The Herald - Celtic Connections reviews

Reviewed by Stuart Morrison - 29th January 2007

LAU WITH ANGUS LYON AND RUARIDH CAMPBELL *****

One of the successes of Celtic Connections has been both to highlight the wide and varied nature of traditional music and challenge its stereotypical image.

This show was a case in point. Both Lau and the Lyon/Campbell ensemble are firmly pegged under the "traditional" label, but their music offers so much more than that. Lyon announced that they would play their album, 18 Months Later, in its entirety and what a thing of beauty it turned out to be. With influences ranging from tango to jazz, funk and classical, it was a stunning tour de force.

Lau were a more straight-forward proposition. Three blokes - Kris Drever on guitar, Martin Green on accordion and Aiden O'Rourke on fiddle - played some of the finest jigs and reels you are ever likely to hear, the sheer intensity of which peeled the paint from the walls.

The crowd took a while to get going, but after green stood and implored them to move, they set to with a vengeance. Lau, too, pushed the boundaries and some of their arrangements, on tunes such as Unquiet Grave, called for an amazing range of sounds from three supremely talented instrumentalists.

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The Glasgow Herald – Going Out magazine

26th October 2006

A TESTAMENT TO PERSISTENCE

Angus Lyon and Ruaridh Campbell’s 18 Months Later is a strong contender for the album of the year 2006 title.

Drawing on the Scottish tradition and influences from New York to Buenos Aires, they have given tunes such as Drowsy Maggie the mother and father of all blood transfusions and forged their own music full of vigour and creativity.

Accordionist Lyon is currently doubling up between the duo’s commitments and working with Yusuf Islam (the former Cat Stevens) and Strathclyde University music graduate Campbell is a winner of the prestigious Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship. So that will give some idea of the level of musicianship they’ve brought to the band they formed to recreate the album on stage.

Quite apart from its musical strengths, 18 Months Later was a triumph of persistence over technological meltdown. Recorded on the guys’ laptops in the An Tobar arts centre on Mull and various flats around Glasgow, it almost came to a disastrous end – twice. First, a crucial piece of software was found to be faulty and then on finally completing the recording and artwork, they suffered a computer crash.

Fortunately, the information was rescued and a modern folk classic was preserved. Don’t miss this outstanding music in its live incarnation.