This third recording from Scots mandolinist Kevin MacLeod, of The Occasionals Ceilidh Band, features a lively collection of Scottish and Irish traditional music, and also some new melodies from several contemporary composers including himself. He is joined by three masters of the tradition namely Ireland’s legendary bouzouki player Alec Finn of De Dannan, Orcadian guitar supremo Kris Drever of trio Lau anf Fine Friday, and Luke Plumb, the Tasmanian mandolin and bouzouki dynamo from Scottish band Shooglenifty. The four musicians unite to create an enlivening fusion of tunes from the great musical traditions of Scotland and Ireland.
In addition to the mandolin, Kevin also plays bouzouki, cittern and various guitars on the album.
Media Reviews
..Rarely have they been played as well as this..
Tuned like a fiddle but played with a plectrum, the mandolin and its cousins - the bouzouki, octave mandola, cittern and even, in MacLeod's hands, a National Steel resonator tenor guitar - have been around in Scots and Irish music groups for decades. Rarely have they been played as well as this. Top performers - De Dannan's Alec Finn, Shooglenifty's Luke Plum and Orcadian guitar whizz Kris Drever - join the Occasionals' fretted -fifths man in another album rooted in this much-loved Northwest Highland tradition. A great set of Irish jigs and sparkling visits to Shetland, France and even Mexico.......Norman Chalmers
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