Reviews
of "Sweet Nyaa" 
Moving Cloud - Sweet Nyaa
Produced by Donal Lunny, the most recent Moving Cloud release highlights the changes in band personnel that have taken place over the last few years. They are now based out of Denmark and, along with John Pilkington, feature some of that country's finest Celtic musicians.
Sweet Nyaa is a dynamic showcase of the band's talent as they weave their way around mostly traditional tunes. Pilkington's voice is the outstanding feature on a number of tracks including two modern songs, Grosse Isle (by Don Stiffe) and Pressganged Paddy (by John Neville), as well as a few traditional songs.
The instrumental pieces on Sweet Nyaa never miss a beat. They are tight, driving and full of energy, but the musicians can also playwith a fine delicacy, on the airs and ballads, that adds much to the music.
Moving Cloud from Århus in Denmark mixes four Danes and an Englishmen. Founded in the local session scene in 1988, they have released two CDs, 2002´s Cuckanandy and the latest Sweet Nyaa. Theirs is the most defiantly fluent and personalised sound on display here - solidly rooted in the Irish tradition and the most sweetly purist in playing and application. A five-piece band whose instrumental sound is characterised by rich flute and fiddle with solid bodhran and bouzouki, and joined by a dancer whose role is similar to that of Sandy Silva in Kevin Burke's Open House, the music is strong, lively and emphatically traditional. You and I is a compulsive opener with John Pilkington's strong voice and Svend Kjeldsen's bodhran addictively upfront. Fiddler Louise Ring Vangsgaard and flautist Klavs Vester play a positive role moving and twisting around the percussion and strings, anchoring the band's melodic core. Did the Rum Do Daddy is an ingenious mix of recitation from Joe Heaney leading to a percussion/ dance/ vocal improvisation from Svend Kjeldsen and Mette Løvschal, while initially questionable on disc, the ears quickly pick up on the pair's cosmic interaction - this must be great live. Moving Cloud's musicality and overall confidence is helped no end by the participation of Donal Lunny on bouzouki, bodhran and production. Sweet Nyaa is titled after an observation from Donegal fiddler Fiona Doherty on hearing Moving Cloud in session - she was right, this nyaa is very sweet and worth investigating.
MOVING CLOUD is a Danish group specialising in an Irish repertoire. Their SWEET NYAA (GO0105) is a glory of
crafted musical infectiousness, as serious as your life. Exemplary disquisition when it comes to repertoire and
exemplary delivery.
This is Irish traditional music, but all save one of the band members are Danish. John Pilkington, the band's vocalist, guitarist, and lone non-Dane, has a masterful sense of phrasing that breathes new life into old chestnuts "The Parting Glass" and "Bold Donnelly." The bodhràn and other hand percussion play a prominent role in giving Moving Cloud's music its supple spine. Svend Kjeldsen constantly ornaments the beat, giving the rhythm a loping movement that allows the melodic instruments to ripple around it. This muscularity recalls, amazingly the Bothy Band and one is not surprised to find Donal Lunny present on several tracks.
Irish music is now overflowing out of Ireland and having a character as a Global music. Of course we have been able to listen to lots of Irish music made in USA or in this country (Japan) by our own musicians so far. But this brand new recording of Danish-English band with Donal Lunny as a guest has opened up another possibility. Irish music as we knew it is fruits of blood, sweat and tears. This is something entirely different: a fresh, cool and crisp wind blowing from the northern mountains in the first day of autumn. The recording itself helps the feeling: we can listen to each instruments and even each sound clearly. The bodhràn playing by the Danish leader shows a very intellectual taste along with good drive and energy. The playing standart of the flutist and fiddler are so high that Donal"s bozouki is sometimes driven up ahead by them. Selection of songs and tunes are tasteful, too. You must keep watching the developement starting at the track of a rendition of Joe Heany"s lilting with bodhran, percussion and dancing feet.
Moving Cloud's music is hot energetic & catchy..."Sweet Nyaa" captures the essence of Moving Cloud's approach. Here is music sweet to the ears and fetching to the eyes and the 'nyaa' is the genuine article.
Moving Cloud is an offshoot of the huge interest in Irish traditional music that developed in Denmark, and throughout much of Scandinavia in the 1980s and
early '90s.
I encountered a bit of that scene myself when I toured there with a contradance band in 2002: I had expected to hear lots of
Danish folk dance music at sessions, but, in the urban centers at least, everybody was playing the latest hot tunes fiom Sligo and
Connemara.
Of all the fine players who emerged from that Celtic explosion, these four actually three Danes with an ex-pat
Brit are the finest.
Sweet Nyaa is their second CD, and features uber-producer and musical veteran Donal Lunny on many of the tracks.
Moving Cloud's intense groove, born of individual virtuosity and a deep love for the music, is driven by bodhràn and percussion
wizard Svend Kjeldsen.
Not only does he have the deep understanding of what a tune is about and where it's headed that's required of all
rhythm players, but he's also capable of extraordinary solo work, as on his tribute to Joe
Heaney's lilting "Did the Rum Do" where he swaps riffs with stepdancer Mette Løvschal.
There's great singing here, too: John Pilkington's moving version of the emigration
lament "Grosse Isle"and his spirited "You and I in One Bed Lie." Klavs Vester's
flute weaves skillfully in and out ofthe songs, or solos masterfully, as on his own
"Donnely's Reel," and Louise Ring Vangsgaard's fiddle breathes new energy into great (and often neglected) tunes like "Eddie Kelly's" and "The Earl's Chair."
The odd title of this CD comes from a fe11ow musician's comment upon first hearing Moving Cloud
that there was a "sweet nyaa" to their music.
Sweet indeed: this is Irish music played with both freshness and respect.
The story goes that Moving Cloud are performing a lively set at Nathy Breenan's
pub in Tubbercurry Co. Sligo when well known fiddle Fiona Doherty steps in to listen. After a short while she asks,
"Nathy, who are these musicians, there's a sweet nyaa to their music." While exploring the possibilities of an Afro
Celtic connection are fascinating, I've often thought not enough is said about the obvious parallels between the
Scandinavian new traditionalist movement and the new generation of traditional Celtic performers.
The instrumentation and ornamentation are similar ... even the lyrical subject matter.
Well Moving Cloud may be a new genetic mutation ... a Danish group who play Irish with such convincing grace and soul
they can confidently work the pubs in Co. Sligo. The five members of Moving Cloud are truly smitten with Irish song,
even their name was taken from one of Ireland's outstanding reels, composed by legendary fiddler, Neil Boyle.
But when recording and mastering are said and done, Sweet Nyaa takes on global proportions that far eclipse the phenomenon
of a Danish band playing Irish so well. It was produced with the help of Irish icon Dònal Lunny who appears on 11 of the 13 tracks.
It was recorded both in Denmark and Japan! And, mastering was done at Mid Atlantic Digital in Ireland for that authentic touch.
Exceptional bodhràn and guitar work mark this crystal clear rendering of traditional Irish by Moving Cloud.
Hvor Sula brugte Andy Irvine,
bruger Moving Cloud hans landsmand Dònal Lunny som kreativ med- eller modspiller
(eller måske I virkeligheden begge dele). Og som Irvine optræder også Lunny
ganske diskret med sine bidrag på bouzouki og bas-bodhràn. Hvad den sidste
angår, skal jeg faktisk spidse ørerne en del for at skelne hans bidrag. Til
gengæld kræver det ikke nogen speciel skarp høresans for at konstatere, at Svend
Kjeldsens umådeligt klangrige og gesvindte bodhràn-spil fungerer aldeles
eksemplarisk som langt mere end bare krumtap eller fundament under kvartetten.
Sammenspillet er hele vejen igennem, også i Klavs Vesters to nyskrevne stykker,
tæt og intenst-uanstrengt. Ikke mindst mellem Vesters fløjte og Louise
Vangsgaards violin er vi flere steder, skubbet fremad af Kjeldsens boblende
energi, tæt på det telepatiske, yderligere fremhævet af det meget klare
lydbillede.
Overraskelsen her er et klip med Joe Heaney’s "lilting" i Did the rum do
daddy?, efterfulgt af Kjeldsens og Mette Løvschals
vocal/percussion-variation, smittende virtuos og nok endnu mere virkningsfuld
live on stage. Et par nyere sange fungerer godt nok i sammenhængen, og John
Pilkington er ikke nogen dårlig sanger, men - med al respekt for den afveksling,
de giver - foretrækker jeg afgjort de traditionelle stykker, hvor musikken
hviler smukt i sig selv, uanset om det er et sprælsk sæt jigs eller en helt
henåndet (men ikke selvsmagende) slow air. Som Vester spiller den, måtte han for
min skyld gerne have givet os en mere.
En ikke ringe bonus - ikke at det er nødvendigt, men altså - er de omfattende
noter om de enkelte stykker og deres oprindelse, endda med referencer til trykte
kilder. Forbilledligt.
Moving Cloud og Dònal Lunny har med "Sweet Nyaa" skabt en smuk og helstøbt CD, som med al ønskelig tydelighed viser, at gruppen hører til blandt Skandinaviens bedste og mest originale irske orkestre.
Hvor kan det være herligt forfriskende at lytte til flot
udførelse af traditionel irsk musik midt i denne tid, da folkemusikken ellers
herhjemme bevæger sig i alle mulige retninger.
Lyder som forår !
Moving Cloud's album "Sweet Nyaa" dufter simpelthen af forår. Lyt selv. Det føles som at køre op og ned af små bakkede veje i et lysegrønt landskab i solskin. Den dansk-baserede grupper spiller nemlig irsk folkemusik og det i usædvanlig fremragende grad. "Sweet Nyaa" rummer traditionelle sange i nye arrangementer og helt nye sange skrevet af de irske sangskrivere John Neville og Don Stiffe. Moving Cloud har også selv skrevet tre af de 13 numre - og de har været helt i Japan for at indspille albummet.
Tine Bendixen, Alt for Damerne
Her på deres anden cd er Dònal Lunny med som gæstemusiker
på hele 11 af de 13 numre, og det giver selvfølgelig en lidt stærkere irsk
stuvning. Der er både traditionelle sange og nye fra især de to irere, John A.
Neville og Don Stiffe, til retten, som fint kan anbefales.
Fondé en 88 lors des premiéres sessions irlandaises á Århus, ce groupe forme de 4 Danois et d'un Anglais (le chanteur principal) est rejoint sur 11 des 13 morceaux par Donal Lunny. Un excellent flútiste, du violon, du bodhrán, du bouzouki, de la guitare: Les ingrédients habituels sont lá pour faire vivre la magie des airs irlandais, avec une touche rythmique personnelle. Un bon mélange de jigs, de reels et de chansons, bien agréable M.B.
The first thing that
strikes you when you listen to Sweet Nyaa is the distinguished position the
bodhràn has in Moving Cloud's sound. In Svend Kjeldsen's hands a bodhràn is not
just a rhythm instrument used for backing up other instruments. No, it's an
instrument equal to flute and fiddle.
Now we are talking "instruments", Mette Løvschal is featured on step-dancing
shoes. Again this is nothing you hear in the background, but on "Did the Rum Do
Daddy?" her tap dancing and Kjeldsen's bodhràn are the basis for one of the most
interesting "lilts" I have ever heard.
Yes, "lilts" - they have actually recorded a lilting duet. That's not a thing
you often hear.
I really like the sweet tone of Vangsgaard's fiddle (as in Sweet Nyaa?), but she
has always been an excellent fiddler. If you just heard flute player Klavs
Vester you wouldn't think he was Danish - he sounds as if he is brought up
playing the flute....
The CD is produced in cooperation with Dònal Lunny and he also plays bouzouki
and bass bodhràn (was that what he used to call a blarge - bouzouki large -
years ago?) on several of the tracks. It's an interesting "gimmick", but no need
for it really, as Pilkington is well capable of playing bouzouki and Kjeldsen
the bodhràn.
Most of the tunes are what I would call traditional, but the extensive sleeve
notes have composers for the larger part of them. Vester wrote quite a few of
the tunes too. Kjeldsen and Løvschal "created" "Did the Rum Do Daddy?"
Moving Cloud giver mange af numrene et
næsten funky udtryk, med hurtige synkoper, der åbner nye sider i de
traditionelle numre, især i sangene. Hør for eksempel den traditionelle
'Bold Donelly', hvor John Pilkingtons sang også er med til at få nummeret
til nærmest at flyve af sted, og på den måde understrege teksten.
Cd'en får ekstra rytmisk styrke af bodhràn- og bouzouki-spilleren Dònal Lunny,
der gæsteoptræder på 11 af pladens 13 numre. Moving Cloud's Louise Ring
Vangsgaard og Klavs Vester leverer et utroligt tæt samspil mellem violin og
fløjte, som rigtig kommer til udtryk på cd'ens jigs og reels. Heraf har Moving
Cloud selv skrevet tre nye.
Et af de smukkeste numre på cd'en er sangen 'Grosse Isle', om øen, der
i 1840'erne blev brugt som karantæne-ø af de canadiske myndigheder, for at
forhindre irske emigranter i at sprede kolera-smitten. Med katastrofale følger
for de irere, der blev interneret på øen. Følger, der senere er blevet beskrevet
som 'Irlands holocaust'.
Den bevægende sang er skrevet af en af gruppens venner, Don Stiffe fra den irske
gruppe Feenish. Jeg har kun hørt den her i Moving Cloud's udgave - og den går
rent ind.
Moving Cloud har også fundet en gammel optagelse af den irske traditionelle
sanger Joe Heaney (1919-84) frem. Her fortæller Joe Heaney en historie om en
far, der får et glas rom af sine tre døtre, der bagefter spørger 'Did the
rum do, Daddy? '. Og bruger historien som indgang til den traditionelle
'lilting', hvor rytmer udtrykkes i tekst:
'Didderumdo, o didderumdo, o didderumdo, dad-dy?
Didderumdo, o didderumdo, o didderumdo, me daughters... '
Den historiske optagelse glider over et aldeles medrivende bodhràn/stepdans
nummer, hvor Svend Kjeldsen og stepdanseren Mette Løvschal, lilter, trommer og
stepper en vis legemsdel ud af bukserne.
Ved de første gennemlytninger af Sweet Nyaa syntes jeg, at musikken
måske fremstod lidt for velfriseret - jeg kan godt lide de mere 'rå' udgaver af
irsk og skotsk folkemusik, både blandt traditionsbærerne og den nyere afdeling.
Men jeg har måttet overgive mig. Der er bund og dybde i Moving Cloud, og en egen
stemning på deres 'Sweet Nyaa', der ligesom en god årgangsvin har en
lang eftersmag.
Skænk bare mere op!
Das sollte jeder Liebhaber
irischer Musik kennen. Mit "Sweet Nyaa" hat die in Århus ansässige Band Moving
Cloud nicht nur ein neues Album vorgelegt, sondern einen Meilenstein irisch
traditioneller Musik gesetzt. Sweet Nyaa bedeutet frei übersetzt: berührende
Musik. Thema voll erfasst!
Jedes Stück ist liebevoll und überzeugend arrangiert und stilsicher umgesetzt.
Diese Neuerscheinung bietet - wie schon die vorherige CD von Moving Cloud
"Cuckanandy" eine abwechslungsreiche Sammlung verschiedener Formen wie Airs,
Jigs, Reels und Songs. Experimentelles hat seinen Platz wenn der Percussionist
und hervorragende Bodhràn-Spieler, Svend Kjeldsen, angeregt duch eine
historische Aufnahme des für sein Lilting berühmten Joe Heaney eine eigene
Version von "Did The Rum Do Daddy?" mit der Tap-Tänzerin Mette Løvschal
vorträgt. "Sweet Nyaa" besteht ausschließlich aus hervorragenden
Einspielungen.
Je nach persönlichem Geschmack wird jeder Hörer seine Lieblingsstücke finden.
Sind es die von John Pilkington so einfühlsam gesungenen Songs? Von denen
"Grosse Isle" besonders berührend ist. Oder sind es die rasant und groovy
vorgetragenen Dancetunes, bei denen Svend Kjeldsen an der Bodhràn in seinem
Element ist und alle Register dieser irischen Rahmentrommel zieht?
Ein echter Klassiker "The Parting Glass" bekommt eine besonders schöne
Nuance durch das Zusammenspiel von Louise Ring Vangsgaard an der Fiddle und
Klavs Vester an der Flute. Dieses Zusammenspiel der beiden Melodieinstrumente
mit der Rhythmussektion ist es auch, das den Sound der Band so transparent hält.
In jedem Stück werden neue Klangfacetten ausgeleuchtet.
Hervorzuheben ist das Booklet, dass sehr informativ und liebevoll gestaltet ist,
alle Texte sind abgedruckt, zu jedem Stück gibt es interessante Erläuterungen.
Sound und technische Qualität ist vom Feinsten - dafür steht der Name Dònal
Lunny.
Das Album "Sweet Nyaa" gehört in jede Sammlung irischer Musik. Es kann
über www.gofolk.dk bestellt werden - ebenso
wie das Album "Cuckanandy" von Moving Cloud.
Empfehlung: Kaufen!