March, Strathspey, & Surreal

by Simon Thoumire, Simon Thoumire Three

Overview

The Simon Thoumire Three take a rather unique approach to modern Celtic music. The trio consists of Thoumire, a virtuoso concertina player, guitarist Kevin MacKenzie, and string bass player Simon Thorpe, and this unconventional instrumentation leads the group in all kinds of interesting directions, from '30s-vintage hot jazz to sinewy chromatic experimentation. They don't experiment much with texture or production -- apart from the occasional distorted guitar, the band's sound remains spare and unadorned throughout most of the album, the focus staying squarely on Thoumire's fleet-fingered concertina playing. The tunes themselves are what give the music its uniqueness; the trio alternates traditional jigs and reels like "The Snuff Wife" and "Bridge of Don" with such quirky originals as "John's Got School Tomorrow" and "Gloomy-Go-Round/Merry-Go-Round." Thoumire's original compositions start off sounding kind of folky, but he has a jazzman's sensibility and uses the tunes as springboards to something much more melodically twisted. This is a disc that rewards repeated listening. ~ Rick Anderson

Product Details

Release Date:	03/02/2007
Label:	Green Linnet
UPC:	0048248117128
Rank:	194218

Tracks

1. John's Got School Tomorrow/The North Sea Chinaman/The Bus ...
2. Overcast
3. Bridge of Don
4. Mrs. Meddle's March Strathspey, and Surreal
5. Montropolis/Jig for Nina/The Green Pastures
6. Eddy Kelly's
7. Jim's Jig/The Snuff Wife/Eileen MacDonald
8. Spare Parts
9. Gloom-Go-Round/Merry-Go-Round
10. Miss Laura Thoumire
11. Bob McQuillan's Reel/Major Mole
12. Martin Wynne's No. 1/John McCusker's/Woof Vicky Woof

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Simon Thoumire Three   Primary Artist
Simon Thoumire   Primary Artist,Vocals,Concertina
Kevin Mackenzie   Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Simon Thorpe   Double Bass

Technical Credits

Kevin McKenzie   Composer
Moray Munro   Engineer
Aly Bain   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Simon Thoumire   Arranger,Producer
Simon Thoumire Three   Composer
Kevin Mackenzie   Arranger
Simon Thorpe   Arranger
Paddy Moloney   Composer
Jim Sutherland   Composer
Rebecca Marr   Photography
Simon McKensie   Composer
Martin Wynne   Composer