Salsa Celtica - a daft idea or a great notion?
I have often written about the way Irish and Celtic music has evolved over the years and how it has touched and helped mould other musical genres around the world. There have been many strange and wonderful collaborations of genre along the rocky road. Cultural musical exchanges that on paper may have seemed ridiculous, in execution have been a joy to the ears. One such project is Salsa Celtica, a band of merry Scotsmen who just happen to like and play both Salsa and Scottish traditional music. “Here's an idea!” I can hear one band member say to another, almost certainly in a pub somewhere, “lets start a band playing Celtic Salsa” So many great things in life start off with a seemingly daft notion and Salsa Celtica have proven that this marriage of latin and celtic melody and rhythm has a very disarming appeal.

Formed in 1996 from a gang of musically diverse but like minded musos they took their blend of good time Salsa Dance blended with Scottish tradition all over their native country. Word got out fast and they were soon traveling all over Europe and the world. In 1997 they headed off to Cuba to learn first hand how the music should be played and fresh from this trip released their first album MonstruosY Demonios, Angels and Lovers. They followed that album in 2000 with the aptly named The Great Scottish Latin Adventure which also caught the imagination of a public thirsty for new fun music.

This year US audiences had a chance to catch them in New York and with the current album El Agua de La Vida selling well they are sure to return here very soon. That recording has been on my stereo pretty constantly in the last few weeks and I still get a smile when I hear the Scottish lilts waft in over the superbly played authentic Salsa. It could so easily be very corny, but it isn't. these guys don't take themselves too seriously but their music is joyful, dancy, imaginative and as far from throwaway as you can get.

Music lovers buy the CD. It is available through Compass Records who carry a great variety of the music we love at JigTime. For any of you festival artist bookers.. start making calls now. This band will blow your audiences away.

Salsa Celtica…occasionally a daft idea becomes a great notion.

Check out the band at

http://www.salsaceltica.com