Live reviews......
Peatbog Faeries
Queens Hall, Edinburgh 2008
****
Formed way back in 1994, Skye's Peatbog Faeries now rank amoung the veterans of contemporary Celtic fusion, but far from slackening off or falling behind their younger contenders, they're sounding mightier than ever.
With their signature sound of fiddle, pipes and whistles allied to electric guitar, bass keyboards and drums, the Peatbogs have always had a large and varied musical palette to draw from, mixing reels and jigs with the colours and rhythms of rock, world and dance music, to headily powerful effect.
Since they added a three piece brass section a couple of years ago, though - here comprising Rick Taylor on trombone, with saxophonists Nigel Hitckcock and Konrad Wiszniewski - their sound has taken on several new dimensions, in terms of both its scale and its multi-layered complexity. And with the nine-piece line-up now fully bedded in, this wealth of fresh possibilities has not only been thoroughly explored, but honed into resplendently slick, taut, intricate arrangements, and one of the best live shows on the current Celtic scene.
The diverse sounds and moods of the brass - from fanfare-like granduer to sassy banter, scorching intensity to slinky chutzpah - were a richly expansive element in themselves, meanwhile being artfully interwoven and interjected amoung the rest of the bands already kaleidoscopic soundscapes. The incorporation of new instruments and personalities additionally seems to have had a creatively invigorating effect all round, evident in such recent developments as the greater prominence of Tom Salter's superb electic guitar work, embellishing his trademark African-style picking and redblooded rock'n'roll attack.
Another winning introduction to their blend of vitage and contemporary dance grooves is that of 70's-style disco-funk, which might seem an unlikely bedfellow for traditional(ish) Scottish tunes, but in factcosied up brilliantly, while a couple of slower tunes made room for scorching solos from Wiesnewski. By the time we reached the closing number, an epically reworked version of the old favourite 'Folk Police' with its stormy edge of menace and majestic mounting drama, audience hands en masse were in the air - after an earlier conga line around the hall - and the mood matched that of any euphoric summer rave.
Sue Wilson - Hi-Arts 2008
Peatbog Faeries
The Arches, Glasgow Celtic Connections 2006
****
It is a bold band that can launch a set with a muscular, epic track which makes them sound like a Celtic Led Zeppelin and promise that "it's still uphill all the way", but Skye's Peatbog Faeries are a bold band - bold enough to team bagpipes and fiddle with unabashed rock drumming, as they do on said track, Croftwork, and bolder still to employ a brass section, which was often called on to add extra dramatic oomph to an already hefty sound.
The danger with folk fusion is that it can be genre-splicing for the sake of trying something different and unsatisfying to folk, jazz or rock devotees. But Peatbog Faeries pay close attention to the dynamics. Each fresh ingredient (did they just throw a synthesiser into the mix?) served to beef up the sound, not muddy the waters. The Great Ceilidh Swindle teamed very traditional Scottish fiddle and pipes parts with rumbling rock rhythms, a couple of otherwise straightforward Irish reels were embellished with African jit guitars and sassy brass, and there was still space for some bluesy harmonica, Pink Floyd guitars, a dubby jam incorporating Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag and the staple drum solo.
The escalating party momentum of the last half hour was akin to a Celtic rave, eliciting waves of euphoria from the crowd and uniting the tribes in dance. The Peatbog Faeries really do drive uphill all the way.
Fiona Shepherd - The Scotsman, Saturday 21 January 2006
I wanted to check out REM but sorry guys, it's your misfortune to be on at the same time as THE PEATBOG FAERIES, the highlight of Glastonbury. Mere earth words can't do the Faeries justice……
- NME Glastonbury Festival
...THE PEATBOG FAERIES' increasingly adventurous melting pot of fragmented fiddle and pipe tunes…. Deep dub bass lines and all round spacey electronica comprehensively rocked the house."
- The Scotsman (Concert for Kosevo-Edinburgh Playhouse).
The band have taken their superbly seamless blend of crisply played tunes on pipes, fiddle and whistle, a world class rhythm section and a totally diverse but successful mix of other musical styles and turned the dance-o-meter up to 12 to create the most pumping, uplifting and exiting Scottish fusion you're ever likely to come across. Unreservedly recommended".
- Rootin About festival programme.
"Croftwork" reviews......
|
