Carry it On

Carry it On is a seemingly improbable fusion of Scottish traditional music with Senegalese drumming and New Orleans funk. Soulsha are an eight piece band based in Boston, Massachusetts and this is their debut album, funded on Kickstarter. Founded by bagpiper Elias Alexander and multiinstrumentalist Neil Pearlman, the group attempt to reveal connections between these vastly differing cultures.

Soulsha successfully highlight the rhythmic and melodic potential of Scottish fiddle and bagpipe-driven step-dance music with the effervescent percussion of Senegalese mbalax. It's a fusion that seems perfectly logical as soon as you hear a frantic pipe reel suddenly break into a talking drum passage. In addition they play a lively version of a soulful New Orleans rock/R&B style. Instrumentally, the group are outstanding and their diversions into the funkier rhythms of New Orleans, embellished by their excellent trumpet and saxophone players, adds a welcome variety to the album. It is only perhaps their vocal weaknesses and a lack of a distinctive lead singer that lends a slight feeling of disappointment by the time you reach the end of the album.