the bright young folk review

Not usually a fan of entirely instrumental works, I approached Murmichn with slight trepidation. But despite my personal bias telling me I should dislike the album, it won me over with the sheer energy of every performance and the sheer impertinence to fly in the face of traditional generic boundaries.

Before that however, Murmichan has been split into two volumes with each disk showcasing a particular facet of the band’s performance. The first was recorded over the course of a week and features the band as they would sound if you saw them live. In contrast the second disk is a mixture of remixes and actual live performances, adding an extra dimension to the band’s sound and an intimate view of how each track has come into being.

‘Road to Bled’ has both the first and the last word in Murmichan. With a distinctly Eastern European twist from the off, the track transcends the musical boundaries in a way that only the creators of Hypnofolkadelia and Techno Celidh can do. What surprised me most though was how amazingly the various instruments meshed together with neither one upstaging the other.

Boundaries are pushed in every track, ‘Dancing Goose’ for example features a bass-line more often seen in 70s-style pop/rock records and yet Angus Grant’s exceptional Celtic fiddle line floats over the top as if there was no question that this is how music should sound.

The album’s second CD is even more rebellious with each mix pushing at the boundaries more than the one that came before. Of particular note is ‘Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station’ which conjures up stereotypical alien imagery of flying saucers and little green men through the wonderful use of generic computer blips just at the right moment.

Of all the tracks, however, ‘The Vague Rant’ has to be my personal favourite. Led by the fiddle from start to finish the mix of repetitions and slight variations of the melody immediately give the impression of somebody ranting on about nothing really in particular. And yet, once put to music it becomes both interesting and entertaining.

Cheeky, impertinent but, at the end of the day, simply brilliant!

Mary Stokes

Not a bad wee review:

By NORMAN CHALMERS

SHOOGLENIFTY
Murmichan
****
Shoogle Records SHOOGLE09010 £12.72
The latest from the unique Edinburgh-based globetrotters is a double CD, the first being the classic Shoogle riff-and-groove of their touring set, recorded in "live" studio takes – no layering, all playing together, with Tasmanian mandolinist Luke Plumb's compositional talents taking the lion's share. The second disc lets their imaginations rip in the studio with remixes by DJ Dolphin Boy, spoken word inserts, an Ardnamurchan/Afghan crossover take of the six guys live with Ensemble Kaboul, and marvellous tune titles like Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station.

Download this: The Dancing Goose

We've got  a release date of the the new album. October the 12th.
Some of the tunes are up on the player on myspace.

Luke Plumb and Peter Daffy are doing a short tour of Scotland

17    Cromarty            Brewery
18    Drumnadrochit        Jennie MacFie's
20    Wick               
21    Ullapool            Ceilidh Place
22    Edinburgh        Voodoo Rooms
23    Glasgow            Monkey Bar
24    Stobo            Stobo Village Hall

Hosted By:
Shooglenifty

When:
01 November 2009

Where:
Lemon Tree
Aberdeen

Description:
Shooglenifty return to the Lemon Tree

Click Here To View Event

We've settled on "Murmichan"
Like the sound of it?
We're going to be relasing it as a double album on CD and Vinyl.
There's a lot to do before we can get a release date but it will be in the autumn for sure.

We're going to decide what to call the new album today.
Any ideas?
Well we've got a few on the go so it's make our mind up time.
As long as it doesn't get called "arse elbow" I'm happy.

We’ve been hard at it. recording the new album in Castlesound Studios.
It features one track from our gig with Ensemble Kaboul at 2009 Celtic Connections as well as two re-mixed tracks by DJ Dolphin Boy.
And the rest are a fine set of new tunes by the lads.
All in all we’re excited by how it sounds.

All that remains is to get the artwork and title sorted and we can work out a release date.
We’ve got a Scottish gig coming up soon at McKay’s Hotel in Pitlochry on June the 26th so  we’re looking forwards to that one.

Had a great wee tour of Scotland, starting in Findhorn and ending in Glenuig. Thanks to all those who came along.
We've just updated the gigs page for all of the upcoming Canadian gigs starting on the 18th Nov. Come and warm yourself up.
18th - Banff
21st Edmonton
22nd - Bragg Creek
23rd - Sundre
25th - Penticton
26th - Kelowna
27th - Abbotsford
29th - Vancouver
30th - Victoria