Culture Kin

It has been seven years since the last album from this San Francisco string quartet led by Irene Sazer (a founder member of another contemporary string band, the Turtle Island Quartet), and the ensemble has a re-jigged membership. Their offering is very different too. Culture Kin is an expansive, ambitious recording project: Sazer's idea was to record tracks in collaboration with artists from San Francisco's international ‘sister cities’ – all eight of them.

It makes for a diverse, stylistically inconsistent record. That isn't necessarily a problem: the instrumental forces of the string quartet anchor the sound-world, and there is a lot to enjoy in these often lengthy pieces. ‘Exist’ was created by RVSQ cellist David Tangney and Sicilian percussionist Laura Inserra, whose tuned hang (hand pans) is at the centre of a groovy, rhythmically driving tune. In complete contrast, ‘Holding an Eye’ is a gorgeous Irish ballad brought together by fiddler Sumaia Jackson and vocalist and bodhrán player Máirtín de Cógáin. It's a tune that morphs into a bright and brilliant reel but it's not the only heart-lifting moment; ‘For Choro’, created

by Sazer with Brazilian percussionist Roberta Valente, carries the tightest fiddle soloing here and is a moment of pure sunshine. A rewarding listen.