Brinca

It is both odd and a real shame that Sardinia's richly vibrant traditional music culture isn’t better known internationally. But anyone that hasn’t yet got wind of how young Sardinian musicians have reinvigorated their own roots music scenes with virtuosic flair could start by jumping – brincare means ‘to jump’ in the Sardinian language – straight into this hugely accomplished debut by top-flight exponents of two instruments commonly and distinctively heard in Sardinian folk music.

There are flutes and the archaic drone and dancing counter-melodies of the launeddas – the triple-pipe unique to this island culture – courtesy of Jonathan Della Marianna. Paride Peddio's melodeon is another typically Sardinian sound, played with a masterfully precise grasp of tight triple-time dance rhythms, which relax somewhat on the popular ballad ‘A Diosa’ featuring singer Beppe Dettori. There are also guests on Jew's harp, acoustic guitar and harmonica, plus singer Elena Ledda, who tears through ‘Ballitu Cantau’ with all the majesty you’d expect from a woman widely considered to have the most beautiful voice in Sardinia.