The Hall of Einar Sunday Recommendation #53
Hello and welcome to my Sunday Recommendation. Thanks for joining me. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, stumble upon engrossing websites and hear wonderful new music. This is my chance to bring you carefully curated recommendations of all the best I’ve experienced – every Sunday. If it’s folk, or independent, or about wildlife, nature or Orkney, I may love it, and so may you.
Turnstone – Gigspanner Big Band
This week I’ve been enjoying Turnstone, the new album from Gigspanner Big Band.
With Turnstone, Gigspanner Big Band show yet again that they are one of the most imaginative groups in contemporary folk. They mix traditional English folk with elements of jazz, classical, and world music into something unique.
Percussionist Sacha Trochet and guitarist Roger Flack provide the rhythmic foundation, Phillip Henry’s dobro and harmonica add a bluesy, trance-like atmosphere and John Spiers’s melodeon bring warmth and flair. Floating above it all are the unique tones of Hannah Martin’s voice. There are eleven songs over seventy-three minutes, performed with all the excitement of a live concert but with the audio quality of a studio recording.
The arrangements work beautifully on ‘Sailing Down the River’ and ‘Hard Times of Old England’ highlighting the band’s gift for reinventing old melodies.
There surely hasn’t been a more comfortable blend of English folk and improvisation since Pentangle. Turnstone is a successful musical conversation between cultures and centuries.
It’s a joyful, radiant album.
That’s it for this week. I’ll be back with more recommendations of things you might adore next Sunday. In the meantime, I wish you a great week.