Dochas, Roots Around The World series
Dochas are five women, one man and a toolbox of fiddle, assorted bagpipes, accordion, harp, whistles, piano, bodhrán and five powerful voices. With such a diverse collection of noise-making-machines, the group are able to play great sets of jigs and reels, or slip into something altogether more laid-back and atmospheric.
Julie Fowlis' Gaelic singing is firmly at the front, whatever the pace. As she adjusts from the gentle songs to the manic 'mouth music' (think the folk singer's version of performance poetry, where the meaning is less important than the sound of the words) it's easy to see why she's just won 'Gaelic Singer of the Year' Traditional Scottish Music Awards. She's also performed on sessions with the excellent Belle & Sebastian.
Equally up front is the fiddle playing of the beautiful Jenna Reid. Her fast, flawless fiddle is amongst the best I've ever heard (it's always warm and woody, and sounds wonderfully acoustic) and she's a charismatic and striking performer. On a couple of occasions tonight, she's sadly let down by the soundman who loses her playing in the mix.
Bagpiper Carol-Anne Mackay (who's appeared with The Levellers), Kathleen Boyle and harp player Eilidh Macleod are the other three women in Dochas, and they're really no less up front than Julie and Jenna. All three are versatile multi-intrumentalists: all three are able to spin a great yarn when needed: all three command the audience's undivided attention when given a chance.
The last of the line-up is Martin O'Neill, who has won All-Scotland, All-Britain and All-Ireland titles on bodhrán. He is, as you'd expect with that pedigree, an absolute whizz. With one bodhrán, the simplest of percussion instruments, he can make enough sounds to equal a full drum kit. Astounding playing, and I can honsetly say I've never heard the bodhrán sound this dynamic.
All in all, Dochas took in the full spectrum of traditional Scottish music, gave it a refreshing contemporary twist and paced the set just perfectly to keep the audience in the palm of their collective hands.
An evening that was well worth the trek to the wilds of Graffham. If you get a chance to see Dochas - go, however far!
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