Category Archives: Music

The Watersons’ Frost and Fire: A Calendar of Ritual and Magical Songs

For a few decades The Watersons were the first family of British folk music, and it all started with Frost and Fire: A Calendar of Ritual and Magical Songs. First released in 1965, it changed British folk music forever. It … Continue reading

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Sviraj’s One To Remember

Big Earl Sellar wrote this review. There seems to be a renewed interest in music from Eastern Europe, judging by the sheer volume of releases in the last six months. One To Remember is from an American trio playing in … Continue reading

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VRï’s Islais a Genir

The multitude of sacrifices people make in everyday life, the oppression of hard and low-paying work, and the way their humanity shines forth through music and song – that’s the spirit and message of Islais a Genir the second release … Continue reading

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Mali Obomsawin’s Sweet Tooth

It doesn’t seem enough to say that Sweet Tooth is one of the most emotionally powerful albums I’ve heard this year. Aptly described as “a suite for Indigenous resistance,” this suite from Wabanaki jazz bassist, composer, and songwriter Mali Obomsawin … Continue reading

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Souls of Fire’s Firedancing

Big Earl Sellar wrote this review. Souls of Fire is a British group who take their influences from the klezmer recordings of the Twenties and Thirties, among other related sources. Although they add a more modern twist to their music, … Continue reading

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An omnibus review: Gill Bowman, Celtic Offspring, Keltik Elektrik, Conor McCarthy and Alph Duggan, and Rod Patterson

Gill Bowman’s Toasting the Lassies (Greentrax, 1994) Celtic Offspring’s “Nobody Cries When You Cut Up a Bagpipe” (LaughingOnion Records, 1995) Keltik Elektrik’s Keltik Elektrik 2: Just when you thought it was safe to sit down (Greentrax, 2000) Conor McCarthy and … Continue reading

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The Doors’ The Best of The Doors

“The computer sent exact duplicates of John Densmore’s drums and Robby Krieger’s guitar pouring out of the PA; and with a synthesizer patch that was a perfect clone of Ray Manzarek’s dispassionate organ, Devi allowed herself the joy of escaping … Continue reading

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Lodestar Trio’s Bach to Folk

These days I particularly enjoy music that combines roots or folk music with other traditions including jazz and classical. The musicians of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland seem particularly adept at this sort of thing: Norwegian guitarist Jakob Bro, the … Continue reading

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Enkel’s Love Hurts

The third studio album by Finland’s folk quartet Enkel is an altogether enjoyable affair. Enkel is Finnish for angel, and Leija Lautamaja, Miia Palomäki, Maija Pokela, and Iida Savolainen indeed sing like angels, sometimes solo or in duet, sometimes all … Continue reading

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Feufollet’s Cow Island Hop

The musicians of Feufollet are still quite young, but Cow Island Hop is their fourth CD. It is an excellent collection of Cajun music. The six musicians of Feufollet (the name is a Cajun word for a prairie spirit or … Continue reading

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