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Release of Mike James‘ album Maes Iago |
Release of Mike James' album 'Maes Iago'
Mike James started playing professionally in folk and traditional music and dance in Wales in the seventies, in Swansea Jack, one of South Wales' first folk groups, and through regular touring found himself living and working in Brittany from the early 80’s. Since then he has become a specialist in Breton dance music played on the diatonic accordion (melodeon), both as a soloist, teacher, and for his playing with Yves Leblanc (clarinet), Jacal, etc.
In the late 90’s he joined up with Rachel Goodwin (piano) and her husband Hervé Dréan (flutes, saxo, bagpipes) to form Twm Twp, a Brittany-based group specialising in Welsh music and dance with an infusion of jazz and world music spice. With these two repertoires he plays regularly all over France, Italy, Germany, and regularly in the UK.
This new CD release brings him back to his roots in traditional song,
coloured by the music and musicians he has worked with over the years,
with a collection of songs and music from what we call the celtic
countries, including England and the US, and accompanied by the
different groups he works with , as well as his son Dylan, promising
young jazz and world bass player, and the trumpet of Olivier Tostivint.
Maes Iago (name of a street in his former home of Pontardawe in S.
Wales, which also means ‘James’ space’) is a fluid patchwork of sounds,
from accordion to trumpet, piano and saxo to vocal and fretless bass
duets, which contrasts and blends together music from Brittany,
Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and elsewhere, with Mike’s powerful singing
in a personal style, without losing the sense of ‘local music’. An
invitation to visit songs which have inhabited Mike’s universe over the
years, with a varied and contemporary sound...
Mike James’ album Maes Iago is available from CO le Label www.co-lelabel.com /distribution Coop Breizh
Or from Mike James
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£12 + £2 p+p
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