Gammelt, Nyt, Lånt og Blåt

Rannok's Michael Graubæk (fiddle and mandolin) and Theis Langlands (piano and pump organ) are both well-established musicians in the Danish folk music world. They are joined here for an album whose title translates as ‘Old, New, Borrowed & Blue' by guests Sonnich Lydom (accordion, harmonica), Peter Sejersen (double bass), Sigurd Hockings (guitar) and Poul Knudsen (drums) on a collection mostly based around traditional Danish dance music, such as the once-unavoidable session tune ‘Hamborger Sveitritt’. Even this most traditional of tunes is given a little modern fillip, with a hint of jazz creeping into the melody late on. The title-track was inspired by Celtic balladry and is quite accurately described as ‘a romantic opportunity to put your arms around someone you love.’ There's no shortage of ‘old,’ ‘new’ or ‘borrowed’ to be heard, but nary a hint of ‘blue’; mercifully there's nothing even approaching an outburst of naughty comedy-club innuendo in the midst of all this assured music-making.