Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, 17 January 2009

Seaquins at the Tønder Festival

IT STARTED off as a one-off linking up folk music’s leading female musicians. Now it looks as if Seaquins – the latest supergroup – might take on a whole life of its own following their resounding Scottish debut at the Old Fruitmarket last Saturday evening. Never heard of them? OK, a little history, then.

Instigated by Danish fiddlers Ditte Fromseier Mortensen and Kirstine Sand last year, the Danes’ intention was to perform just once at the prestigious Tønder Festival, as part of a concert to showcase tunes and songs from the girls’ five respective countries. Little did all concerned realise they would receive two standing ovations and demands for repeat performances.

Alas, real life can be cruel, and when you’re living on opposite seas and oceans, rehearsals, it’s fair to say, don’t come easy. Thankfully someone at Celtic Connections heard about all the commotion and sensibly invited Seaquins to bring Celtic Connections’ first weekend to a fitting conclusion, playing well into the early hours of Sunday morning.

Led by Mortensen and Sand, the group also features Scots Inge Thomson (accordion), Emily Smith (vocals/accordion), Shona Mooney (fiddle), Anna Massie (guitar/mandolin), Jenn Butterworth (guitar/vocals) and Mairearad Green (accordion/bagpipes), as well as Finland’s Kukka Lehto (fiddle), Sweden’s Emma Johansson (flutes/vocals) and Cape Breton fiddler/pianist Kimberly Fraser.

It’s an enviable line-up, and one full of modesty, too: no-one hogs the limelight and there’s a strong sense of camaraderie, the only evident competitive element being who was wearing the most glitzy dress.

Starting off with a Danish cow-calling exercise, things quickly eased into an easy-to-follow pattern: three-tune sets performed by the entire band, punctuated by trios, songs, and other individual feats of high musicianship. A (benign) them-and-us attitude between the fiddlers and the guitarists / accordionists developed as the gig wore on, Anna Massie taking on the role as the group’s de facto leader.

A packed house dismissed the idea that the recent credit crunch may affect audiences at this year’s Celtic Connections. However, the sheer size of the venue and the subtle approach to the girls’ music-making ensured that while the listening experience was an enjoyable one, this wasn’t a gig of the excessive foot-stomping variety. (That came later at the Festival Club, as the girls, fuelled by a few drams, put on a post-gig performance more akin to a rock band than a female folk outfit.)

The group’s ballads, meanwhile, proved Seaquins can write a genuine pop love-song, Danish lullabies sending most onlookers to sleep for all the right reasons. But that was before a barrage of Danish hoppsa awoke them again, bringing things to a close, and a good few vocal fans to their feet.

Geography might put a stop to any further Seaquins shows in the near future, with Celtic Connections 2010 probably the most realistic opportunity. However, as the old saying goes, good things come to those who wait.

© Barry Gordon, 2009

Links

• Celtic Connections
• Seaquins on MySpace