance music from polkas to waltzes with a gorgeous tone and crisp fingerwork.
From “Rosemary Lane ” to “The Eel in the Sink”, Brian’s jigs and reels sparkle like summer raindrops. “Alexander’s Hornpipe “is one of three at a bright jaunty pace, showing this man’s control and ability to improvise. “The Piper’s Waltz ” flows smoothly into “The Table-Top Tumble “, a charming Hughes composition. Trios of slides and polkas trip off Brian’s tongue and fingers: “O’Keeffe’s, CuzTeehan’s, O’Connell’s, O’Leary’s “, all grand old names. “Tuohy’s Reel ” and “Man of Aran ” are slowed down to a gentle stroll a la Lunasa.
Nollaig Casey and Brendan O’Regan add fiddle, mandolin and bouzouki to Brian’s whistle on a few tracks. There’s also percussion and upright bass, and varied accompaniment from Garry O’Briain throughout. The two slow airs on “Whirlwind ” don’t tempt Brian onto low whistles, but he does switch to a wooden Seery high D which gives a fuller tone in the low octave. “De Bharr Na gCnoc ” is rarely heard, a simple song melody played straight and pure here.
“Noirin Ni Riain’s” comes from the well-known singer’s repertoire, another unusual air.
The wooden whistle is also featured on the final set of reels: “Rip the Calico, Dispute at the Crossroads “, and “Martin Wynne’s “. And there you have it, a nicely rounded recording by an exceptional whistle player, well produced and packaged, with interesting notes and artwork. Alex Monaghan
LiveIreland.com
We opened the mailer from one of the essential Irish labels, Clo-lar-Chonnacta. ALWAYS tasty stuff on this label. One of the best. Hmmm. A tin whistle album. Disappointment. Another whistle album? Really? Well, okay. On it goes. Stunned! Gobsmacked! This Brian Hughes out of Kildare has delivered a massive winner! Let’s start with technique. Lots of whistle players have the technique. Great breath control is the problem. The god of breath control, and of whistling generally, is Mary Bergin. Well, make room for Brian Hughes! Of course, he is out of a musical family. Goes without saying. This album has a huge repertoire, and lots of styles. Such excellent musicians helping out! Nollaig Casey on fiddle. Garry O’Briain on guitar, mandocello and keyboards. Brian O’Regan (one of our favs) on mandolin and bouzouki. Bruno Staehelin on percussion, Donnchadh Gough on bodhran and James Blennerhasset on bass round it all out. Whistle albums, like harp albums, can get very, very boring—unless in the hands of a master. Brian Hughes is a master. Big league, all the way! Great, great. Hughes also plays the pipes. Wish he would have given us some more here. Ah, let’s not get picky. This is one of the best whistle albums we have EVER heard. Get it! Title is ‘Whirlwind’, which also describes Brian’s playing. We love this. Rating: Four Harps Bill Margeson
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Caladh Nua – Happy Days
Caladh is an old Irish word meaning “Harbour” or “Shelter place”. Caladh Nua means a “New Harbour” or “New Shelter place”. Caladh Nua could also refer to a new comfortable place where music and song sets a warm lovely atmosphere. With all this in mind, this is “Caladh Nua”, the traditional Irish band. This very unique band was founded in early 2009. Like many of the great Irish traditional bands Caladh Nua simply formed as a result of great musicians crossing paths, realising a special connection and then wanting to share it with the world audience. The ensemble comprises of five qualified musicians from three beautiful regions in Ireland, counties Carlow, Waterford and Kilkenny. The tasteful musical arrangements of Caladh Nua include traditional Irish dance music, traditional songs alongside some more recently composed pieces. Caladh Nua has a perfect balance between innovation and preservation of Irelands wonderful music and song tradition, the bands special repertoire and energy is guaranteed to capture an audience of any generation
Press Reviews
Net Rhythms.com
Caladh is an old Irish word meaning “harbour” or “place of shelter”; thus the band name signifies a state whereby they’ve found a new comfortable place to showcase their musical talents in a warm and convivial atmosphere. And that turns out an apt description of the genially energetic music on offer from this fairly new young five-piece band who hail variously from Counties Waterford, Carlow and Kilkenny.
Although there’s no shortage of musicianship, the band members don’t force the issue, preferring instead to concentrate on letting the music speak for itself. Theirs is an easygoing style, as demonstrated on this collection that readily intersperses tune-sets and songs in sensibly varied and clean, uncluttered arrangements that let the individual musicians have their say without fear of being drowned out or interrupted mid-flow. And yet, considering that the lineup sports two fiddlers (Paddy Tutty and Lisa Butler), the overall texture isn’t always as rich as you might expect — but this isn’t ever a problem when the playing is so deliciously pointed and the arrangements kept so simple. The lineup’s completed by Eoin O’Meachir (banjo, whistle, mandolin), Derek Morrissey (button accordion) and Colm O’Caoimh (guitar, bouzouki), who together provide a fortuitous balance of timbres that’s impeccably judged, with melody line and harmony support well proportioned at all times.
The opening set of reels is a good illustration of the band’s flair for balance between sensitivity of internal dynamics and outright energy, although there are instances on later sets where one feels that a little more capital might have been made out of the tunes (for example The Jolly Beggarman, which flits by in just under three minutes) and that a touch more loosening-up might have helped in dispelling the hint of “by rote” that just occasionally creeps into the rhythm of the ensemble. Interestingly though, one of the most appealing of the instrumental tracks is a swinging ragtime-cum-vaudeville-flavoured piece By Heck (which originates from the playing of the Flanagan Brothers, who emigrated to America in the early 1900s).
The rest of the tune-sets contain a nice mixture of jigs, reels and hornpipes and barndances, and the chosen pace is well managed but never too frantic even in the concluding head-of-steam stages of a set. Colm gives us a delightful solo performance too, the Gort Na Mona set (comprising a jig and a hornpipe): light and lyrical guitar picking at its finest (and, like his rendition of The Humours Of Ballyloughlin on the disc’s final medley, inspired by the duetting of Paul Brady and Arty McGlynn). As far as the songs are concerned, Lisa takes the vocals for three out of the four, and she has a pleasing, warm, generous tone with a good sense of line without resorting to over-use of ornamentation; I particularly enjoyed her rendition of Cad É Sin Don Té Sin, a Donegal song dealing with the issue of personal freedom and individuality, although her treatment of Banks Of The Lee is a little too much on one level to rise above the standard. The fourth of the songs is the odd-one-out in two respects: it’s the only contemporary composition – Richard Thompson’s Beeswing – and it’s sung (albeit rather attractively too) by Colm, but it ends a little abruptly and in the end doesn’t add anything to the song’s already massive discography.
Overall, then, Happy Days is a pretty impressive debut, for these musicians are undeniably talented and have already learnt some key lessons in the successful presentation of Irish traditional music. And even though I’m left with a feeling of being ever so slightly shortchanged, it proves an enjoyable listen. David Kidman October 2010
www.LiveIreland.com
Caladh Nua is another young group out with a stunner, Happy Days. What a quintet! Fab songs meet wonderful, wonderful tunes
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Eilis Kennedy – Time to Sail
Press Reviews
Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2 presenter 18.9.02
I think this is one of my albums of the year so far, because it’s got some of the finest versions I’ve ever heard of Crazy Man Michael, Lord Franklin and the Nic Jones song, Canadeeio. I want to play now what I think bar Sandy Denny’s version of Who Know Where The Time Goes. I think this is 100% gold.
BBC Radio 2 Folk Web Site
Kerry-born Éilís (say Aylish) Kennedy comes of an Irish family where both music and the Gaelic language were part of everyday life, a happy fact reflected in this debut album. Time To Sail was recorded in her home town of Dingle and features, apart from her own pure, natural voice, a ton of top Irish artists including Máire Breathnach (fiddle, viola), William Coulter (guitar), Virginia McKee (clarinet), Bruce Abraham (slide guitar) and Séamus Begley (vocal).
Subtle and lush arrangements woven around traditional songs in two languages are the order of the day. Most of the ten tracks have been round the block many a time but Kennedy reworks them with a freshness that belies any qualms of pastiche. The Factory Girl, bouncing along on Gregg Sheehan’s funky percussion, dives into two slide guitar and kalimba-drenched barn dances; gorgeous layers of cello and clarinet drive away any echoes of Sandy Denny in Crazy Man Michael and Who Knows Where The Time Goes; Black is the Colour’s characterful phrasing and spooky slide guitar/woodwind soundscape prevents it neatly from stepping on Cara Dillon’s justly acclaimed version. Of the less familiar material, two Gaelic songs in particular tug the heartstrings – Amhrán na Leabhar (The Song Of Books), an 18th century poet’s lament for the loss of a boatload of beloved books to the sea and a song of loves’ tribulations, Tá Mé ‘mo Shuí.
Whatever it is, that indefinable quality that raises one singer above the many in these days of talent glut, Éilís has it. A great debut from a major new talent, Time To Sail is making big waves on both sides of the pond. Let’s hope some UK gigs are in the offing – I hear she’s really stunning live. Mel McClellan – November 2002
Live Ireland Web Site Nov 02
What a discovery Eilis Kennedy is! We have been stunned by her debut album, Time To Sail.
Eilis lives in Dingle, Co. Kerry and runs a music bar with her husband John. Also a high school teacher, Eilis is currently on a career break. We are the lucky ones.
This album showcases a major new voice in Irish traditional music. Some of the country’s best musicians have gathered around to appear on this album. The guest list includes the likes of Maire Breathnach, William Coulter, Seamus Begley, and Bruce Abraham on a great slide guitar.
There are more. Here’s the point. This woman can sing. Really sing! A lot of the female voices currently heard in Irish music are very similar, and they must be listened to closely to hear any difference. The great ones–Triona and Maighread ni Dhomnaill, Cathie Ryan, Maranna Mc Closkey and Fionola o’ Sciochru can be identified by voice in a storm! Different. Clear. Strong.
And, now, we add Eilis Kennedy to that very special list. This is a wonderfully produced album, with a really striking cover. Lovely. Also on offer here is the definitive version of “Franklin”, the song about the 19th century explorer, Lord John Franklin, lost in a polar expedition in 1845. We heard Altan and others do this, but Eilis’ version stopped us dead in our tracks.
A gob- smacking stunner. Great other tunes–uptempo, ballads, airs, a really lovely mix. Get your mitts on this one! and be prepared to listen and fall in love.
This is an incredible new talent on the international scene following recent tours with William Coulter. WOW! Bill Margeson
Pay The Reckoning Web Site Review
A major new talent emerges!
Kennedy’s debut is a thoughtful, intelligent and well-balanced collection of songs (and the odd tune), delivered by a singer whose control, phrasing and ability to communicate are a delight and whose backing musicians provide tasteful and sympathetic arrangements which complement her approach perfectly.
Kennedy evidently has an affection for the material which emanated from the folk revival in England in the 60s and 70s, as four of the tracks on offer attest. Her version of Sandy Denny’s often-covered “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” in our opinion manages to surpass the fragile beauty of the original. Her rendition of “Crazy Man Michael”, another song which will be forever associated with Denny from her performance on Fairport Convention’s “Liege and Lief”, is yet another case in point.
However Denny is not the only troubadour of that era to inspire Kennedy. She manages to knock us for six with a poignant reading of the classic “Canadeeio” (which puts the versions by both Nic Jones and Bob Dylan in the shade). And still she finds time to resurrect, dust down and polish to a high lustre “Lord Franklin” – a song which John Renbourn and Jacqui McShee placed their stamp on many years ago.
Elsewhere you’ll find yourself tapping your foot along to the sparse (but dramatic!) “Factory Girls” – a nod to the song tradition “across the pond”. And you’ll be captivated by the Australian song “Andy’s Gone”.
Her version of “Black Is The Colour” invites comparisons to the recent revival of the song by Cara Dillon. The critics went wild over Dillon’s rendition on its release. However they hadn’t heard Kennedy at that stage and we respectfully suggest that anyone who rates highly Dillon’s reading of the song ought to give Kennedy a listen. Perhaps they’ll agree with us that Kennedy’s version is a much more characterful rendition.
Three songs in Irish complete the set. “Nead na Lachan” is a jaunty jig which serves as a great introduction to the album. “Amhran na Leabhar” and “Ta Me ‘Mo Shui” on the other hand are much more complex and moving numbers which show off Kennedy’s voice to great effect.
A mighty album, then! One which will find its way to your CD player time after time and whose nuances and subtleties will become more revealed on each playing.
Net Rhythms Web Site
I know next to nothing about Éilís, aside from the facts that she hails from Dingle in County Kerry and that Time To Sail is, astonishingly, her début album. It is a very fine collection, mixing traditional and contemporary material in a thoroughly engaging manner and with an equal affinity for either category of song.
Admittedly, the track-list contains some over-familiar titles — Lord Franklin, Black Is The Colour, Canadee-I-O and two associated with Sandy Denny (Who Knows Where The Time Goes?, Crazy Man Michael) — but it’s to Éilís’s credit that her versions of the vast majority of these turn out to be among the finest available (notwithstanding my personal hobby-horse about some spurious words in CMM); and I’d even rate Éilís’s version of Black Is The Colour (which closes the album in fine style) above Cara Dillon’s then-matchless reading of only a year or so ago.
Éilís is an exciting singer, who is clearly inspired by the texts she sings. She has a real flair for communicating expressively but not over-ornately, and possesses an enviable control of phrasing and dynamics. Her degree of accomplishment is uniformly impressive, on slower and faster material alike — her lightness and vocal control on the jig-paced opener Nead Na Lachan and the energetic Factory Girls contrasts well with the emotional impact of the Henry Lawson setting Andy’s GoneA-Droving, forinstance.
All of which makes it all the more surprising that her name was not previously known to me. She manages to be both moving and tasteful in her interpretations, and to this end she is aided considerably by her choice of supporting tone colours and accompanying musicians, which includes Máire Breathnach (fiddle), Virginia McKee (clarinet), William Coulter (guitar), Barry Phillips (cello) and Bruce Abraham (slide guitar).
This is a superb album, with a well-defined character and a stamp of real lasting quality, and a credit to all concerned. David Kidman
Folk Roots Magazine
Eilis Kennedy from Dingle Co Kerry is a quietly growing presence on Irish singing circles. Her debut album Time To Sail unveils a massively underrated vocal talent with a quiet mastery of her craft. Her voice is a thing of gentle sublime beauty, the like for which mothers would be sold and kings ransoms exchanged.. Her sweet, clear, and flowing tones make short work of demanding songs in both English and Gaelic. The material chosen includes some demanding songs from traditional epics Amhrán Na Leabhair and Ta Mé Mo Shuí, Canadee I O and Lord Franklin both hallowed pages from the Nic Jones and Martin Carthy songbook and Sandy Dennys seminal Who Knows where The Time Goes. While some of these approach standard status , Eilis not only handles these songs with care but also infuses them with a fresh buoyancy and relevance. . Two classic examples are Who Knows Where The Time Goes, a hard choice baring in mind the mighty shots Sandy, Judy Collins and Mary Black have had at this simple yet sublime allegory to Trevor Lucas. With William Coulters steel string guitar and Barry Phillips mournful cello, Eilis supple voice exhibits a steely yet reserved emotional strength. Likewise, Ta Mé Mo Shuí is equally minimalist in approach with her vocal performance shining in the quiet majesty of comfortable songs and arrangement. Its not all heavy weather though as Nead Na Lachain skips merrily along on waves of enthusiasm and a feisty percussive treatment of The Factory Girl mixes afro-American idioms with Irish vocal nous. Exhibiting a sense of restraint and care she brings a freshness to her performances suggesting comparisons with Kate Rusby, Bill Jones or closer to home Mary Black or Cara Dillon. Time To Sail is a work of gentle yet firm vocal majesty and adroit choice of material a sweetly beguiling affair the like of which falling in love with is not only just possible but inevitable.
The Irish Times December 2001
Without a lick of paint or a blast of fanfare, Eilis Kennedy ( one time member of the Melting Pot from Baile na nGall) has released a spectacular solo debut. Kennedy, a singer whose vocals need neither searchlight nor scaffolding to bore holes into the soul, belongs to a select company of singers (alongside Karan Casey and Virginia Rodriguez) possessd of the finesse of a seamstress and the precision of a neurosurgeon. Tá Mé ‘Mo Shuí straddles the folk/trad divide effortlessly, Kennedy’s guileless vocals hammocked by Barry Phillips’ perfectly-judged cello. Her re-working of The Factory Girl , funkily imbued with a new-found hip-swivelling optimism, gels startlingly with a pair of barndances that lift and seperate the sentiment and rhythms as though they were genetically engineered for one another. A magnificent collection. “. Siobhán Long, The Irish Times
Irish Music Magazine
Every once in a while, an album comes along which heralds a potentially, major yet underrated vocal talent. My first exposition to Eilis Kennedy and her debut album Time To Sail was through hearing Nead na Lachan sail through the radio waves, her clear sparkling voice and a clever arrangement made me want to checked out this Dingle based native. Now having listened to Time To Sail several times, my thoughts are unchanged Eilis Kennedy is an untapped major vocal talent waiting for the moment to shine. Why? For starters, she has a soft yet lyrical voice, which clearly sails through the albums ten, tracks and is equally at home with traditional and contemporary material. Some of the latter chosen is quite daunting including Sandy Dennys classic Who Knows where the Time Goes, Fairport Conventions Crazy Man Michael and Nic Jones s Canadee -i-o.
In the case of Who Knows where the Time Goes where lesser hands would have made a histrionic meal, Eilis interprets Sandy Dennys wistful allegory to her then lover Trevor Lucas with a quietly impressive authority and Canadee -i-o emerges as a fresh delightful performance. Where Eilis Kennedy scores is in the subtle arrangements framing her sparkling vocal chords and a tasteful choice in material. Time To Sails success is due to taste on all fronts- a gorgeous record no more no less.
Hot Press
Currently on furlough from a teaching career, this fine singer has taken her time in releasing her debut album. It has been quite a while in the planning, but is well worth the wait. An engaging mix of the traditional and comtemporary, it showcases to strong effect a warm voice and also a talent for picking damn good songs. The opening track Nead Na Lachan sets the tone; bouncy and full of movement, it demonstrates an easy relationship to rhythm. The real test of an album such as this
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Fraser Fifield – Honest Water
- Dark Reel
- Softly Spoken
- Misnomer’s
- Lament
- Marjan’s
- Velvet Jig
- S — J’s Polka
- Horo
- Piece of Mind
- Psalm
- Honest Water
- Alone At Last
– all compositions by Fraser Fifield Low whistles, soprano and alto saxophones, small pipes, border pipes, highland pipes, keyboards, acoustic guitar, clarinet and various percussion instruments including, cajon, djembe, congas and bodhran. with Graeme Stephen, electric guitar on tracks 3, 8, 11 and Malcolm Stitt, (The Boys of the Lough) acoustic guitar on track 6.
Honest Water by Fraser Fifield Tanar Records TANCD001
Release Date 27.1.03 – Bar Code 5031200207024 For the past 5 years Copperplate has championed the niche market of Irish traditional music on CD. Last year we strayed into the singer songwriter genre, driven by the high quality of the releases by Tony Reidy, Kate Purcell and Eilis Kennedy. Now in 2003 we are delighted to announce our first release of this year sees us boldly go into Scottish fusion music with this wonderful new release, which heralds the arrival of a major young talent on the scene. The ground breaking Scottish band, Wolfstone, quickly spotted his talents, and he was off on the road, touring Europe and the US. After Wolfstone, Fraser began playing with the North East band, Old Blind Dogs, with whom he recorded the CD, ‘Five’ and spent the next two years touring Europe and the USA. His next musical adventure was with Salsa Celtica, an 11-piece band based in Edinburgh, who fuse Latin rhythms with Scottish instrumentation. Commissioned in 99 by Celtic Connections Festival he composed a suite for saxophone quintet, which reflected the different European folk traditions entitled, ‘Traditions’. Fraser is a highly sought after composer/ arranger/ musician in the radio and TV soundtracks market which along with many session dates keep Fraser busy and in the forefront of music today. We at Copperplate are delighted to have this title on our roster and will be supporting this release with a full-scale promotional campaign to media and retail.
Press Reviews
MOJO Magazine April 2003
“Essential Folk”. Unpredictable, nay even eccentric, sounds from the Salsa Celtica, and ex Blind Dog’s piper, whistle player and saxman. Occasionally meanders into the land of noodles, and the dreaded word, ambient sometimes rears it’s ugly head, but mostly this is a distinctive brand of jazz flavoured Celtic music with a real sense of purpose. At it’s best it’s exhilarating. Colin Irwin. 3 stars
Pete Fyfe’s Review
Straight in with the groove – and what a groove! This is a nicely paced (not too fast) tune titled ‘Dark Reel’ that will hypnotically draw the listener in with its combination of layered sounds. Fraser (for the uninitiated) was the multi-instrumental whiz kid from Scotland’s Old Blind Dogs. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of various pipes including small, border and highland he knows how to utilise them all without indulging himself adding saxophones, keyboards, clarinet, acoustic guitar and even percussion to the musical melting pot. I suppose in a way we’re moving into territory already broken by the likes of Moving Hearts, Nightnoise and more recently Capercaillie and as far as I’m concerned I can’t get enough of it. OK, so maybe I am into what many would say is ‘elevator’ music and if that is the case this one’s surely headed for Heaven but (and I know I’m not in the minority here) that would be seen as detrimental to the artist. You can’t put a label to this kind of music and maybe that’s where Fraser might find it a little daunting as regards his marketing. It’s just that as an ‘art form’ no one seems to know where to pigeonhole this style of music. Crossing several barriers including Jazz, Funk and Folk you can’t quite put your finger on it. Let’s just leave it that this is ultimately a recording of beauty that deserves a far wider audience than it will attain in the ‘folk’ market place. Considering there’s not a traditional track in sight, Fraser is a fine tunesmith and I for one hope he succeeds in achieving his own goals as a musician and if there were any festival organisers out there reading this review this music would be great for a late night session. Go on – take a chance and buy this recording. Pete Fyfe
The Herald:
“The saxophonist, whistle player and piper with Salsa Celtica and formerly of Old Blind Dogs steps out on his own and reveals himself as, for the most part, a one-man band. And it’s some band. Multi-tracking saxophone sections and choruses of whistles as well as keyboards, percussion, various bagpipes, and clarinet alongside tremendously creative solo playing, Fifield comes over as Ormiston’s contemporary answer to Storm-era Moving Hearts and dispels any fears of technological suffocation or overkill. Composed, constructed, and played with skill and ranging from Lament’s deeply felt Highland longing to Horo’s East European gambolling with African hi-life guitar (courtesy of Graeme Stephen), this is music with heart, emotion, and tunes that the “repeat play” button was designed for”.
Scotland on Sunday :
“There are pipes of all sizes and a kitchen sink full of percussion on this solo instrumental CD. Fifield also handles keyboard and acoustic guitar, but if even if the album is home-made (in his own studio) it’s leagues ahead of most Scots pro studio recordings. The quality of the playing, wide musical references, and the intensity of focus make it much more Garbarek than Gaberlunzie”.
The Scotsman :
“Fraser Fifield’s debut album confirms that he is one the most exciting talents to emerge in Scottish Folk in recent times, as well as one the most eclectic. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing pipes, saxophones, clarinet, whistles, keyboards, guitar, and ethnic percussion instruments on this almost-solo album (Graeme Stephen or Malcolm Stitt contribute additional guitar on four tracks). His ingenious fusion of Celtic, ethnic, jazz and other idioms is contemporary rather than traditional in feel, and includes a couple of excerpts from his “new voices” commission for Celtic Connections in 2001″.
Inverness Courier :
“Multi-talented Fifield covers most of the musical families on this self-produced album; pipes, keyboards, saxophones, clarinet, whistles and guitar along with various examples of European and African percussion. Fifield has more of an acoustic bent than the likes of Martin Bennet, but his diverse influences and writing skills provide a broad canvas. A touch of jazz here, pibroch and the precenting tradition of the Highland kirk there, and the Balkan sounds of ‘Horo’ all demonstrate the extant of his musical palette, making him sound like a one-man Moving Hearts”
The Sunday Herald :
“To call Fraser Fifield a multi-instrumentalist risks giving altogether too modest an impression. On his debut solo recording the 26-year-old — formerly of Old Blind Dogs, currently with Salsa Celtica — juggles more than a dozen different instruments including three varieties of bagpipes, soprano and alto saxes, whistles, guitar, clarinet, keyboards and an array of percussion implements, with just four tracks featuring guest accompaniment on guitar. This bedroom-produced, one-man-band methodology recalls Martyn Bennett’s first two albums. Its ambition is matched by Fifield’s choice of self-penned material. Honest Water’s adventurous, sophisticated fusion of traditional and contemporary idioms from Scotland and eastern Europe mixes well with religious, jazz, ambient and dance music influences. Its organic, unregimented feel, belying the level of technological wizardry involved, is similar to Bennett’s. Pipes, whistles and sax are Fifield’s main tools, the sax supplying a distinctive element in the mix, alternately in contrast and luminous harmony with the rest of the melody frontline. Repeated spins are required to appreciate the intricacies of these 12 soundscapes, some of which need a clearer sense of direction or overall structure. At its best, however, as in the opening, Arabic-tinged Dark Reel , the effervescent Horo and the brilliantly kaleidoscopic title tune, the album resoundingly endorses his fast- growing reputation as a brilliantly skilled and excitingly original talent. ”
The Herald :
(‘Traditions’, for saxophone quintet, commissioned by Celtic Connections Festival) “conceived in five parts, ‘Traditions’ described a journey through the Celtic lands of Galicia, Asturia, Brittany and into the tricky time signatures of Bulgarian dance before capturing the gospelly righteousness of Gaelic psalm singing. With the former Old Blind Dog and current Salsa Celtica player’s curved soprano set against and interacting with two tenor, a baritone, and alto saxophones, it featured some brilliantly observed writing, striking effective chords and drones, and a liveness of execution by all five players that brought to mind New York’s 29th Street Saxophone Quartet gone native. The Scandinavian finale, with its drones, foot stamps, and Fifield’s ducking, diving and dancing lines, brought to a hugely satisfying conclusion a commission from a writer whose onstage reticence hides an astute compositional sense and the ability to transfer private musical thoughts into a multicultural blast for the listener”.
The Scotsman
“a unique talent”
£14.99
