Peatbog Faeries, Faerie Stories

In recent years, several wonderfully innovative bands have cropped up playing traditional Celtic music in non-traditional ways. Shoolenifty, Croft No. 5, Afro-Celts Sound System, Jimi MacRae, and Peatbog Faeries all cater to the non-traditional side of Celtic music, and have a somewhat similar sound. This is not a new trend, of course – various groups have been mixing traditional music with other styles for years. From punk to world to bluegrass to classical, one can find Celtic music in almost any possible form – rumor has it there are still strictly traditional bands out there somewhere. All of this is hardly a bad thing; rather, it is muckle good. After all, if traditional music fervently resisted change, it would become a museum piece in my opinion (though some would rigorously disagree).

Among these innovative bands, Peatbog Faeries stands out in my mind – and they are in no danger of becoming museum pieces anytime soon. Hailing from Skye and Edinburgh, band members Peter Morrison (pipes and whistles), Ben Ivitsky (fiddles, throat singing, triangle), Innes Hutton (bass, percusion, bodhran), Iain Copeland (drums, sampling, logic audio), Ali Pentland (guitar, mandolin, octavius), and formerly, Nurudin (keyboards, general weirdness), have forged out Scottish music that is reeling in high-octane energy.

On their second and most recent CD, Faerie Stories (Greentrax Recording Limited), the Peatbog Faeries take traditional Scottish instruments – pipes, fiddle, whistles, and bodhran (though the whistle and bodhran are Irish, but let’s not quibble). They pace ‘em up, tossing in sampling, keyboards, some nice percussion, bass, and “general weirdness,” producing a fusion of reggae, techno, various other things, and funky bagpiping that is best described as utterly lively and infectious. Don’t worry – there’s not a terrible lot of random sounds in spite of the dose of “general weirdness,” and the percussion always keeps things moving along even during the mellower spots. The whistles and pipes stay in focus with some simply wonderful pipe action. (Yes, you will notice I am a great fan of the Gael’s ancient implement of war!) A variety of modern forms and rhythms overlay the traditional instruments, and the whole thing is done skillfully, with smooth and expert transitions. Be prepared to move and sway – it’s hard to stay still.

The CD begins with “Martin Roachfords/ Oyster Woman’s Rant,” a traditional set which starts off with sounds of a cascading stream on the Isle of Skye, which is where a number of the tracks were recorded. A lively whistle jumps in, and is soon joined by the percussion and bass to create a fine start to the CD. The next track, “Folk Police,” is one of my favorites, with a quick-paced bagpipe alongside techno-styled sampling and keyboards – which typifies the CD throughout – to make a great tune one can hardly resist dancing and swaying to. The booming bass is a fine touch, and provides a reverberating heartbeat throughout. Track four, “Namedropper/ Little Cascade,” also stands out for its sheer feeling of excitement and movement, with the percussion and bass working beautifully with a rousing bit of piping that often has me turning up the speakers (to the ire of musically unenlightened family members). The follwing tracks tend to be a bit more mellow, but still good stuff, with another traditional tune (arranged in Peatbog Faerie style of course), “Cameronian Rant,” and another contender for the best track, “Caberdrone,” which starts off with a rising bodhran and pipe duo before everything else breaks in. This is the shortest track at a little over three minutes, but its intensity more than makes up for its brevity. The CD rounds off with track eleven, “Alexander MacAskill of Bernera, Harris,” featuring a last gale of funky bagpiping and techno sampling.

All in all, Faerie Stories is an utterly excellent album, and was well worth the sterling I paid to get it shipped from overseas (it doesn’t seem to be available in the States yet). If you’re out for something different, and have open ears for good music (and granted, I suppose any music with loud pipes is rather an aquired taste sort of thing), plop down the hard sterling and get this CD. The album never degenerates into random and cumbersome blends of the modern rhythm and the traditional instruments, but rather the whole thing works masterfully together to make an excellent CD that will leave you feeling very much alive.

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