Mairearad Green and Anna Massie are solid staples of modern Scottish folk music; both have been active and important figures in the scene for many years already. As they have previously made four albums (Mairearad and Anna, Coupling, Best Day and Farran) together, the almost synchronized releases of their new solo albums was a great … Continue reading Mairearad & Anna – but on their own this time
Tag: folk music
A triple dose of Shane Cook: talk about a blazin’ fiddle, eh?
Canada's fiddle wizard Shane Cook's music has kept me going these past couple of weeks when the dying Finnish winter first turned into grey slush, followed by winter's comebacj (of course) and then more slush, with the sun nowhere in sight. The gloomy scenes outdoors have been successfully countered by the Cook magic! If you … Continue reading A triple dose of Shane Cook: talk about a blazin’ fiddle, eh?
Fiona Hunter’s two solo albums: separated by a decade, connected by everything else
Considering how visible a figure Fiona Hunter has been in the contemporary Scottish folk music scene, it feels strange there has been a decade between her solo albums. Her 2014 debut was a gourmet table Scots songs and singing. It was a very solid work with some truly remarkable performances, like the heartwrenching, brilliantly dramatic … Continue reading Fiona Hunter’s two solo albums: separated by a decade, connected by everything else
Looking back on The Copperplate Sessions (2018) by Manus McGuire
One of the many things I love about Celtic, or any folk music really, is how fairly simple elements join together to create this empowering, effortlessly rocking music. I use the word 'rocking' not only to describe the feel and the motion but because this is where folk and rock meet: you don't need very … Continue reading Looking back on The Copperplate Sessions (2018) by Manus McGuire
Bruce MacGregor’s “Road to Tyranny” is a jewel
So it took me almost two years to finally listen to the Blazin' Fiddles lead man's latest solo album (the previous ones are from quite a few years ago). But who cares about time when the music is timeless, right? This is the kind of modern Scottish folk I really, really love: the tradition is … Continue reading Bruce MacGregor’s “Road to Tyranny” is a jewel
Can’t help it: the silent jingle faithful snow season is here, and so is the music
...and so it is (almost) Xmas - but the horrific war not too far from our doorstep has been going on for almost two years now - maybe not enough people want it to be over? Let's just say that with that nightmare, and a few other tragedies around the world, I'm finding it extraordinarily … Continue reading Can’t help it: the silent jingle faithful snow season is here, and so is the music
RURA: Dusk Moon
Dusk Moon was released in March 2023; this review was written eight months later due to many long periods of non-activity in this blog in 2023, caused by personal circumstances. It was all of five years between In Praise of Home and Dusk Moon. During that period, RURA released a live album and a tribute … Continue reading RURA: Dusk Moon
Genticorum: Au coeur de l’aube
The magnificent Quebec trio of Yann Falquet, Pascal Gemme and Nicholas Williams (who replaced Alexandre de Grosbois-Garand a while back) have come up with an album that rocketed into the #1 position in my Genticorum albums ranking.Not only does Au coeur de l'aube (At dawn) have beautiful cover art, the music itself is warm and … Continue reading Genticorum: Au coeur de l’aube
Graham Mackenzie: The Dawning
It's been quite a few years since Highland fiddler Graham Mackenzie's debut album Crossing Borders - that was actually way back in 2016, amazing how time just disappears. It was a very, very good outing by a massively talented young musician and I remember listening to it and wondering where all this new talent in … Continue reading Graham Mackenzie: The Dawning
Ruth Keggin & Rachel Hair: Lossan
This is a review of a fairly recent but not brand new album. This album was released in 07/2022. I have often noted how there is inner strength and power in the quiter Celtic music. Lossan features, for the most part, just two women: a voice and a Celtic harp and little else - it's … Continue reading Ruth Keggin & Rachel Hair: Lossan
FolkNotes 