Tag Archives: Celtic music

Wicked Tinkers’ Loud

I would love to hear what the comedian and once upon-a-time folk singer Billy Connolly would have to say about the playing of the Corn Na Lliran (Bronze Age Irish horn) and didgeridoo on the aptly named opening track ‘Bog’ … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Wicked Tinkers’ Loud

The Cottars’ Made in Cape Breton

The Cottars are four youngsters, two brother-sister pairs, from Cape Breton Island. At the time they made this CD, Ciarán and Fiona MacGillivray were 13 and 11 years old, respectively. They both sing, stepdance and play several instruments. Their father … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on The Cottars’ Made in Cape Breton

Julie Murphy’s Lilac Tree

Julie Murphy has produced a singular CD that rises above the folk singer-songwriter genre to make an intimate artistic statement. Best known for her interpretations of traditional material, including Welsh folksongs, the North London-born Murphy has worked with such diverse … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Julie Murphy’s Lilac Tree

The Skagen Festival, Skagen, Denmark, 27-30 June 2002.

Skagen is a town in the far north of Denmark, in fact as far north you can go in that country, situated at the top of the Danish peninsula Jutland, where two seas, the Skagerack and the Kattegat, meet. Skagen … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Skagen Festival, Skagen, Denmark, 27-30 June 2002.

KGB’s Contra-Intelligence and Volga Notions, and Bag o’ Tricks/Tricky Brits’ Bag o’ Tricks/Tricky Brits

These three CDs by three  … well, four inter-related Seattle, Wash., bands present a lively sample of contemporary contradance music. KGB is a trio of Julie King, Claude Ginsburg and Dave Bartley, and takes its name from the initials of … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on KGB’s Contra-Intelligence and Volga Notions, and Bag o’ Tricks/Tricky Brits’ Bag o’ Tricks/Tricky Brits

Helen Bell’s Audierne

Audierne is a charming record of traditional and contemporary instrumental music with a Celtic flair. Helen Bell plays viola — an instrument you don’t hear every day, much less in Celtic music — as well as violin, recorder and whistles, … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Helen Bell’s Audierne

Bag o’ Cats’ Out of the Bag

Out of the Bag is a mixed bag of loosely Celtic-based instrumental World music. This Scottish quintet blends a number of disparate musical elements into an effective musical melange. Elements in the mix include Indian strings and percussion, Scottish pipes, … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Bag o’ Cats’ Out of the Bag

Heather Alexander’s Wanderlust, Life’s Flame, and Midsummer

This isn’t an easy set of reviews to write. You see, though Ms. Alexander doesn’t know it, her music and I have something of a history. It all dates back to high school, I’d say. I was young, foolish, and … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Heather Alexander’s Wanderlust, Life’s Flame, and Midsummer

Wicked Tinkers’ Hammered and Wicked Tinkers

As Big Earl writes in his review of “Mississippi” John Hurt’s Rediscovered, “Do you want the long review or the short one? Here’s the short: Do yourself a favour, go out and buy this disc. Right now.” The same applies … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Wicked Tinkers’ Hammered and Wicked Tinkers

The Clumsy Lovers’ Barnburner

The Clumsy Lovers play raucous, uptempo Celtic-based rock with all kinds of Pacific Rim influences. Based in the Vancouver, B.C., area, the Lovers incorporate Californian and Hawaiian folk-rock, reggae and ska into their lively musical brew. The band writes much … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Clumsy Lovers’ Barnburner