Sensitive folk and Tal orders
FOLK trio Talisk will ring in the bells tonight with tears. The group – Mohsen Amini, Graeme Armstrong and Benedict Morris – will perform Auld Lang Syne on the BBC’s annual Hogmanay show, alongside Texas and Emeli Sande.
And this year’s presenter Edith Bowman was so moved by the pre-recorded performance that she got emotional.
Mohsen, a concertinist who won Radio 2 Folk Awards’ Musician of the Year in 2018, said: “We were buzzing when we got the call for the show.
“Especially after the year we’ve all had, it’s great to be one of the faces to bring the nation into a much better 2022.
“Edith was fabulous – she’s such a honey. She said after we played Auld Lang Syne she had tears in her eyes – we hope that was because she enjoyed it.”
The group also made their mark on Sharleen Spiteri – when Mohsen turned up wearing the same outfit as her.
Fiddle player Benedict, who was Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year in 2019, said: “We did feel quite nervous going into rehearsals but when we filmed the show and we were in our finery, the pressure disappeared as there was a wardrobe clash … Mos was wearing the exact same velvet blazer as Sharleen Spiteri.
Fortunately, Sharleen thought it hilarious and we had a laugh about it after and we both agreed it’s a solid look for 2022.”
The duo, together with guitarist Graeme, are in for a busy year.
They play Celtic Connections at the Old Fruitmarket on January 29 ahead of the release of third album Dawn on February 11.
Today, ahead of their Hogmamany slot, they are releasing new single Echo 22.
Mohsen said: “We released Echo originally in 2016 on our first record, Abyss, and since then its raked in millions of streams. It goes down so well live, that we wanted to update, enhance and add to the sound, so was born Echo 22.”
We caught up with them backstage at the filming for tonight’s BBC Hogmanay Show.
Mohsen said: “There’s a huge shift in perceptions about bands like us and our sound. Live, it’s absolutely bursting with energy and genuinely a night of pure adrenaline.
“After playing the new album to a few people, it seems that there’s a folk cross-over between Calvin Harris and 2 Unlimited is the vibe.
“Who knows what the next year will bring? Perhaps Calvin’s family read the Daily Record and can get him into us and he can do a remix.”
Echo 22 is out now. Hogmanay 2021, tonight, BBC1, 11.30pm.