FIRELIGHT TRIO
Midnight Followed
If the cornucopia of Pan-European folk music is your bag then look no further than Firelight Trio to get your fix. Creating compositions around a core of what is surely a unique instrumental lineup comprising Gavin Marwick’s fiddle, Phil Alexander’s accordion & piano and Ruth Morris’s nyckelharpa, Midnight Followed offers atmospheric and varied tunes which serve to consolidate the reputation garnered by the release of their eponymous debut of 2023.
Friends for nigh on two decades, and coming from different musical backgrounds, the trio possess an unashamed pro-European outlook which extends beyond their music which is both adventurous and of a breadth which displays a desire to explore beyond boundaries. To use the term eclectic would do them, and the word itself, an injustice, but the reality is that this term is clearly the most apposite.
Entirely written and arranged by the band, and reflective of their differing backgrounds, influences and experiences, the nine tracks take the listener on a joyous adventure that amazes, thrills, delights and gives pause for reflection. The album’s opening set sees Gavin continue his one-man crusade to add tunes in praise of capitalism to the folk music canon, building on the ‘Filthy Lucre’ theme from the previous album with courtly ‘Dirty Euro’ and ‘A Hatful of Euros’, book-ending the spritely ‘Viridian Skies’ & ‘Storm In A Teacup’.
Having been transported to Paris via the two reels which comprise ‘Left Bank Reels’, the first of which, ‘The Dragonfly & The Gauloise’, has a laid-back jazzy vibe, whilst the frenetic, up-tempo ‘The Yellow Jersey’ certainly evokes images of a Tour de France dash for the line. The jazz feel is also suggested by Phil’s piano playing on both the ‘Sunday Jig/Ellen Galford’s’ jig set and his ‘Tune for Tomorrow’, a beautifully composed piece, which the trio describe as both “uncertainly reflective and at the same time willfully optimistic.”
‘Praying Mantis/The Plague of Wasps’ brings a stylistic variation as the former, originally written to accompany a Yiddish song project, showcases Phil’s expertise vis a vis klezmer music, as is exemplified in his contributions to Moshie’s Bagel, whilst the latter, with frenzied bows and accordion certainly evoke feeling of being tormented by the titular wasps.
Various other dance forms also get an airing on the release. The polka is represented by the jaunty,‘The Malmi Polka’, written in Helsinki, whilst the Gavin-composed ‘Jericho Bridge/The Darkest Hour/Just Before The Dawn’ set, a contemporary take on a March, Strathspey and a “non” Reel, provide the most recognisably Scottish sounding offerings, albeit prominently featuring Ruth’s Swedish nyckelharpa, a bowed instrument that combines features of a fiddle and a hurdy gurdy. Two contrasting five time waltzes follow. The first, ‘The Boy And The Bear’ a quixotic, slow piece suggesting hot, Moorish climes, whilst its pairing tune, ‘Midnight Followed’, with its faster tempo suggests activities far removed from the dreamlike qualities of the former.
The album closes on a high, with two tunes inspired by a road trip to, and performing in, the Czech Republic. ‘Life On The Road/Six Weeks To Námĕšt’ show the symbiotic juxtaposition of the fiddle, nyckelharpa and accordion to perfect effect, with the dramatic energy, excitement and emotion being created making it difficult to believe that only three instruments are being played.
Midnight Followed provides a beacon of musical light, guaranteed to bring a smile to the face and a tap to the foot.
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Midnight Followed