It’s a rare occasion when you can honestly say that you’ve been there when something really, really good was beginning. Me and my wife were lucky enough to be in the audience of Danny Kyle Open Stage at Celtic Connections 2023 when Tern played their first ever public gig on January 30.
The usually amateur performers that climb on the Danny Kyle stage are always very varied, representing different aspects of folk music; sometimes you have to be pretty patient to witness an act that really blows you away.
I recall the bright and instant delight we felt when Tern began to play. We did not know at that point that the musicians in the band had already some career behind each of them and were acknowledged as exceptional musicians with their respective instruments.
In any case, their presence, musicianship, selection of tunes and everything was just stunning. And they won that year’s Danny Kyle, most deservedly.
The audience responded to them instantly and warmly. Tern did not feel like a bunch of talented newcomers, they sounded and felt like a headlining act on a larger Celtic Connections stage. It was obvious to us immediately that that is the kind of stage they were heading for very soon.
We saw them live again a year later, when they were special guests for Martin Hayes and the Common Ground Ensemble at CC2024. They blew us away again and the audience reaction was on par with their performance.
In the end, it took two years for them to put out their debut album. Perhaps no wonder because individually they do have their careers. Especially the dazzlingly great pianist Amy Laurenson must have been pretty busy after winning the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year just a few days after the Danny Kyle gig.
But here it is, the album called Flyway.
And without any exaggeration, I can honestly say that it’s one hell of a release. But why is it so great?
Three things:
First, as mentioned, they are all excellent music musicians:
Rose Logan (SC) – Fiddle
Kristina Leesik (SE) – Fiddle
Lea Søndergaard Larsen (DK) – Bodhran
Miguel Girão (PT) – Guitar
Amy Laurenson (SC) – Piano
Five great players! As a drummer myself, I would like to point out the absolutely mind blowing bodhran work of Lea Søndergaard Larsen. This instrument is often in the background and only comes to the fore in the hands of absolute icons like John Joe Kelly and Martin O’Neill. But now Lea joins the selected few who master this very demanding instrument and raise its profile.
Her technique is more than excellent and, even more important than that, her playing is so musical and so full of shade and nuance that it’s something of a very rare thing. Virtuoso technique and musical sensitivity combined: I could call her the Phil Collins of the bodhran, as her playing brings to my mind the unique quality of Phil’s drumming in Genesis in the 1970s.
Second, as the lineup above shows, they are an international band, with emphasis on Nordic or Scandinavian and Scottish traditions. In their music, they not only play in these styles, they also mix and integrate these traditions together in a way I really haven’t seen too often.
Third, their arrangements of both traditional and original tunes are brim full of detail, innovation and willingness and capability to stretch the boundaries just a little while still staying within the realm of traditional music.
I think the arrangements and the way they approach the tunes are the main key to unlocking the quality of this album. The more ambitious folk bands and musicians can, and nowadays quite often do, take an almost chamber music like approach to what they’re doing in regard of arranging the tunes. The results are interesting, fascinating and intricate. Sometimes, though, they can slide towards something slightly academic.
No such worry here. I completely love and admire the way Tern create arrangements that are layered, complex but also fun, and they play them in a way that I can only describe as relaxed. There is no sense of “Hey guys, look how clever we are”, instead, there is just lots of joy and energy of creation that fully transmits to the listener.
Even if it’s useless too pick some individual tunes from this album I have to say that the second tune, Nighean Donn Nan Gobhar, is totally super and also works as an introduction to the band because during its 3,5 minutes it presents different sides of the band and highlights individual players very nicely.
And Storpolska (Swedish for “Big Polska”), a set of two polskas, one by Tern’s own Kristina Leesik, is almost an epic at 6,5 minutes and likewise gives the band and players an opportunity to amaze you over and over – pay attention to the arrangement and everything that’s going on both melodically, harmonically and rhythmically. Because a lot is.
The album’s fabulous closing set, Shetland Reels, was performed already in that first gig over two years ago. They have a video clip of that performance on their social media (https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15pfktwtru/?mibextid=wwXIfr) and I recommend you check it out because that will give you some idea of the impact they made that afternoon in Glasgow, coming out of nowhere to light up the place.
Flyway will be the only Tern album featuring the lineup mentioned earlier. Amy Laurenson and Miguel Girão have parted ways with Rose, Lea and Kristina, which is kind of sad, considering the quality of their live performances and this album.
But the three that remain will continue Tern and if I have read correctly, new members maybe joining the band soon. At least I really hope so, because the talents of Rose, Lea and Kristina are formidable, and the band will go from strength to strength.
I am totally convinced of this and cannot wait for the next chapter in the Tern saga.
Flyway on Bandcamp:
https://ternfolk.bandcamp.com/album/flyway-2
FolkNotes 