Whilst sounding vintage in style, Narrow Line could belong in no other era than the present day. Mama’s Broke may seem traditional, but their tales of modern life have too much bite to be nostalgic, they are new and unique voices in modern, rootsy Americana that must be heard.
With the new Oysterband album ‘Read The Sky’ finding the band on top form, it was a thrill to speak at length with frontman and founder John Jones about the new album and much more besides in our Artist of the Month interview.
No one could have predicted the Oysterband returning with a song collection quite like ‘Read The Sky’. This is what you get when a band continue to make music for the best reasons. It’s a top-quality album worthy of the name.
With the release of Moch, self-proclaimed ‘trad fusion’ band DLÙ have heralded themselves as a fresh, innovative and exciting band with a unique, original and eclectic sound. This may already be a strong contender for one of the debut albums of the year.
With, After the City, Bird In The Belly have created a concept album that provides a kind of musical prequel to Richard Jefferies visionary novel. Eloquent, lovingly detailed and touched with a welcome dash of experimentalism, they have made it accessible, gripping and mythical.
We interview Peter Knight and John Spiers about their new album, Both in a Tune, the excitement of free improvisation, comparing playing to 90 minutes playing as a midfielder and the beauty of being lost in a tune.
Peter Knight & John Spiers’ ‘Both in a Tune’ is effortlessly impressive and sublimely performed…innovation, experimentation and improvisation at its very best. By the end this year it will surely still be in the minds of many as one of the best of 2022.
Maurice Louca’s ‘Saet El Hazz’ is experimental and uncompromisingly modern, and yet the reaction it elicits feels timeless and instinctual, playing on our love of suspense and our capacity for joy in a way that only great music can.
Elliott is living proof that a well-timed whisper can often be more consequential than a shout, and on December songs he takes that aesthetic to its quietly impressive limit. It is hard to see how this album could have come out any better.
We chat to Eliza Marshall, Catrin Finch, Dónal Rogers and Jackie Shave, members of Freedom to Roam, about their album The Rhythms of Migration which will be launched next month at Cecil Sharp House followed by a UK Spring tour.
The Rhythms of Migration is a migratory musical masterpiece and an outstanding album from our Artists of the Month: Freedom to Roam, featuring Eliza Marshall, Catrin Finch, Jackie Shave, Kuljit Bhamra, Donal Rogers, Robert Irvine, Lydia Lowndes-Northcott & Joby Burgess.
Over eleven years of gigs and now four studio albums, Mànran have always shown a healthy appetite for innovation but with Ùrar they’ve taken that to a new level. With a new line-up, they’ve produced an album that sets a fresh benchmark against which to judge contemporary Gaelic music.
