The Shoogles are delighted to announce that Murmichan has been shortlisted in the Best Group Category in the Songlines 2010 Music Awards. The nomination for the shortlist came from Songlines readers and general public. So thank you to all who put in a vote for the album! The winner will be selected by the Songlines editorial team and will be announced in the June issue. For more information pick up a copy of the April/May issue of Songlines or go to www.songlines.co.uk for more information. Songlines is also releasing a compilation album of all 16 nominated artists in the various categories www.songlines.co.uk/music-awards.
For the uninitiated, Shooglenifty are an Edinburgh based 6-piece Celtic rock
fusion band that tours internationally and not nearly enough in the UK. The
band blends Scottish traditional music with influences ranging from the
electronic to alternative, even progressive rock. Yes, I kid you not, this
band is brilliant. The new album is stuffed full of instrumental lovelies
that bring to mind the Ozric¹s and the Fairport¹s all in one. The wonderful
labels of 'acid croft' music or ŒCeltic confusion¹ kind of sums it up. The
5-piece has the perfect blend with young Tasmanian multi-instrumentalist,
Luke Plumb, here on mandolin and tenor banjo along with the four Scottish
guys, Garry Finlayson (banjo, banjax), Quee Macarthur (bass), Angus R Grant
(fiddle) and Malcolm Crosbie (acoustic and electric guitars).
The first CD was recorded live in 2008 (with little or no overdubs) whilst
the second CD has four remixes of tunes from disc one and four new tracks.
No point selecting tracks because they are all just thoroughly peachy (can
you say that about a folk/rock review?) Go on, put ya pure prog album down
for ten and give something else a go! MH
Martin Hudson
Classic Rock UK Ltd
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With a reputation as one of the most exciting live acts on the UK folk scene, it would be easy
to assume that Shooglenifty might not be quite so compelling while sitting at home on your
sofa. Happily their new double CD, Murmichan, offers a freshness of approach that is clever, fun
and very listenable.
On CD1, tunes are adeptly arranged to give a flavour of the live Shoogles experience: from the
soft house and funky bass of the Road To Bled through the tense, stringy, Celtic-Indian fusion
vibe of The Dotteral to the more reflective and soulful Glenfinnan Dawn, the fullness of the
Shoogles repertoire is showcased. CD2, on the other hand, is a departure: deft production fills
out, enhances and sometimes even subverts their own sound. Far from feeling gimmicky,
the loops and sampling incorporated in the studio are perfectly at home alongside the
signature trippy, trancey vibe the Shoogles have developed over the years. A definite winner.
JC
Properganda
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****
The latest from the unique Edinburgh-based globetrotters is a double CD, the first being the classic Shoogle riff-and-groove of their touring set, recorded in "live" studio takes – no layering, all playing together, with Tasmanian mandolinist Luke Plumb's compositional talents taking the lion's share. The second disc lets their imaginations rip in the studio with remixes by DJ Dolphin Boy, spoken word inserts, an Ardnamurchan/Afghan crossover take of the six guys live with Ensemble Kaboul, and marvellous tune titles like Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station.
Download this: The Dancing Goose
Kenny Matheson
Scotland on Sunday
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Not usually a fan of entirely instrumental works, I approached Murmichn with slight trepidation. But despite my personal bias telling me I should dislike the album, it won me over with the sheer energy of every performance and the sheer impertinence to fly in the face of traditional generic boundaries.
Before that however, Murmichan has been split into two volumes with each disk showcasing a particular facet of the band’s performance. The first was recorded over the course of a week and features the band as they would sound if you saw them live. In contrast the second disk is a mixture of remixes and actual live performances, adding an extra dimension to the band’s sound and an intimate view of how each track has come into being.
‘Road to Bled’ has both the first and the last word in Murmichan. With a distinctly Eastern European twist from the off, the track transcends the musical boundaries in a way that only the creators of Hypnofolkadelia and Techno Celidh can do. What surprised me most though was how amazingly the various instruments meshed together with neither one upstaging the other.
Boundaries are pushed in every track, ‘Dancing Goose’ for example features a bass-line more often seen in 70s-style pop/rock records and yet Angus Grant’s exceptional Celtic fiddle line floats over the top as if there was no question that this is how music should sound.
The album’s second CD is even more rebellious with each mix pushing at the boundaries more than the one that came before. Of particular note is ‘Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station’ which conjures up stereotypical alien imagery of flying saucers and little green men through the wonderful use of generic computer blips just at the right moment.
Of all the tracks, however, ‘The Vague Rant’ has to be my personal favourite. Led by the fiddle from start to finish the mix of repetitions and slight variations of the melody immediately give the impression of somebody ranting on about nothing really in particular. And yet, once put to music it becomes both interesting and entertaining.
Cheeky, impertinent but, at the end of the day, simply brilliant!
Mary Stokes
www.brightyoungfolk.com
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Scottish Celtic fusion veterans deliver more trad/modern grooves
Shooglenifty can be credited, alongside fellow Scots Peatbog Faeries and the late and much missed Martyn Bennett, with being the founders of what has come to be known as Celtic fusion or, more descriptively, “acid croft.” A base of traditional tunes is tweaked, modified and added to with all manner of electronics, loops, funk bass and the like to create a hypnotic and often irresistible groove. Unlike Bennett and the Faeries though, who are more in your face, Shooglenifty are nearer the ambient end of things, with their tunes (everything is instrumental) stretching out and going down often unexpected byways before returning to the powerful rhythms that are their forte.
Their latest album is essentially more of the same. Two discs, a mixture of live and studio recordings, some pieces in more than one version, with most tracks clocking in at least five minutes. Live favourite “The Road To Bled”, which opens and closes the album (the latter an epic nine minute odyssey), is the standout but everything else is not far behind. As a band renowned for the reeling intensity of their live shows, a recorded as live/live album was a good call and Murmichan captures the essence of the band perfectly.
Jeremy Searle
www.americana-uk.com
Luke Plumb and Peter Daffy are doing a short tour of Scotland starting today.
Luke is of course the mandolin player in Shooglenifty and Peter is a a great singer and guitar player from Australia.
Check out the gigs.
17th September – Cromarty Brewery
18th September – Drumnadrochit Jennie MacFie's
20th September – Wick
21st September – Ullapool Ceilidh Place
22nd September – Edinburgh Voodoo Rooms
23rd September – Glasgow Monkey Bar
24th September – Stobo Village Hall
The Queen's Hall may seem like an unlikely venue to get hot and sweaty in, but on a very dreich and damp Thursday night towards the end of the Edinburgh Fringe, that's exactly what Shooglenifty managed to get the vast majority of their audience to do. Bringing together their trademark blend of traditional Scottish music and modern funky rhythms, the band very quickly got the audience up and reeling.
I first saw Shooglenifty in the Speigeltent at last year's Fringe, which is a great venue and sadly missed this year. I had no knowledge about the band or what their style of music was, but came away a convert. The ‘Shoogle Sound' has been variously described as ‘acid crofters' and ‘celtic fusion' but whatever you want to call it, it makes for a damn good night - think of the best ceilidh band you've ever heard, double it, and you're still not even close.
The band's line-up seems to have remained fixed for the last few years, and given the perfect blending of each of the musicians skills, why would you change anything? The sound mix allows all the acoustic instruments to be heard over the powerful dance rhythms created by the electric guitar, bass and drums. Luke Plumb's mandolin was sounding particularly sweet and was the ideal foil for Angus Grant's energetic fiddle work.
Yet again, dear reader, there's no chance of providing you with a set list - it's very hard to take notes when you're reeling - but I can tell you that the opening number was called ‘The Dancing Goose', then there was a song about a man called Frank who liked to rant and dance, followed by one about a ham in a wardrobe - well, you can see why I stuck to the dancing.
Finally, a word about the band's sartorial elegance - special mention for guitarist Malcolm Crosbie's natty checked suit, paisley shirt and braces ensemble, but pipped at the post by Luke's vintage 1970s biscuit coloured suit, topped with a clearly much-loved hat. Fabulous darling!
Shooglenifty - just go and see them. You won't regret it.
C. Faye Gibb 2009 - Edinburgh Guide.com
What’s new and different with the shoogs?
We’ve been hard at it. recording the new album in Castlesound Studios.
It features one track from our gig with Ensemble Kaboul at 2009 Celtic Connections as well as two re-mixed tracks by DJ Dolphin Boy.
And the rest are a fine set of new tunes by the lads.
All in all we’re excited by how it sounds.
All that remains is to get the artwork and title sorted and we can work out a release date.
We’ve got a Scottish gig coming up soon at McKay’s Hotel in Pitlochry on June the 26th so we’re looking forwards to that one.
We had a fine time at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow. Our main gig was the ABC, a renovated cinema. It was our first time in the ABC, for a big venue it had a lot of good
vibes. As it was a Showcase Scotland gig with a short set length we played a bit faster than usual with no breaks to fit the tunes in. Our club gig was in a new room in the central hotel which sounded
great thanks to Craig on FOH sound Joe on monitors. For those who don't know the Central it is an old railway hotel attached to central station in Glasgow. It's got a kind of faded
grandeur (very faded) if you go through some doors you'll find rooms filled with junk, that look like they haven't been touched since the 1930s.
Its corridors are reminiscent of those of the hotel in The Shining, very long with old red carpet. If you see identical twins, it's time to check out!
James Luke and Quee also had a gig with Kaela Rowan who did her first ever solo set at Celtic in Oran Mor.
Angus' father, Aonghas Grant also had a great gig accompanied by Christine Hanson, Ross Martin, and Paul Connolly, playing tunes from his recent Shoogle Records release "The Hills of Glengarry".
The Shoogs Canadian tour got off to a good start in Winnipeg. It was great to catch up with a couple of our friends from the band "The Duhks" on their home territory. We didn't even find it that cold, apart from Garry who's bag didn't arrive but he pick up a good few t-shirts from various venues and a good second hand pair of cowboy boots. Calgary was a good wee gig, thanks to Tim who supplied a nice old Ampeg bass amp and a Fender Deluxe for Quee and Malc. The Empress Theatre in Fort MacLeod was next, it's an old theatre with the addition of neon tulips on the roof and a dedicated audience some whom travel quite a distance to get there.
It was onwards to Edmonton. The the car with the GPS was led astray up a dirt track for several miles so the good old fashioned map readers were wondering what had happened to them. They did arrive in time for the gig of course.
Banff was spectacular, with incredible views of the Rockies, thanks again to Kurt who organized the gig there. We spent a welcome three days without driving in Penticton at the Dream Cafe, which has great food, and fantastic staff. Back the way we came to Salmon Arm Community Centre, a huge hall with plenty of space to dance, and most of the audience did, which always makes for a good one.
It wasn't too far to Vancouver at St James' Hall which proved to be another dance crazy crowd in an old church. We went looking for food after the gig and ended up in what appeared to be a cross between an restaurant and a Techno club, I don't know is the Technoraunt will become like the new coffee house with one on every street corner, but you never know! We finished off our tour in Harrison Hot Springs which is quiet at this time of year but looks incredible, with all the trees frosted white in the morning. A good place to finish with the local wooden hall.
On our return to Scotland we spent three days in Birnam House Hotel recording an album with Angie's father: Aonghas Grant, the world renowned left handed fiddler. He was accompanied, on guitar, by Ross Martin, on some tunes, with cello, by Christine Hanson, concertina by Paul Connolly and a bit of fiddle from Angus. It's shaping up to be a great sounding album, for Shoogle Records, so we'll let you know as soon as it is finished.
See some photos from the session
We've been getting good feedback following the release of "Troots" (which is just as well considering how long it took us to get it finished!). We'll put up reviews as they come in. Tanya, (who sang on Track 2 "Excess Baggage") came to sing at the launch at Celtic Connections which really made it a special gig for us. If you want to have a listen to one of the tracks from "Troots" visit our myspace page and you can have a listen online. Check the links page for distribution in Australia.