Danny and Aki

Music From the Irish, American and Nordic Traditions, Claddagh Records ****

Wide open prairies and high-ceilinged barns are the stuff of this duet recording. Fiddler Danny Diamond cut his teeth in the recording studio with Mórga, but here he casts his gaze on a wider vista in the company of Aki and his cavernous box playing. Their decision to mix old-timey American, Irish and Nordic tunes yields a remarkably cohesive collection. Echoes of Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh's musical curiosity can be found in Diamond's fiddle, which has a gorgeous, plain-chant quality: bare-boned yet emotionally connected, in the most intimate way, equally to the Scottish song air, The Whistle o'er the Lovett, a west Kerry barndance, The Gypsy Princess, a Norwegian waltz and a Finnish minuet. Aki's box playing mines the instrument's rich drones, pushing the music ever further into open spaces where, with each listening, something fresh reveals itself. dannyandaki.com