> I think what he really wants to know is what you listen to that inspires > you write that you'd like to hear: <<a genuinely inspired "fusion" sort of > harp-playing. >>
I guess it's because it's not so common to hear really listen-able fusions of different musical genres in general, but especially (as Jack just mentioned) traditional Scottish or Irish music along with anything else. It's genuinely tough to get it to work beautifully. Not to say that it isn't done regularly with success. Some of my favorite artists in Scottish music are doing what I guess could be called "fusion", or have done "fusion" projects in the past (don't worry, I'll include them on my desert isle list :-) For instance, every album Alasdair Fraser has released except for one, is basically "fusion" and I think they've all come out great. I'm sure he'd be touched to hear me say that :-) I've heard plenty of attempts to combine North American Country music with Scottish music, and it's mostly been really hard for me to listen to.. I hate to pick examples, but as talented as the Rankin Family is, I really can't get into their music for that reason. If I want to hear country music, there folks who make more listen-able country music then the Rankin family, and since they're trying to combine their country influences into their albums, it keeps the traditional sets down to a minimum on their albums. So it keeps me from listening to them. Plus the teenage fan club aspect of their band used to really bugged me too.. Ha.. Ha.. Speaking of "teenage fan clubs", they're a killer band from Glasgow. They'll be on my list. Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
