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"...the best of the recent influences...
tasty jazz licks and powerful percussion are woven smoothly into some imaginative treatments of
traditional material." --The Scotsman
Since forming in 1990, the Old Blind Dogs
have stood on the cutting edge of Scotland's roots revival. The band has developed its own
trademark style in which dynamic percussion and bluesy harmonica fuel the delicately phrased
melodies of traditional songs. With their new album "Fit?", the Dogs are putting the sounds of
northeastern Scotland firmly on the world-music map.
Old Blind Dogs founders Jonny Hardie
(fiddle) and Buzzby McMillan (bass, cittern) hail from Aberdeenshire on Scotland's
northeast coast, an area steeped in traditional songs and fiddle tunes. They have built upon
the region's melodies, incorporating African-flavored rhythms of djembe and congas, with pipes
and fiddle tying the music back to its Scottish roots. Jim Malcolm is regarded as one
of Scotland's finest young traditional singers. He is also a gifted lyricist, spinning
fascinating yarns with his rich, perfectly controlled voice. Rory Campbell's piping
skills have been a main attraction in the Scottish band Deaf Shepherd for several years, so
it comes as no surprise that he has already made substantial contributions to the Old Blind
Dogs' repertoire. Paul Jennings has toured with both the Scottish folk band Cannach
and the South American group Apu. His world travels have brought an international flavor to
his percussion style and a smooth, sexy rhythm to the band's mix.
The Old Blind Dogs made their Green
Linnet debut with "The World's Room" in 1999, after five highly praised albums with Scottish
independent label Lochshore. "The World's Room" reveals both the depth and refinement honed
through nearly a decade of performing and recording, and the spark that comes from a new meeting
of musical minds. Called "splendid" by Time Out London and "an outstanding label debut" in MOJO,
the album received glowing responses from both fans and critics. "Fit?", the band's second
release on Green Linnet, which means "what?" in Scottish dialect, is a dynamic set of six
instrumentals and six vocal tracks. The album includes an updated version of Robert Burns
"Is There for Honest Poverty," and the band's catchy arrangement of the traditional song,
"Kincardine Lads." Together the Old Blind Dogs take Celtic music to a fresh new level while
retaining a tradition steeped in centuries of Scottish folklore and history.
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