Bayview

A generous list of guest players adorns this debut from new trio Project SMOK. They call themselves neo-trad, which means combining traditional tunes and styles of playing with contemporary mores – indie pop, dance (you’ll find a few four-to-the-floor bone-shakers herein) – while getting it all down on the decidedly vintage recording equipment to be found in Edwyn Collins’ studio on Scotland's north-east coast. Collins is among the guestlist of players, adding vocals to his 90s hit and this album's closing piece ‘A Girl Like You’. BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winner and concertina player Mohsen Amini is also a guest, appearing on the tune set ‘Headlifter’, alongside tenor guitarist Mike Vass, who recorded, mixed and produced the album.

All the tunes are originals, and many draw on a sense of place – the title-track is a paean to Collins’ home, while ‘Arisaig’ celebrates the wild Highlands peninsula on the west coast. The core trio of pipe and whistle player Ali Levack (BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2020), Ewan Baird on bodhrán and guitarist Pablo Lafuente have fashioned a fastflowing, light and airy music driven by virtuosity, drive, rhythm and sensitivity.