Salsa Celtica have established themselves as one of the hottest bands on the World, Latin and Celtic music circuits, having performed their own special blend of Latin and Scottish music worldwide, from Hollywood (via Toronto, New York, Gran Canaria, Paris and Edinburgh) to Singapore. El Agua De La Vida translates from Spanish into Scottish Gaelic as 'uisge beatha' - 'the water of life', more popularly known as whisky! The fusion of Cuban rhythms with Scottish fiddle and bagpipes produces a big rollicking sound guaranteed to galvanise even non-dancers in to shedding inhibitions and shakin' it with the fans.
The band are: Toby 'El León' Shippey (trumpet, coro) * Lino Rocha (lead vocals, coro, perc) * Steve Kettley (saxophones, flute) * Fraser Fifield (saxophones, pipes, whistles) * Ryan Quigley (lead trumpet, coro) * Dougie 'El Pulpo' Hudson (congas) * David 'El Chimpo' Robertson (bongos, bell, coro) * Guy Nicolson (timbales) * David 'Demus' Donnelly (bass, coro) * Chris Stout (violin) * Kenny Fraser (violin, tres guitar) * David Patrick (piano on trks 6,7,8,9). The material on El Agua De La Vida was mostly written by Toby Shippey and other band members.
Media Reviews
.....stunning new album.
Salsa Celtica live at the Barrowland, Glasgow reviewed by Jan Fairley
SALSA Celtica jumped straight into the groove on Saturday with Fuego Ardiente setting the mood for a tremendously high-energy gig. No doubt buoyed by the release of their stunning new album, El Agua de la Vida earlier in the day, they barely paused to breathe. More than a highly schooled orchestra, they’re a band of virtuoso players who - in the mould of contemporary Latin bands - create a huge tapestry of textured rhythms and sounds and then allow punchy solos to emerge from the fray. It never ceases to amaze that their fusing of two such seemingly disparate traditions works. It’s a cheeky hybrid, but with fiddlers like Chris Stout and Kenny Fraser, and pipe and whistle men like Fraser Fifield, they score every time be it rumba or reel. They simply shift the Cuban charanga sound to the Highlands and Shetland, leaving jazz saxophonist Steve Ketley and trumpeter Ryan Quigley to raise the stakes higher, allowing seductive guajirasres to metamorphose into ceilidh brews. Lino Rocha peppers his vocals with scat-rap rhythms held aloft by superbly bristling percussion. The saucy use of banjo for a blue-grass underpinning to the compelling Cumbia Celtica marked it out as yet another innovative original. Awesome!
|