A curious salamander

Nearly all the pieces featured in these pages so far revolve around electric or acoustic versions of the guitar or the piano (or both). And tracks with neither drums nor other forms of percussion are even more scarce. So that salamander could be forgiven for being curious about the band I have chosen for you today. Hedera is a chamber folk band with no guitarist, no pianist and no percussionist (although they do have an accordionist).

Here’s a track from their self-titled debut album, Hedera, to whet your appetite.

The Hedera band grew out of small gatherings around winter bonfires during the Covid lockdown days of 2020.

As they taught each other tunes from different traditions, they discovered a shared love of deep listening, slow playing and improvisation, which naturally evolved into collective writing and arranging.

From the band’s website.

They perform original and traditional pieces inspired by music from England, Scotland, France, Bali, Georgia, Bulgaria, Ethiopia and beyond, translated through a prism of experimental minimalism and contemporary classical influences.

From the band’s artist page on bandcamp.

The Hedera album has 12 tracks; all 12 can be sampled on iTunes, 11 of them can be streamed on bandcamp, but Spotify only has three singles. The tunes get the Crotchety gold star award and the album has already been added to my collection.

The Hedera quintet has the following lineup:

• Lulu Austin – Violin, voice
• Maisie Brett – Violin, Hardanger d’amore¹
• Tamsin Elliott – Accordion, harp, voice
• Beth Roberts – Double bass, violin, voice
• Isis Wolf-Light – Clarinet, bass clarinet, gongs, voice

They are all highly accomplished musicians. Their compositions have a traditional folk flavour and their arrangements make the most of the chamber ensemble format. Even if you are not a fan of the classical/folk crossover style, take a tip from the salamander and give them a listen. If nothing else, it will serve to satisfy your curiosity.

Footnote

1. The hardanger d’amore is a violin with extra strings that pass through the fingerboard and resonate with the 4 or 5 bowed strings. ↩︎