LONAN
Oddy Locks
Here’s an intriguing thing, a 6-track collection from the Leed based trio. Drawing together 3 musicians (well it is a trio) from diverse musical traditions, their choice of material also reflects the curious nature of their collaboration. With backgrounds in bluegrass, folk and Klezmer, they offer a self-generated instrumental, an original song, two arrangements of traditional origin and two interesting choice of covers. ‘Maerdy’ tells of the decline of the last Rhonnda pit and the effects on the community and along with a female led version of Richard Thompson’s classic ‘Beeswing’, their choices are just a small indication of the eclecticism on offer – but would you want it any other way?
Besides the instrumental title track – a delicate evocation of a favoured stretch of the Leeds- Liverpool Canal - we have 3 different lead vocals, each giving a different flavour to the delivery, and a theme repeated in the lyrical focus of the songs, ranging from ‘Sands of Dover’ in which a Nepalese hotel worker dreams of the freedom to love that other shores may bring, a Scottish ballad telling the not unknown story in which a woman is shamefully abandoned by a soldier after he has ‘forced his affections’. Leeds is revisited with a deeply powerful version of ‘Rothwell Debtors Prison’ into which has been introduced elements of a fiddle country dance tune (or schottische if you prefer), courtesy of Frenchman Gabriel Lenoir, though this may well be the sort of thing you are expecting by now!
The mixture of instrumentation supplied by Evan Davies (mandolin, fiddle, guitar, vocals), Katy Ryder (flute, whistles, guitar, vocals) and Robin Timmis (guitar, fiddle, vocals) ensures that the musical elements of the EP remains both interesting and noteworthy, so, given a mixture of social consciousness, history, compelling stories, a sense of place and some instrumental excellence, there is much to be enjoyed as well as admired and in the way of a musical amuse bouche, leaving a fine taste along with a wish for more.
