JAN DEGRASS/ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
The music of The Rakish Angles is difficult to
define. Is it jazz? Is it roots? Is it folk?
“You can call us by a really general description,”
said Angles’ fiddler Serena Eades. “How about new acoustic? We’ve got the same
configuration as a classic string band: violin, guitars, mandolins, bass.”
The Sunshine Coast quartet could once have been
called an instrumental group but with the launch of their latest CD, Cottonwood
Moon, produced on the Coast with the assistance of Courtney Wing and Andy
Amanovich at Oceanview Studios, they have introduced singing on three of the
numbers.
“All four of us have so many musical influences in
our background,” said bassist Boyd Norman, who refers to himself as an “old
folkie” of the coffee house era. Although he has no classical background, he
has learned a lot about jazz, especially after performing with the Creek Big
Band. Eades has classical training and sometimes disappears quietly from the
Coast with her violin to perform with the Kamloops and Prince George
symphonies. Dan Richter has a classical guitar background, while Simon Hocking
is a mandolinist and songwriter who was the first to add lyrics.
They seem ready to embrace any musical genre. For
example, they will collaborate in the Sechelt Festival of the Arts main stage
showcase, Tapestry, this Saturday evening with DJ Honeybee to blend acoustic
and electronic music.
“Sometimes we try a tune on a dare. If we don’t
have a ska tune or a Cajun tune — let’s write one,” laughs Eades.
The result is a lively, eclectic collection of
original tunes written by all four members. Eades leads off with a country
fiddle tune, The Dirty Spoon Rag. One of Norman’s pieces, Runnin’ Late, will
make you hop.
“It’s based on many years of commuting,” he said.
He would tear out of his Roberts Creek home and on to the ferry arriving
minutes before its departure. Warning: the tune can make you anxious if you
stress over being tardy. Other listeners will find it invigorating and
reminiscent of a fast-paced Balkan folk dance.
The title song, Cottonwood Moon, is a dreamy, meditative
ballad composed by Hocking and Richter. Guests Jayme Stone on banjo, Doug Cox
on dobro, Curtis Andrews on percussion and Angus Lyon on accordion add to the
richness of the sound.
The Rakish Angles will launch their new CD at a
Coast show on Friday, Oct. 28, at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons at 8 p.m.
Friend and fellow musician Joe Stanton will do an
opening set. The next day they launch in Vancouver at Celtic Traditions, and
then, thanks to a Canada Council touring grant, they will go on a concert tour
giving three shows in Quebec and ten in Ontario. Not bad for a group that only
formed in 2007. Since then they have been nominated for the Canadian Folk Music
Awards and the Western Canadian awards, as well as an American award that
honours independent acoustic projects. Their music is multi-generational, like
the ages of its members. With this second album, the Angles have gelled into
one of the country’s most progressive string bands.
“We are busy and booked now,” Norman said. “But
it’s been a lot of hard work to get here.”
0 Comments:
Post a Comment