For reasons I can’t for the life of me remember, I did not write a word on the fab duo of Rachel and Dan’s 2021 releases, the gentle folk/singer-songwriter style early bird // night owl (yep, that’s the album title) and the almost 100 % instrumental mini-album (at 26 minutes) ReDrawing Edinburgh, music for a documentary film on the city’s 20th century expansion. Both were very good indeed and I especially enjoyed the latter’s nuanced and, yes, cinematic atmosphere that proved Dowally’s potential for creating music the reaches beyond the folk music paradigms.
But I decidedly did not expect the next release to be anything like Ici et là-bas, a collaboration between Dowally and the respected French jazz and world music drummer Philippe Boudot. How this team-up came about, I have no idea, but it works beautifully. It takes Dowally yet another step into new regions, which is kind of marked by the joyful “five, four, three, two, one” countdown that launches First Day, the album’s opener. Already we’re in a bit of a new territory, as Philippe lays down a very New Orleans kind of groove while Dan Abrahams’ electric guitar takes on some African stylings and Rachel Petyt’s fiddle keeps the music connected to Dowally’s own folk sound.
It’s followed by Ennio, certainly a tribute to maestro Morricone, a six-minute piece that covers various moods and dynamics in a very storytelling way, no words needed. Here the album’s lineup really shows its strength: the music often sounds as if it was created by a bigger band. The third, track, Sur l’océan, comes with some harmony vocals and a nice unhurried swing in 7/4 time and is followed by the quite French vibe and lovely melody of Rue de l’aurore, again quite a cinematic piece and perhaps my favorite on the album.
By that track the album has settled firmly in the folk/jazz/whatever category – by which I mean, it’s impossible to label. That’s always a big plus in my books; any music that transmits its creators’ own voice and vision instead of representing a genre is precious.
The latter half of Ici là-bas stays on this ground and offers more excellent tunes, all of them brilliantly played by everyone, so I must say I’m happily surprised by all this and genuinely hope Rachel and Dan will have further opportunities to work with Philippe. I’m sure more excellence and joy would be forthcoming 🙂
https://dowally.bandcamp.com/album/ici-et-la-bas
FolkNotes 