This offering of traditional Irish music from faraway Budapest is assuredly Irish, with the help of Alan Burton, splendidly on Uileann pipes, Luke Daniels on box and Rock Foot on double bass. They’ve teamed up with one János Lang an fiddle, (who founded this group long before the three Englishmen with a wanderlust and an interest in middle European music arrived); Kornél Varga on guitar and mandolin, Ákos Kertész on percussion and Sándor Kis on bodhrán.
They call themselves Fianna and simply delightful. They rap on a very high plain musically, mixing Cornwall-Celtic with Irish with Magyar and Balkan. Alan Burton is the Cornwall element and he is one of the finest Uileann pipers around, weaving a seam of delightful, colourful Irish music through the album. Luke Daniels was BBC Young Trad Musician of the year ten years ago. A musical genius of classical piano, soloist with the English National Opera and accordionist with Dé Dannan, Reeltime and Riverdance, as well as accomplished bodhrán player. Rick Foot played the French horn for many years and ’suffered a sea change’ onto the double bass – this album all the better for it! A complex and musically brilliant album by Fianna.

Donal Lynch