Martin Carthy + David Delarre - The Round Chapel, Hackney, London

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 163, December 2020.



Martin Carthy + David Delarre
The Round Chapel, Hackney, London
16th October 2020

In a year where ‘live music’ has mostly meant sitting around a computer screen, it was an utter delight to gather with real-life human beings to witness music being made in the flesh. This was the second of the Fire in the Belly concert series, set in Hackney’s beautiful Round Chapel. The converted church was spacious enough to accommodate a socially-distanced audience, and what was lost in cosiness was made up for in camaraderie.

Support came from David Delarre, Eliza Carthy’s regular guitarist, playing an enjoyable set built around traditional repertoire from his twin homes of Hackney and Essex. ‘I've missed having applause,’ he grinned near the end of his set, and the audience obviously relished giving it.

Then, framed by a magnificent arch, lit by fairy lights and with a church organ as the backdrop, Martin Carthy gave his first live performance in seven-and-a-half months. Perhaps there was a little rust to be shaken off, with some verses taking a little while to come to mind, but the high spirits of the evening kept everything running with alacrity. With his aging but soulful voice and nimble, meaty guitar playing, Carthy’s songs brought us from the beginnings of his career all the way up to his Imagined Village days.

For many present, it was the first real concert for a long time and, with new restrictions brought in just an hour after it finished, maybe the last one for a while too. But what a joy it was while it lasted!

Qwanqwa - Volume 3

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 163, December 2020.

Qwanqwa
Volume 3
Qwanqwa (45 mins)

If you’ve been paying attention to Ethiopian tradi-modern music over the past five-odd years, you will have come across the names of Qwanqwa’s musicians. Mesele Asmamaw (krar), Anteneh Teklemariam (bass krar), Endris Hassen (masenqo) and Misale Legasse (kebero) have cropped up as sidemen in so many projects; here, together with Addis-based American violinist Kaethe Hostetter, they all get their own time to shine.

Qwanqwa are, for the most part, an instrumental group. The interplay created between the krars and fiddles mean that they’re adept at playing traditional or contemporary music, and with the help of electronic effects (not to mention Anteneh’s slap bass on the krar) they’re more than capable of making it funky. However, there is a tendency for the group’s textures to feel a bit static after a while, like something is missing – that’s all solved whenever Mesele picks up the microphone and freshens everything up with his voice. It’s a pity that only happens on two tracks.

The shredding krar and dubtronic violin of ‘Sewoch’ are delightful, but it is the epic 18-minute finale, ‘Serg’, a brooding, groove-laden medley of wedding songs, that you want to look out for here. When Qwanqwa strike the right balance, they can be absolutely irresistible.