Those of you that read the website yesterday would have picked up our introduction to Dublin-based duo Varo comprised of Consuelo Nerea Breschi from Italy and Lucie Azconaga from France. Following that introduction, they got in touch to ask if we’d like to premiere their video for Sovay, their new single which will appear on their upcoming debut self-titled album, due out January 23rd 2020; it wasn’t a difficult decision…we recognise exceptional talent when we hear it and we’re very much looking forward to hearing this album.
This classic traditional song from Suffolk tells the tale of a woman who decides to test the love of her man by dressing as a highway robber and attacking him in a valley to try to steal the ring she had given to him. Varo discovered the tune from a 1973 recording of Anne Briggs (who gave a rare interview with Folk Radio back in 2016).
Varo say: “From the very beginning, we have been interested in songs told from a female point of view and became hooked on this particular song straight away. The woman telling the story is a very strong character, as opposed to stories in which the woman is presented as a powerless victim and is either betrayed or abandoned by a man, which is the case for most of the songs we’ve happened to come across.
“Aside from the actual story, the melody is beautiful and offers very interesting possibilities in terms of vocal harmonies. We’ve delved into the dark side of the song by using drones from a harmonium and a viola and creepy harmonics.”
The video was directed, shot & edited by Olga Kuzmenko.
About Varo:
Varo are Lucie Azconaga and Consuelo Nerea Breschi, a fiddle and vocal duo based in Dublin who perform traditional Irish songs and tunes with arrangement influences from the baroque and classical traditions, weaving around the melodies with harmonies, drones and countermelody.
Lucie, from France, and Consuelo, from Italy, met in 2015 after moving to Dublin to pursue their love for Irish traditional music, and immediately started a fruitful collaboration. They travelled to Ireland along different musical paths, Lucie from jazz, classical music, and French folk, Consuelo from Irish trad, folk, and world music.
Lucie and Consuelo have been involved in various other projects, such as Landless, Lisa O’ Neill’s Band, Ye Vagabonds, The Morning Tree, Alasourse, The Nomadic Piano Project.
Since Lucie and Consuelo started working together in 2015, they have been gathering a repertoire of songs from Ireland, Scotland, and England, along with a selection of Irish tunes collected from archives, sessions, and from singers and musicians they admire. Varo have also composed two instrumentals and have chosen songs with a specific focus on a female perspective or conveying stories of rebellion in a social context, or both.
Their debut album ‘VARO’ is due out January 23rd 2020.
In order to fund their album, Varo are running a FundIt Campaign. Rewards include CDs, vinyls, album launch tickets, artwork prints, t-shirts, fiddle lessons, French language classes, workshops, house concerts, or you could even have a tune composed especially for you!
Support their project at: https://fundit.ie/project/varo—debut-album
In support of their debut album, Varo will embark on a nationwide tour around Ireland to:
31.01.20 – Thurles ‘Jim of the Mills’
07.02.20 – Kilkenny ‘Fennelly’s of Callan’
13.02.20 – Belfast ‘The Sunflower’
14.02.20 – Limavady ‘Keady Clachan’
21.02.20 – Clonbur ‘All Saints Heritage Center’
22.02.20 – Leitir Moir na Coille Leacadona
23.02.20 – Galway ‘The Black Gate’
28.02.20 – Dublin ‘The Sound House’
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook