Phipps Hall, Beauly, 2 September 2007

Flook.

A WET SUNDAY evening in Beauly did not deter the good sized audience who turned up to hear solid performances from Flook and Anam on the opening weekend of the Blas Festival. As always, the Phipps Hall provided good facilities for these busy groups.

Anam, comprising Gordon Gunn on fiddle and mandolin, Brian Ó hEadhra (the Artistic Director of Blas) on guitar and vocals, Nuala Kennedy on flute and vocals and Fiona Mackenzie on vocals and bodhran began the evening with their signature eclectic mix of traditional and original material in both Irish and Scots Gaelic.

They are well known for their skill in drawing together elements from many different musical genres including jazz, country, some Eastern European and other world musics, and presenting them in appealing, tight settings with the distinctive Gaelic vocals of Fiona Mackenzie adding a compulsive edge to some of the arrangements.

Nuala Kennedy’s haunting ‘Irish Mother’s Lament’ was particularly effective, drawing the audience into the story without being sentimental. One of Anam’s strongest points is their tight vocal harmony arrangements in many of the songs, lifting some of the material from the well known ceilidh song to something offering the audience a completely different taste of Gaeldom.

Vocals are never overshadowed by the simple yet completely effective instrumental accompaniments , each being given their own chance to shine and demonstrate their players’ skill in interpreting the material (with Gordon Gunn also presenting his own inimitable style of stage patter).

Irish and Scots Gaelic sat nicely together in a relaxed and warm performance, providing the perfect foil for the susbequent performance from well known folk band Flook. This group, winner of the Best Folk Band at the BBC Folk Awards, 2006, are well known for their mix of great traditional tunes mixed with contemporary beats, drawing heavily on strings and whistles.

From their first number, the audience was drawn into their relaxed yet enervating and driven style, melodies interweaving from instrument to instrument. Their unique blend of traditional flute, strengthened from underneath by the flowing lines from guitar and banjo, is what has made them one of the most popular live bands on the festival circuit in Britain today, and this was certainly no exception.

They proved a perfect partner to Anam in providing a well balanced evening of ‘traditional’ entertainment, presented in a contemporary and exciting style, to provide something for all audience tastes. Blas continues to go from strength to strength in bring the best and most exciting bands and singers to the Highland stage – s’ math rinn sibh uile!

Fiona MacKenzie is the Mhairi Mhor Gaelic Song Fellow

© Fiona MacKenzie, 2007

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