Luke Daniels - The Cobhers

by Nicky Crewe

published: 26 / 11 / 2022

Label: Gael
Format: CD

intro

Inspiring project from Luke Daniels which brings together dance tunes from the folk tradition with seventies disco

Formed in 2019, Luke Daniels’ project The Cobhers brings together dance tunes from the folk tradition with seventies disco. It’s an inspired mix. Luke Daniels formed The Cobhers (pronounced ‘covers’) in 2019 to encourage new audiences to find their way to folk and traditional music. He works with young and emerging performers, including those who have been part of the BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year competition, and students from Newcastle University and the Royal Conservatoire Scotland’s folk music degree courses. This album is a joyful and fascinating mix of traditional dance music and seventies disco, played acoustically on instruments familiar from the folk tradition, by musicians who bring their talents and versatility to the project. Opening with a jaunty version of the Bee Gees 1977 hit, 'Stayin’ Alive', the album finishes with a traditional tune from Syria. Along the way there are some original lockdown compositions, 'Not In The Yeast' and the beautiful 'Some Will Fall', the only tune that isn’t an instrumental. It’s a haunting contrast to the upbeat energy of the dance tunes, and a reminder of what we have all experienced over the last few years. The overall mood of the album is overwhelmingly joyful and entertaining. It’s all about the surprise of hearing familiar favourites from the 1970s performed in such a fresh and original way. Stevie Wonder’s 'Superstition', Deee-Lite’s 'Groove Is In The Heart' and the Average White Band’s 'Pick Up The Pieces' all get The Cobhers treatment, proving you can’t keep a good dance tune down. Some of the music was created for a North Lanarkshire community project, Wait ‘Til You Hear This’, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland and Summerlee Museum, Coatbridge. Fresh ways of funding music making and of reaching out to new audiences look like they are the way forward and The Cobhers have hit all the right notes with this new album.

Track Listing:-

1 Staying Alive
2 Not In The Yeast
3 Kinny Cally Hill
4 Groove Is In the Heart
5 Cucumber Jungle
6 Some Will Fall
7 Maggie Ramsay
8 Superstition
9 Carron Bridge
10 Speaking Waltz
11 Pick Up The Pieces
12 Doodly Doodly Dank
13 Syrian Longa

Band Links:-

http://www.lukedanielsmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/lukedanielsmusic
https://twitter.com/lukedanielsfolk
https://www.youtube.com/user/lukedanielsartoftrio
https://plus.google.com/u/0/117574403180300030327