Forecast [CD]

Saw this band at Shrewsbury Folk Festival, they are amazing live. This CD is equally brilliant, stunning talent,beautiful tunes, some haunting,and some real toe tappers. A lovely mix of musical instruments.

Known Reviews Published : Forecast (2010)

SCOTSMAN (4 STARS)

"Beautiful performances on every instrument, and in song, are here captured and produced in Wales by the great Scottish sound-man Calum Malcolm. This must be the breakthrough album by England's hugely skilled, talented and - though still in their twenties - very experienced septet. Refined tone, technique, timing and taste are poured into original creations that marry classical quality, jazz imagination, folk sensibility, roots/rock energy, and masterful cajon playing."

by Norman Chalmers

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FROOTS

From the packaging to the last note fading from your speakers, this CD packs a delightful punch. POW! A velvet, uppercut right where it makes an impression. Only ten tracks long but there isn't much you can find fault with in an offering which mixes musicianship, indulgence and smart production - tip of the hat to Calum Malcolm - in a fascinating whole.

There is no real comparison with their initial efforts, and we'll have none of that difficult third album nonsense here, basically this band has matured... and how! From the wonderfully squelchy electronics on the opening The Enlli Light to the centrepiece, a marvellously understate take on Sydney Carter's John Ball, there are stacks of twists and turns which surprise and entertain thoroughly. Consideration is obvious throughout, from the initial decision to root much of the album in North Wales fro a variety of reasons detailed in the booklet, and thence the generation of many of the tracks from the homage to abandoned lighthouses to secret sandy hideaways. Arrangement are wickedly tricksy, a take of Andy Cutting's Spaghetti Panic is a mercurial frenzy which leads into the lullaby serenity of Little Lewis. Everybody's playing is deft. There are seven of them, maybe not quite up to Bellowhead numbers but still enough to consider, all in groove with nary a wrong note.

Do yourself a favour and play this through headphones. It is an aural treat, all the parts blending with intelligence and crafted with real thought throughout for what the listener will experience. To be hosest, I'd love to watch them recreate Forecast live. I reckon if there get anywhere near, the gig would be a treat - those with ears and booking abilities take note. Hopefully there's far more where this came from, meantime this'll more than keep both your feet and your head busy. Good job done.

Simon Jones, fRoots February 2011.

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SONGLINES (5 STARS)

Anyone who likes hand-crafted folk music, dramatic pop songs and excellent musicianship is in for a special treat. The Old Dance School are seven friends who studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire and who brought their tunes and songs together in the grounds of a dance school, from where they get their name. 'Forecast' is the band's second album, recorded in Snowdonia earlier this year, and produced with the characteristic mix of rough and smooth by Calum Malcolm, who helped Lau and Capercaillie achieve heir recording success. The songs are largely originals, written by the band members, who bring personal tales of growing up on the moors of the Peak District or the coast of Wales to songs that are both likeable and unpredictable.

Among a seemingly faultless set of tunes, 'The Enlli Light' stands out, with its swinging fiddles, muted horns, and an edges rhythm section helping to tell the story of a night on a choppy sea. Also notable is the gently dancing 'Passage to Spike Island', a merry waltz of a tune that shimmers and wallows in nostalgia. Of the songs, the modern traditional 'John Ball' showcases this band's exceptional vocal strengths. 'The Real Thing' is a dramatic, folky pop song whose ascent to the climax involve a curious reggae beat played on plucked violin and guitar, softened by a magical tumble of strings. This is truly exciting, awe-inspiring music, from a band who can only be headed to the top floor.

Rose Skelton

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MAVERICK (5 STARS)

"An album that proves an irresistible package that any self-respecting `folk' enthusiast should be proud to feature in their CD collection.

If you could sell the word `enigma' as a product then this would be the band to display their wares accordingly.

The Old Dance School don't take any prisoners in their pursuit of enjoying themselves whilst liberating that music we tenuously label `folk'. As a journalist, you get a gut feeling that this is one of those albums that will constantly be on whilst you're slaving over a hot computer extolling the band's virtues to anyone who'll care to listen.

Throwing the listener every which way in order to bring a comfortably settled audience out of its complacent slumber, Helen Lancaster (violin), Samantha Norman (violin), Robin Beatty (guitar, vocals), Tom Chapman (cajon, vocals), Laura Carter (woodwind, vocals), Aaron Diaz (trumpet) and Adam Jarvis (double bass) succeed spectacularly in their endeavours.

From the beautifully crafted opening instrumental track The Enlli Light the joy that emits from the speakers is enough to rejuvenate the soul of any tarnished `hack' who's become jaded with the tried and tested. It's like the first time I heard a young Capercaillie, you know there's something special and that, apart from anything else this is a band that deserves to break free from the confines of music pigeon-holing. The music is magic in their hands and the classy way in which the members combine their arrangements under the watchful eye of producer Calum Malcolm shows they have plenty left to offer.

Beatty's way with words and Norman/Lancaster's nimble compositions are a mighty combination and coupled with the arty photography by John Beatty (Robin's dad!) this album proves an irresistible package that any self-respecting `folk' enthusiast should be proud to feature in their CD collection." PF

Pete Fyfe

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MIKE HARDING

Every now and again you get an album that hits the mark and I've got to say that the new record by The Old Dance School is one that, I feel, really does the business. They're a seven piece group who met at Birmingham Conservatoire in 2006 and there's a genuine creative fizz to what the band do.

Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2

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BRIGHT YOUNG FOLK

The second full-length release from The Old Dance School, Forecast is a timeless mixture of instrumental tunes, and modern-day folk song, brought to life by their infectious love and enthusiasm for the tracks they have chosen.
Inspired by vocalist and guitarist Robin Beatty's childhood holidays in Wales, Forecast's opening track takes its name from the Welsh for Bardsey, Ynys Enlli. The band waste no time in showing off their enormous musical talent with this instrumental number. Highly evocative, the driving fiddle line conjures up the sensation of being right by the sea, which the other instrumental lines feed of until you truly believe you are stood on Bardsey watching the waves break on the rocky shore.

For me, however, the highlight has to be `John Ball'. Written in 1981 to mark 600 years since the Peasant's Revolt, the Old Dance School have put their own mark on Sydney Carter's interpretation of John Ball's call to arms. The result is indescribably beautiful and flows seamlessly from the speakers, surrounding you with the sound of mellow strings and smooth vocals.

Originally written by Andy Cutting, `Spaghetti Panic', is an intriguing melody, which definitely makes maximum use of having two violinists within the band. Constantly changing and developing, there is no missing the tension at the heart of this piece, which builds and builds thanks to Tom Chapman's relentless cajón.

As with Enlli Light, their performance brings the music to life, and it's easy to imagine cooks and chefs across the country manically running around the kitchen as the clock counts down to dinnertime. (Though as they mention in their disc notes - the tune works just as well when negotiating the mad-panic that is Spaghetti Junction.)

With four years playing together under their collective belt, and each member a remarkably talented musician in their own right, Forecast was destined to be a remarkable album and they have most definitely lived up to expectations. A true gem from a band who, while young, have a clear vision and an excellent ear for a tune.

Fabulous.

Mary Stokes, Bright Young Folk

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THE LIVING TRADITION

If ever a band belied the image conjured up by their name, then The Old Dance School is one such! No staid group of geriatrics gathered together for a sedate ceilidh practice, but instead a bunch of seven tremendously assured young musicians who have their own abundantly creative take on folk tradition and are entirely unafraid to call on any influence from their background and musical and life experiences. First encounter with their music can be a touch bewildering, in that although their basic template may be quite easily bagged as fusion-trad-folk there's clearly a lot more going on in the mix even from the start.

Between them, the various band members encompass a breadth of musical experience (including the fertile fields of jazz, opera, early music and rock), but they all embrace a common love of folk music as a celebration of a shared cultural heritage and a joyous and enthusiastic expression of music-making. Read more ›