Kate in the Kettle - Swimmings of the Head (2014)

Currently to be heard playing fiddle and adding immaculate vocal harmonies on tour with the Moulettes, before now Kate Young was best known for her work with British folk stars Carthy, Hardy, Farrell and Young. Now comes the debut album from her five-piece band Kate in the Kettle, which establishes Young as one of the most inventive performers on the British acoustic scene. She is joined by Marit Fält, a specialist in Swedish traditional styles, playing the lât-mandola lute, a percussionist adding Indian tabla and Latin cajón, plus bass clarinet and bass guitar. But it’s Young who dominates with her remarkable fiddle work, acrobatic vocals and edgy, brooding songs that constantly surprise, with traditional themes mixed with Indian and Middle Eastern influences, Swedish polska dance, and Erik Satie’s Trois Gnossiennes No 1 intercut with one of her own songs. A bravely original, thrilling set.