Reviews

Artist: Future Trad Collective
Album: Future Trad Collective
Label: Vertical
Tracks: 10
Website: http://www.verticalrecords.com

Some years ago the Afro Celt Sound System proved that traditional Celtic music could be successfully married to music from other cultures. Looking at this album as an extension of that thought process and with more than a doffing of the cap to an Asian influence the Michael McGoldrick/Ian Fletcher spear-headed project is, if nothing else ‘quirky’.

With most of the tracks coming in at about seven and a half minutes allowing plenty of time for indulging or should that read ‘experimentation’…the jury’s still undecided. Whichever way you look at it it’s an ambitious plan but having listened to the entire album two times I’m afraid I still can’t get to grips with it.

OK, the band including Andrew Dinan and Donald Shaw are faultless technically speaking but the ‘folk music’ taste brigade may have something else to say as to whether it works or not. If I’m deemed a plebeian then so be it and I’m sorry I couldn’t have been more positive about this recording as it leapt straight to the top of my ‘to do’ list.

As anyone who knows me will testify that whilst my liking of (nearly) everything that is touched by the hand of Mr McGoldrick remains undiminished…it’s just that this album isn’t particularly my cup of tea

Peter Fyfe

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