Traditional

Latest releases reviewed

IONTACH Jiggin' It No label ***

Forged on the back of an erudite understanding of tune roots and a healthy appreciation of how best to stretch and bend those tunes to cosy up alongside newly introduced dance partners, the German-Irish trio who call themselves Iontach play a music that's at times both spirited and fresh-faced. There's a childlike simplicity to Paddy Fahy's hornpipe, which is rendered magically medieval in mood by Jens Kommnick's cello and Siobhán Kennedy's uncomplicated fiddle lines. While the songs rarely manage to rise above pedestrian (at times yielding to an undeniable twee-ness), Iontach's tune choices and their stripped-back arrangements, particularly on concertina, fiddle and keyboard, whisper of a trio who depend on the oxygen of the music for dear life. A solid, if occasionally pedantic, successor to their 2004 debut, The Half Gate. www.iontach.de SIOBHÁN LONG

EMMETT GILL The Mountain Groves Na Píobairí Uilleann ****

There's a modesty to the playing of London Irish piper Emmett Gill, a modesty that belies an impressive grasp of a deeply complex instrument. The Mountain Groves is this year's second solo piping collection from Na Píobairí Uilleann, following a lengthy drought that saw few pipers venturing close to a recording studio unless accompanied by a posse worthy of casting in The Magnificent Seven. The precision and discipline of Gill's playing shines throughout his solo debut, particularly on the hornpipes Poll Ha'penny and The Mountain Groves, where he imposes formidable control on both pace and rhythm. Drone and chanter come into their own on the jig pair Jullia Clifford's and Paddy Whack, and Gill's choice of closing reels is an apt doffing of his cap to Ladd O'Beirne and the vibrancy of the tradition when it thrived Stateside back in the 1930s. www.claddaghrecords.com SIOBHÁN LONG

Download track: The Garden of Daisies