Uncompromising determination and crowd-funding from entrepeneural website Indiegogo have contributed to the eventual release of Kate in The Kettle's debut album after an exhausting two years wait. However, vocalist and fiddler Kate Young's mind is so curious, inquistive and obsessed with the diverse nature of the world, that she was unlikely to twiddle her fingers in boredom. In previous years, she has started projects in Bulgaria, Iceland, Kenya, British Guyana amongst other places and continues to travel the globe. Her mentality has consequented in her band's debut album Swimmings Of The Head oozing with expansive textures and definitive of the world music genre, borrowing influences, inspiration and knowledge from wherever she lays her fiddle.

 

Scottish, Scandinavian and Indian traditional music are the main source of spark evidently heard throughout the album. The sound of the highlands is represented by Young's fiddle and fuelled by the memories of her homeland. The nordic nature comes from fellow band member Marit Falt's birthplace and his skills at performing the låt-mandola. Whilst the Indian tabla represents the east, although impressively performed by westerner and Barcelona-born percussionist Victor Solana.

 

Despite being given a helping hand on the production side of things by Andy Bell (Seasick Steve, KT Tunstall), the album's creation was controlled by Kate Young. The experience she has gained from composing film soundtracks such as Montenegro and directing documentaries like Le Sémaphore Sauvage, have given her the adept artistic ability and controllive attitude to fuse the three cultures at the core of the LP into seamless precision and expressive confidence and avoiding self-reflectiveness.

 

It isn't just the music that's alluring, Kate Young's voice is also drenched in heritage as she adopts wordless non-lexical vocables leaning towards Puirt a beul- a traditional form of scottish gaelic music that uses scatting, although Young's style is less bawdy- further adding to the authentic nature of the album and giving it an intertribal characteristic. Although, the moments where she hits soprano pitches and sings comprehensible lyrics like on Grow Down and Green and Gold are impressive for sounding like shanty chants telling stories.

 

For casual listeners of music, the trio of circa eight minute tracks may grow tiresome and there are times when it seems repetitive with a lack of complete distinctiveness when playing the tracks seperately, as she opts to mix all three cultures together insistingly rather than give independence to one on at least a single occasion. It's intelligent and musically intellectual but not as entertaining as it could be, something they can improve on their next outing.

 

Nonetheless, once you get into the concept that it's purpose is to submerge you into a world of folklore and methology free of modern technology and reimagine your physical entity inside a Highlander meets Lord of The Rings cinematic experience, it's easy to lose yourself into the adventure.

 

With bands such as Mr McFalls Chamber at favoured folk festival Celtic connections already lining up to cover her original compositions, it looks like a bright future for the Scot and her sponge-absorbing companions. MTH

 

Best Tracks: Green and Gold, Salmon and Grow Down