Category Archives: Music

Spiral Dance: An interview

(Editor’s Note: Spiral Dance were interviewed by Folk Tales staff writer Michael Hunter. The two members of the band who were interviewed, Adrienne Piggott (AP) and Nick Carter (NC). MH: In the thriving South Australian Pagan Folk-Rock scene, where any … Continue reading

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Marc Broussard’s Momentary Setback, Jens Hausmann’s Back on the Track, and Penny Nichols’s I’ll Never Be That Old Again

It’s a diverse bag here – two American singer songwriters dealing in varied parts of the Roots arena, and an American-born guitarist/singer now based in Germany. The music is equally varied, from big-sounding acoustic rock with mainstream potential to warm … Continue reading

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St. James Gate’s Glass in Hand

Patrick O’Donnell wrote this review. The trouble with Americans is that we’re always looking somewhere else for our roots. It’s a pretty rare thing to hear someone say “I’m American” when you ask about his or her pedigree. A teacher … Continue reading

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Skatalites’ From Paris With Love

Big Earl Sellar wrote this review. As soon as the snow melts around these parts, out come the ska discs in my house. Actually, most of the year there’s some ska lurking in the background, but Spring puts me in … Continue reading

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The Skirlers’ Cutting the Bracken

Take Lorraine Kelly and Marion Storey both on fiddles, add Allen Bowling on highland and border pipes, Bob Smith on vocals, mandolin, guitar, tin whistles and bodhran, Chic Judge on highland pipes and vocals, and Tom Docherty on guitar and … Continue reading

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Shane Simpson’s More Electric

It seems Canada is fast becoming a Mecca of undiscovered talent – for new artists previously unheard of on this side of the pond at least. This was certainly the case for me when I got my copy of More … Continue reading

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Ewan MacColl, Charles Parker and Peggy Seeger’s Singing the Fishing, A Radio Ballad

Sean Laffey contributed this review. Veteran Irish folk singer Liam Clancy tells a story of a time back in the sixties when he was over in London, having some time on his hands and being young and naive and it … Continue reading

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Magalí Sare & Manel Fortià’s ReTornar

Two Catalonian jazz/folk musicians take us on a tour of the Iberian peninsula, with an excursion or two into Latin America, in their boundary-ignoring second album together ReTornar. Magalí Sare has an immensely supple and emotive vocal instrument, and she … Continue reading

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Flying Tomatoes’ Rags to Racenicas, Atomic City Rhythm Rascals’ Atomic City Rhythm Rascals, Birol Topaloglu’s Aravani, Mukka’s Skip Lizard, Pinewoods Band’s South by Southeast, and Stömp’s Machine Without Horses

One cannot live by English and Celtic music alone, so there needs to be music outside those traditions that’s interesting too. For me, that music is that of the Central European region. And what I like best is the dance … Continue reading

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Various artists’ Rough Guide to the Asian Underground | Beats, Breaks and Tablas: Cultures Collide

Inigo Jones wrote this review. Featuring some of the best-known names in the Asian Underground – Ananda Shankar, Joi, Asian Dub Foundation – and a number of lesser known acts, Rough Guide’s latest compilation dares to compete with what must … Continue reading

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