Take a fabulous mix of Cuban dance rhythms, Scottish reels, bongos, bagpipes and brass. Add fine instrumentalists, fabulous vocalists and the sure-fire production of Jim Sutherland - the result is an amazing ground-breaking album that has to be heard to be believed!
Media Reviews
High on energy and just itching to burst into your home it is strongly recommended you don’t put up any resistance. Just buy it!
What do you do with a bunch of Scots musicians who love Latin music and a bunch of Latin musicians who love Scottish music? Answer, they form a band called Salsa Celtica which, crazily and not without a little tongue in cheek manages to pull off a melange where Rio de Janeiro meets Dundee. Hola Hamish! There is much shouting and hooting, lots of honking horns charging out a riff and of course massed pipes powering into mucho rumba and salsa. Produced by a chap who’s no stranger himself to barrier crossing Jim Sutherland, it really is one long beach party.
This is real fun - but what else should you expect if you combine Scottish traditional and especially pipe music with hot Latin rhythms and songs?
Salsa Celtica's music is unique, the live shows of this band are always great parties, and this CD is just the right release for those few (if at all) hot Scottish summer days. Salsa Celtica is a big band featuring some of the greatest and very innovative musicians of the Scottish folk scene: the talented Fraser Fifield (Ex-Old Blin Dogs) on pipes and saxophone, fiddler Jenny Gardner or pianist/accordionist Andy Thorburn (well he is not listed on the line-up in the booklet, but in the press notes - have they forgotten him in the booklet, or did he not join the recording??). On the other hand, there is a brass section (based on sax'es), the Guitarist Galo Ceron Carrasco who studied in Chile music, and as one of the special guests on this recording they have the charismatic Latin singer Carlos Peña. The singer plays on this recording a centrepiece, making this Scottish-Latin experience even hotter. The songs and tunes are all composed by band members, with probably the most exciting moments making up those where the Latin sounds go over into a traditional based Scottish pipe tune. Maybe this one description says all what should be said about this recording: "This is a salsa album made by Scottish musicians in love with Latin music and by South Americ musicians in love with Scotland!" This album will be definitely a big success in the European World Music scene, and it will be a big hit at any private summer party. Just one question remains for the German reviewer: What symbolic content has the Highland cattle Transrapid train (well it's a transrapid train with Highland Cattle head and tail) drawn in the booklet? Is this HighlandRapid rivalling with our German Transrapid train? Then without doubt German economy has to fear this big and wild competitor....
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