Griselda Sanderson
Album: Radial
Label: Waulk
Tracks: 14
Website: http://www.grissanderson.com

Back in 2008, after the demise of her pioneering fusion band Waulk Elektrik, Gris released a rather special solo CD Harpaphonics, which explored the strikingly individual sonic and expressive properties of the nyckelharpa. This beautiful Swedish stringed instrument is best described (if somewhat simplistically) as a bowed, keyed fiddle; it has four playing strings (one being a drone), with twelve sympathetic strings and thirty-seven chromatic keys attached to three rows of wooden tangents, and thus its sound is pretty much unique.

While Gris doesn't forsake the boundary-expanding ethos of Harpaphonics for its followup album, she nevertheless deliberately takes the nyckelharpa back to its "radial" roots, delivering fresh interpretations of traditional Swedish polskas alongside a handful of new compositions informed by traditional modes and patterns. The boundary-pushing aspect of Radial is therefore to be found more in the often intriguing choice of ancillary instrumentation. For instance, disc opener Carnera conveys the giant Clydesdale dray horse in its galloping rhythm built around African percussion instruments used in Moroccan gnawa music, and the limpid chinoiserie of East Wind is deftly configured with the help of Louis Bingham's guitar and bouzouki figures. Sling! (a medley of two slängspolska tunes) marries some classical-style bowed flourishes with vibrant slapped flamenco-like rhythms, yet retains a level of delicacy that's almost as sublime as it is infectious. Delicacy and clarity of both texture and expression are a perennial feature of the disc, its recording and its playing, and perhaps nowhere is this better illustrated than on the delectable jazzy middle-eastern modality of Louis' own composition Crazywell Pool (which is described as a portrayal of the scenic Dartmoor landscape). Luke Jones brings his 12-string guitar into the mix for a pair of tracks, one of which (The Elver's Set) sports a lovely lyrical interlude encased within a traditional Irish jig. Another Irish tune (The Crystal Tarn reel) is transformed into a Wriggling Snake on the animated Crystal Serpent, one of the two tracks on which Gris is joined by James Dumbelton on guitar, and one which I've found myself putting on repeat play during the reviewing process. I also did the same with Journey To The Mill, where Gris achieves a miraculous tapestry of sound by blending nyckelharpa with fiddle and viola on a traditional Boda village tune, and the spinning lilting joy of Macklin's Waltz (a vals from Orsa).

But in truth every single one of Radial's tracks has its own special delights, while Gris ensures a unity through the binding presence of her trusty nyckelharpa. For Radial is an album of many enchanting moods, and one where it's not always possible to pick a favourite track since this accolade will invariably change with one's own mood But then, this more mercurial aspect of Gris's music-making will exert considerable appeal on the responsive listener, and is definitely one of the less overt selling-points of the album.

David Kidman