TAKING THE SCENIC ROUTE
Trevor Mann of Edmonton-based indie-rockers Scenic Route to Alaska performs Friday in Gallagher Park during the second day of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.
It’s 30 years since they made their maiden record so you would guess the members of Ireland’s Dervish have cause for reflection. But when Shane Mitchell spoke just days ago ahead of this weekend’s Folk Music Festival he offered far more than that.
“We’re thrilled,” he said, just an hour or so after finding out that the BBC Radio Folk Music Awards will honour the band from County Sligo with a lifetime achievement award this October.
“It’s been a wonderful voyage for us all. There’s been many, many great moments over the last 30 years. It’s all about the folks we’ve met and the great relationships we’ve built with people. That community that we have worldwide is just so special to us. Not everyone gets to do this in life and we’re honoured to play our part.”
A few members knew each other and played together as schoolmates before graduating and going their separate ways, only to regroup in 1989 to perform in local pubs and record albums.
“We all grew up together and we all had different jobs, different careers, but the calling of music was always there. We’ve kind of fermented together. Our music has fermented and our personalities and friendships are very strong. That’s why it’s lasted so long, but there’s a power in Irish folk music.”
They kept their day jobs for the first five years or so until European tour offers picked up, finally going full-time in 1994. The following year they made their first trip to North America, gradually adding South America and Asia over a schedule that once approached 200 dates a year.
Dervish’s latest (14th) album is something of a look back to their roots but tied to a whole new set of collaborators and new label Rounder Records. The Great Irish Songbook features a few old chestnuts that you probably already know even if you didn’t know they were of Irish origin like There’s Whiskey In The Jar, Molly Malone, She Moved Through The Fair, The Rocky Road To Dublin and more.
“It’s focused on some of the more iconic Irish songs, songs that have kind of got lost in translation sometimes because of overuse, songs that we all grew up with, that our parents used to sing to us. We wanted to bring out the greatness and breathe new life into some of these songs.”
It took almost three years to record, working in special guests like Steve Earle, Vince Gill, David Gray, Imelda May, Kate Rusby, actor Brendan Gleeson, and The Steeldrivers.
The one guest who will be around at Folk Fest is Kate Rusby, and it’s very likely she will join them on stage for a rendition of The Sally Gardens (from a W.B. Yeats poem). You can also expect to see one or two stepdancers on stage, including Mitchell’s niece, who currently studies in Canada.
Some of those tunes might sound a little different than they would have 30 years ago. When they first started out the members of Dervish leaned more toward the purist angle, and Mitchell recalls they actually rehearsed for a full year before they did their first gig.
“We were very much married to the tradition, but you can’t go around the world’s festivals, meet so many great musicians and travel
so much without absorbing different influences. We’ve always worked very hard at our arrangements but the concerts are very live and exciting. Everybody has different ideas and we’re always trying to experiment.”
The element of improvisation remains a key force in Dervish’s continuing momentum. “We try to put different frames on the pictures, so to speak. This music has a very personal emotional attachment and you have to keep the freshness of the music alive.”
The band includes original members Liam Kelly (flute, whistle), Brian Mcdonagh (mandola, mandolin), Michael Holmes (bouzouki), and Shane Mitchell (accordion). Cathy Jordan joined in 1990, adding vocals and bodhran percussion, and Tom Morrow brought his champion fiddle skills in 1998. Most of them still live in and around County Sligo on Ireland’s northwest coast, a very musical part of a hugely musical country.
“It’s true, Ireland is a very creative place,” Mitchell said.
Where I come from in the town of Sligo there are 20,000 people and at last count 96 gigs a week. We call it little Nashville. This sound was also the first variation of Irish folk to be recorded back in the 1920s on 78 rpm records. So we’re flying the flag of Sligo. That’s what we grew up with, so how could we do anything else?”
Why is Ireland one of those rare examples of concentrated musical efforts?
“It’s always been that way, just like tap water, but people have asked me that and I never know how to explain it. All I can say is that this country at times has had a lot of poverty, so making music was one of the few things we had to do. It’s part of the social fabric and we’re trying to keep the younger generations interested too. It’s no coincidence that the harp is the symbol of Ireland because we are a musical nation.”
Mitchell adds that playing Edmonton (for maybe their fifth time) is “just like coming home.”
OTHER ACTS
Dervish may be the best example of ancient folk traditions from Ireland at the Folk Fest this year, but there are other related options.
English singer Kate Rusby is a charming, versatile artist but the way she captures the sensitive, thoughtful essence of British folk makes her a favourite.
Scotland’s Talisk have been named Folk Band of the Year in the BBC Folk Awards for the way the instrumental trio draws from traditional sources to weave fresh, minimalist rhythmic patterns on fiddle, guitar and accordion.
The Irish-born, Canadian-based singer-songwriter Irish Mythen has already inspired fans here in past visits. Raised on folk roots, she’s geared more toward new original tunes, but it’s really about the depth of her emotional expression and that amazing voice.
Son (or Susan O’neill) is an Irish singer-guitarist raised in the tradition, but these days you might be hard-pressed to know that, since much of her original material takes on more of a gritty blues feel.
For a Canadian take on traditional roots rhythms don’t miss Quebec’s exceptional Genticorum. One of the country’s finest folk roots bands, they’re approaching two decades together. Their focus on traditional repertoire has been augmented with original work in a similar vein. Humour, vocal harmonies and a seemingly endless well of high energy virtuosity complete the picture.