Hillbilly Band fuses
US and Ulster-Scots sounds
Review by Billy Kennedy
Ulster-Scots influences in American country, bluegrass and popular music
are well documented and a Northern Ireland group has now emerged to provide a transatlantic fusion to songs that have resonance on both sides of the Atlantic.The Transatlantic Hillbilly band emerged from the Ulster-Scots Folk Orchestra to produce the group's first CD recording, with fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin, fifes, pipes, harmonica, percussion and drums and leader Willie Drennan enthuses over a sound that takes a trip back into the history of emigrants who moved from these shores to America.
Willie has assembled a collection of highly talented Ulster musicians for the 16 recordings and the project endeavours to harmonise the different genres of music that link Ulster and North America.
"The obvious influences on the traditional music of the United States and Canada began with the mass migration from the British Isles in the 18th century and Ulster folk played an important role in this," says willie, a Ballymena man who lived in Canada for a period.
"In future projects we plan to delve deeper into the various influences that have shaped the relevant genres such as country, bluegrass and blues," he adds.
Among the tracks recorded by the Transatlantic Hillybilly Band are O Shenandoah, Bard of Armagh (Streets of Laredo), Barn Dance Mix (The Girl I Left Behind/Sailor's Hornpipe/Turkey in the Straw), Somewhere Down in Tennessee (written by Willie Drennan), Remember The Alamo (another Drennan-penned song), Foster Mix (an arrangement of tunes from arguably the most famous of all American songwriters Stephen Collins Foster, whose mother had Londonderry family connections), Red Sails in the Sunset (written by Omagh-born Jimmy Kennedy) and a Gospel Mountain Mix (Will the Circle Be Unbroken/Swing Low Sweet Chariot/i'll Fly Away) and Jackson's Return (paying tribute to President Andrew Jackson and General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson).
The recording was made at the Clotworthy Arts Centre,
OLD Time Fusion, the aptly
named debut CD from the Transatlantic Hillbilly Band, is akin to sipping root
beer and soaking up rays at the foot of a log cabin.
It's an entrancing return to basics, a comforting journey back to musical simplicity, innocent verve and traditional rhythm a million miles removed from techno beat and garage groove.
The Transatlantic Hillbilly Band is the impressive union of the musical minds and influences of the Ulster Scots Folk Orchestra Association and the Fowkgates Collective.
The end result is a racy jig through the traditional musical genres and sounds that bond north America, Ireland and the British Isles - a pot pourri of melodic ballads, energetic fiddle riffs, lilting fife, tin whistle and drum.
Old Time Fusion's underlying appeal is that it does exactly what it says on the tin.
The CD starts with Boys O Sour Hill (a pulsating number that holds a gun to your head and screams 'dance!') and finishes with a gritty version of The Carter Family's You've Been That Friend To Me.
Lurking in between you'll find a wonderful broth of songs steaming with tuneful nostalgia, historic reference and cultural significance.
A haunting arrangement of O Shenandoah and Jimmy Kennedy's famous Red Sails In The Sunset demand particular attention, as does an uplifting Gospel Mountain Mix-Up which includes an up tempo version of Swing Low Sweet Chariot.
A Barn Dance Mix of three banjo-plucking, hair-bopping numbers maintains the vigorous theme, as does Auld Nick's Dream and Foster Mix on Bagpipes and Banjos.
Willie Drennan, producer and local Ulster Scots impresario, is also on prominent hand to slow things down when he lends his distinctive voice to Someplace Down In Tennessee and Remember The Alamo - a tribute to "king of the wild frontier" Davy Crockett.
There are 16 numbers in total, ranging from memorable talking tales set to music, traditional ballads and frenetic, raucous combos that stir the mind and primary muscle groups in your body.
Something for everyone. A taste of the past. And perhaps an antidote to the present..
It's an entrancing return to basics, a comforting journey back to musical simplicity, innocent verve and traditional rhythm a million miles removed from techno beat and garage groove.
The Transatlantic Hillbilly Band is the impressive union of the musical minds and influences of the Ulster Scots Folk Orchestra Association and the Fowkgates Collective.
The end result is a racy jig through the traditional musical genres and sounds that bond north America, Ireland and the British Isles - a pot pourri of melodic ballads, energetic fiddle riffs, lilting fife, tin whistle and drum.
Old Time Fusion's underlying appeal is that it does exactly what it says on the tin.
The CD starts with Boys O Sour Hill (a pulsating number that holds a gun to your head and screams 'dance!') and finishes with a gritty version of The Carter Family's You've Been That Friend To Me.
Lurking in between you'll find a wonderful broth of songs steaming with tuneful nostalgia, historic reference and cultural significance.
A haunting arrangement of O Shenandoah and Jimmy Kennedy's famous Red Sails In The Sunset demand particular attention, as does an uplifting Gospel Mountain Mix-Up which includes an up tempo version of Swing Low Sweet Chariot.
A Barn Dance Mix of three banjo-plucking, hair-bopping numbers maintains the vigorous theme, as does Auld Nick's Dream and Foster Mix on Bagpipes and Banjos.
Willie Drennan, producer and local Ulster Scots impresario, is also on prominent hand to slow things down when he lends his distinctive voice to Someplace Down In Tennessee and Remember The Alamo - a tribute to "king of the wild frontier" Davy Crockett.
There are 16 numbers in total, ranging from memorable talking tales set to music, traditional ballads and frenetic, raucous combos that stir the mind and primary muscle groups in your body.
Something for everyone. A taste of the past. And perhaps an antidote to the present..
Ballymena Times: Review by Karen Fullerton
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