Time to Fly

The debut duo album from RURA's flautist David Foley and fiddler Jack Smedley is a beautiful, evocative and well-cra.ed release. The album is a rich collection of self-penned tunes, developed and honed over ten years of playing together and demonstrates a real sense of returning to the music, and playing, that they love. It's a stripped back, acoustic affair, which allows both instruments to perfectly complement one another.

The title-track is a sprightly piece, with a beautiful duet between the flute and fiddle, and the track characterises the assured musicianship on show. ‘Drift’ is a chilled and reflective little piece. ‘Takit’ on the other hand is a sweaty, feisty celebration of Smedley's Glasgow bar fantasy. Closer, ‘Wee Bit O’’, is a striking duet, with a real powerhouse performance between the two. The album illustrates the triumph in tunemanship between Foley and Smedley. Very much a focus on the duo's instruments, the accompanying instruments, including guitar, drums and double bass, sympathetically blend and weave throughout. Laidback, confident and well hewn: if you like strong melodic instrumentals with a flavoursome taste of tradition, then you won't go wrong here.