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ANGUS LYON - 3G

ANGUS LYON - 3G
ELTEN9701

This established young Scottish accordionist is not reticent about his wide taste in music - classical, jazz, pop - and 3G certainly shows some of those influences. A newly composed suite, commissioned as part of the Celtic Connections New Voices project, 3G is largely inspired by the Lanarkshire farm which Angus' family have worked for three generations. The clever title, cunningly allowing for a 4G follow-up at some point, is matched by striking photography and design on the sleeve. Musically, Angus has enlisted a fine band of like-minded eclecticists - Anna Massie, Innes Watson, Fraser Fifield, James Lindsay, Duncan Lyall, Chas Mackenzie and Iain Sandilands - as well as Adam Bulley and Alyn Cosker who are new to me. The sound is big, and the vision is even bigger.

3G is conceptually split into three sections, one for each generation. There are no notes on the story, but the music sparks the imagination. Generation One includes a very busy, mechanised theme, as well as some soulful French-style accordion and a funked-up modern reel. Generation Two brings jazz piano and a reggae beat to bear - presumably the soundtrack to Angus' parents' youth, rather than a reference to picking cotton on the Lanarkshire plantations. Fraser Fifield's exuberant sax grabs the ear as ever, and so does a surprising amount of glockenspiel. Compliments To Archie McConnell reasserts the jazz piano for a gentle but playful solo, until Angus is subsumed into a jazz quartet to complete the track. Generation Three features more glock for a tap-dance effect, followed by a five-eight rhythm with thrash metal overtones: was this the teenage Lyon's dream? The final track is a cool jazz-funk swagger through variations on The Stone Call. Easy to like, hard to classify, and certainly worth repeated listening, 3G is a thought-provoking collection. I'd certainly like to know more about the people behind the tunes, but www.anguslyon.co.uk doesn't currently furnish any more information.

Alex Monaghan

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This album was reviewed in Issue 97 of The Living Tradition magazine.