Orkney Folk Festivaling

Reviews of folk music seem to suggest every band is wonderful. All the time. Gigs are always tremendous, performances are universally top banana and the innocent bystander can be forgiven for thinking critical faculties are suspended the minute one becomes a "folkie." And of course one converts to full "folkie" status by travelling all the way up Scotland (and taking a week off air) to get to the Orkney Folk Festival. So you will doubtless take the following with a large pinch of salt.

But I've just seen one of the best sets of music I've ever witnessed in an impromptu collaboration between the Orcadian Saltfishforty and the deeply English Spiers and Boden (apparently the favourite musical act of both the Guardian and David Cameron). S&B are a quirky combination of fiddler, singer and stomp-board thumper and squeezebox player. That's just two people, though at times it sounds like four or five – a feature of a Festival where so many young musicians can talk, play, sing, retune their fiddles, fix sound systems, de-rig and even step dance at the same time. (Well done the degree courses at Plockton and the RSAMD). Anyway from the second S&B struck up with their folk songs from Suffolk, no Southwark – ach what's the difference, you have the same song in Orkney and it probably started life in West Africa -- they grabbed the audience by its collective throat. Their songs are delivered with the upbeat urgency of sea shantys, the rhythm is quite different from Celtic or even Nordic island traditions and the duo have an intense stage presence. It struck me they were like a musical version of The Mighty Boosh (and if you missed that TV and radio comic experience, get the DVDs right away!)

When they stepped onstage again however, with my own musical heroes Saltfishforty, I had that sinking feeling that accompanies someone trying to "join in" with a favourite song. Phrasing, pace and very particular twiddly bits get lost as the newcomer grinds the tune down to its lowest common denominator. Now I got very familiar with Saltfish tracks using big chunks of their Orkney Twister album to accompany my radio series cycling up the Western Isles. And when you know all the nuances of an original song you really done want to hear some else ad lib. But the four lads played together as if they'd been in the same band all their lives. Could this be the start of something big? Meanwhile there were great performances from the Shetlandic Fiddlers Bid, Aberdonian farming contractor Geordie Murison, local wits Hullion, powerful songwriter Karine Polwart and young singing duo Jeana Leslie and Siobhan Miller.

And nearly midnight at the Ring of Brodgar with the talented Mr Smith was pretty special too.

Comments

[Chris Smith]

OOOppps...did I tell Lesley that the splendid Spiers and Boden were David Cameron's faves...I fear I did in a moment of devilment...whatever the truth, they were excellent as indeed was the whole festival...and Stromness in the sun a revelation.