In February this year Éamonn Coyne (Trecherous Orchestra; Salsa Celtica) and Kris Drever (Lau; Drever, McCusker, Woomble) collaborated on and released Storymap which was one of our Albums of the Month. When Neil reviewed the album for Folk Radio UK he said:
…the heart of the album itself couldn’t be more rooted. The musical tradition of collaboration between like-minded souls is Storymap’s strongest asset. The work as a whole comes across as friends gathered in celebration of the music, without egos or agendas. The result is a collection that reaches out warmly to the listener and extends an irresistible call to join in the fun.
Both Kris and Éamonn are in high demand so the chance of seeing them together is often far and few between but now’s your chance as the duo head out on tour in February 2014. They will be playing at venues such as The Met in Bury and the famed Bush Hall in London (full dates below).
Kris and Éamonn have been performing together for some time now having met on the Edinburgh music scene. The release of their Honk Toot Suite in 2007 was a grand display of what they could achieve and was widely applauded. On the release of STORYMAP Éamonn summed his musical relationship with Kris very nicely:
“…quite symbiotic, as is the way we go about choosing and arranging the music in the first place. Often traditional in origin we make the tunes our own and we hop from idea to idea, which often arrive almost fully formed, with relative ease. It is not complicated music or arranging of course but we love its simplicity and that is one of the attractions.”
In 2012 they were joined by Megan Henderson (Braebach) and launched their CD/EP at Celtic Connections which included the wonderful Parcel o’ Rogues:
STORYMAP was recorded in Scotland in late 2012 (read our review here) and was produced and mixed by both Kris and Éamonn along with Mattie Foulds and the album features a host of musical friends such as Eliza Carthy, Simon Bradley, Megan Henderson, Calum McIntyre, Nico Bruce, Éamonn Nugent and Alan Kelly (of the Eddi Reader Band). The uniquely talented Éamonn Coyne dazzles on both the banjo and tenor guitar and the highly rated, award‐winning vocalist Kris Drever arranges the songs, sings simply and disarmingly, and also plays the guitar and mandolin. The album features nine tracks including Goat Walk, Isle of France, May Morning dew and the charming Teddy Bears’ Picnic Jigs.
Tracks
Isle of France
“We love this song and the many versions of it that exist. It’s set in what is now known as Mauritius.”
Ceapaval
“Two reels: “Ceapaval” (also known as “The Harris Dance”) & Liz Carroll’s “The Leading Role”. Kris got the first one from the marvellous fiddler Anna Wendy Stevenson. The second one we both know but we know not from where”.
Tour Dates
18 Feb – The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
19 Feb – The Rodewald Suite, Liverpool Philharmonic
20 Feb – The Met, Bury
21 Feb – Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
22 Feb – The Forge, Basingstoke
23 Feb – Fleece Hotel, Boxford
24 Feb – The Juntion (2), Cambridge
25 Feb – Bush Hall, London
26 Feb – The Glee Club, Nottingham
27 Feb – Otley Courthouse
28 Feb – The Kirkgate Centre, Cockermouth
01 Mar – The CatStrand, New Galloway
Buy Storymap via Reveal Records
www.eamonncoyne.com
www.krisdrever.com