AIDAN O’ROURKE - 365: Volume 2
Reveal Records REVEAL081CDX
Ah, this is a treat… and such a concept too. If, like me, you missed out on Volume 1, the background is as follows. Author James Robertson wrote 365 short stories of 365 words each (one a day, of course), and Lau’s fiddler decided to write 365 tunes in the same manner, in response to the tales. Here, you even get 25 of the stories in the CD booklet (albeit in small print).
Aidan is joined by eminent and versatile jazz keyboard player, Kit Downes, on piano and harmonium. To the extent that there is a step away from folk music here, it’s not actually towards jazz, but in the direction of a kind of classical chamber music. For avoidance of doubt, this is not the sort of fiddle tune album that leads you to think “I’ll learn this and take it down to the session” – not in my view, anyway.
I found the music utterly captivating; I recognise that others might find it too cerebral or generally ‘arty’. For those who like something different, however, this is definitely worth investigating. You might want to look out for the book of the stories too!
www.aidanorourke.net
Paul Mansfield