
THE GREEKING OF THE IRISH
Ever wondered how the Greek bouzouki found its way into nearly every Irish trad band in the world? Colin Irwin gets the whole tale from Andy Irvine.
Andy Irvine (Photo: Judith Burrows)
This month’s issue
Here’s what’s in the December 2015 issue of fRoots, No. 390
- THE EDITOR’S BOX
- Ian Anderson’s comment column.
- RANTING AND REELING
- Tim Chipping’s monthly column.
- THE ELUSIVE ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST
- Elizabeth Kinder’s monthly column.
- fROOTS PLAYLIST
- Recent stuff we like.
- CHARTS & LISTS
- Specialist and general roots music album sales and airplay charts.
- REVIEWS
- Our key section reviewing all the latest CDs and more – loads bite the dust. No punches pulled!
- ROOTING ABOUT
- What’s happening: packed pages of festivals, gigs, tours, radio, CDs and all kinds of roots-related stuff. The most you’ll find anywhere…
- ROOT SALAD
- A cross-section of featurettes: England’s Beth Porter, Heg & The Wolf Chorus andOllie King, Scotland’s Sarah Hayes, France’s L’Hijaz Car, France/Morocco’s Hindi Zahra, Quebec/Denmark’s Maja & David, Cape Verde’s Lura, and Mali’s Vieux Farka Touré answering the Rocket Launcher questions.
- THE GREEKING OF THE IRISH
- Ever wondered how the Greek bouzouki found its way into nearly every Irish trad band in the world? Colin Irwin gets the whole tale from Andy Irvine.
- WITHOUT BORDERS
- You can’t just nip across from Wales to India, but Ghazalaw make the musical journey seamlessly. Ken Hunt has the cultural SatNav.
- SOLOMON TIME
- Just another everyday visit to Pacific panpipe ensemble Narasirato at home. Christopher Conder gets all intrepid.
- DONEGALGRASS
- Venerable Irish troupers Altan have celebrated their 35th anniversary by teaming up with Nashville’s finest. Colin Irwin finds them in relaxed mood.
- MURDER MOST FOUL!
- The true story of what happened to Poor Ellen Smith. Detective work by Paul Slade, in an extract from his new book Unprepared To Die.
- ALGERIA TODAY
- Clue: it’s not all rai on the night. Algerian writer Maria Ezzitouni rounds up what’s cooking in Algerian Music 2015.
- GOOSE STEPS UP
- Essex bluesman Ramon Goose has worked with musicians from Mississippi to West Africa. Jamie Renton hears how he gets around.
- AS I ROVED OUT
- In an extract from his new book on Uilleann pipers, Colin Harper explores the broadcasting and collecting years of Séamus Ennis.
- THE WOMEX WHIRL
- Every year Nick Hobbs does an exhaustive and entertainingly opinionated online report on most of the showcases at international trade fair Womex. Here’s this year’s despatch from Budapest.
- BIFF!
- Our exclusive cartoon strip.
Plus dozens of pages of essential adverts.