MandoIsland Blog

On tumblr I have found the announcement of a new CD by Laura-Beth Salter. Laura-Beth Salter sings and plays the mandolin. She performs together with Jenn Butterworth as a duo, but mainly she is a member of the band Shee, a band composed of five women. The new album Breathe will be published on July 1st, the first song from this album Carry Me is available at bandcamp already.

Laura-Beth Salter’s debut album ‘Breathe’ will be released on the 1st of July 2013. You can pre-order now and download a free track at http://laurabethsalter.bandcamp.com/album/breathe

The style of Laura-Beth Salter is influenced by the Celtic tradition of her country, but also by American root music, blues, oldtime and bluegrass. The recordings that I have found made me curious for the coming CD.

In my playlist I have also added recordings with The Shee. This band with fiddle, guitar, accordion, harp, flute, singing and also step dance has very successfully played at folk festivals in the UK, and some great videos can be found at youtube.

Let’s start with a great video with Jenn Butterworth and Laura-Beth Salter:

Jenn Butterworth & Laura-Beth Salter – ‘Come to Jesus’

A great performace of  The Shee – Troubles:

The Shee – Troubles – Live Crawley Folk Festival 2010

Playlist Jenn Butterworth & Laura-Beth Salter / The Shee

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC878J8mcBo_Ux97jxzRAK-PSEjqbb-3W

Additional Information

Website Laura-Beth Salter: http://laurabethsalter.com/

Laura-Beth is a mandolin player and vocalist from Lincolnshire who is now based in Glasgow. Her background is in the Blues, Oldtime and Bluegrass music that her parents play, but after studying the Traditional Music Degree in Newcastle she became heavily involved in the folk scene and met her fellow members of of ‘The Shee.’

Website Laura-Beth Salter and Jenn Butterworth: http://www.jennandlb.com/

Jenn Butterworth (vocals / guitar) and Laura-Beth Salter (vocals / mandolin) hail from award winning female super-groups The Anna Massie Band and The Shee.

On this page you can find anothe rgreat video aith Laura-Beth Salter and Jenn Butterworth recorded by the BBC.

Website The Shee: http://theshee.com/

Recordings by Laura-Beth Salter at Bandcamp: http://laurabethsalter.bandcamp.com/album/breathe

Recordings by Jenn Butterworth at soundcloud, including some recordings with Laura-Beth Salter: https://soundcloud.com/jennbutterworth

The Trekel publishing company has established its own youtube channel about one year ago. In this channel you can find many videos of works for mandolin orchestra, mandolin ensembles, solo mandolin, guitar ensembles and solo guitar which have been published by Trekel.

If you are looking for interesting works that you can play with your mandolin orchestra you should check the Trekel youtube channel regularly. You can find compositions by the important and well known composers for mandolin orchestra like Hermann Ambrosius, Kurt Schwaen, Konrad Wölki and Heinrich Konietzny, Max Baumann, Dieter Kreidler, Fred Witt, Ralph Paulsen Bahnsen, Claudio Mandonico, Torsten Ratzkowski and many other composers.

The latest video is a recording of  a piece by Manuela Frescura with own compositions and arrangements of other Tarantellas. Manuela Frescura is one of the important mandolin players in Switzerland, this is a live performance by the trio tarallucce with mandolin, guitar, tambourine, castagnets and voice:

Manuela Frescura, Le Tarantelle: Laurettina

Italienische Tarantellen – Musik für Mandoline, Blockflöte, Violine, Gitarre, Perkussion, Kastagnetten, Tambourin oder andere beliebige Instrumente – Live-Mittschnitt von “Taralucce”.

Ralph Paulsen Bahnsen, Jugoslavija

Jugoslavija is a great piece for mandolin orchestra based on folk melodies from Jugoslavija

Claudio Mandonico, Music for Play

Music for Play is a very successful suite for mandolin orchestra, it’s fun to play this and also a great piece for concerts.

Heinrich Konietzny, Ständchen

Heinrich Konietzny is the composer of some great avantguarde works for mandolin orchestra and mandolin, but he has also composed this beautiful Ständchen (serenade):

Playlist Trekel Publishing Company:

Trekel youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzfx0iz3nU8VBZqbkRVhKjA/videos

Additional information

Website Manuela Frescura: http://www.manuelafrescura.ch/

Website tarallucce: www.tarallucce.ch.

Fiorentina Talamo – Stimme Manuela

Frescura – Mandoline, Mandola

Laure Perrenoud – Gitarre

Website Trekel publishing company: www.trekel.de

Wikipedia about Heinrich Konietzny: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Konietzny

Related Article: The Tarantella – A Famous Italian Folk Dance Tune

The new CD  This World Oft Can Be by Della Mae will be released on May 28th by Rounder Records. The official video for this CD has been made available some days ago. Della Mae play their song Empire, one of my favorite songs from the new album.

The video has also been featured on the CMT website.

Della Mae – “Empire” (Official Video)

Della Mae has toured in Germany in December 2011 as part of the yearly Bluegrass Jamboree, I have seen the band in the concert given in Offenburg.

You can listen to the complete CD This World Oft Can Be already at Airplay Direct:

http://www.airplaydirect.com/music/dellamae-thisworldoftcanbe/

Last year Della Mae were part of a program to bring American music to South- and Central-Asia (see article below). During this tour there were some very special encounters between American Bluegrass and Asian traditional music, like in the following video:

Aged Pine – Анда сен

Della Mae and Устатшакирт

I have made a playlist with some new videos by Della Mae. The playlist includes a complete show (Winter Village Bluegrass Festival, Hangar Theatre, 1/26/13) and some versions of the song Empire from different concerts.

Enjoy Della Mae!

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC878J8mcBo80s0pXsJanhLXpN5ZnKJMh

Additional information

About Della Mae (German): http://missismusic.de/2011_12_della-mae-beim-3-bluegrass-jamboree/

American Music Abroad Cultivates Next Generation of Voices

I recently toured with the dynamic five-girl bluegrass group Della Mae for a “Bluegrass on the Silk Road” tour of South and Central Asia. American Music Abroad activities focus on younger and underserved audiences in countries with little or no access to live American performances. As such, Della Mae kicked off their tour in Islamabad, Pakistan, at the all-female Fatima Jinnah University.

Della Mae’s presence on campus was akin to that of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones — students at the country’s first female university were so excited to hear the female bluegrass band that they literally tore the doors off the hinges of the theater to get in on the sound check warm-up. “We’ve never played for crowds so excited and enthused to hear live music,” said Della Mae fiddler Kimber Ludiker.

Della Mae at CMT: http://www.cmt.com/videos/della-mae/908426/empire.jhtml

Music City Roots about Della Mae: http://musiccityroots.com/artist/della-mae

Music City Roots Show April 2013: http://livestre.am/4qZ5f

Della Mae at twitter: https://twitter.com/heyheydellamae

Buy CD at amazon (partner link): This World Oft Can Be

The mandolin is not as often used for accompaniment of songs as the ukulele. So I am always happy when I find examples for a mandolin used by singers for accompaniment.

Bonnie Sims has made a set of videos where she sings and accompanies herself with the mandolin.

You can also find a set of videos of Bonnie’s band  Bonnie & the Clydes where she plays the guitar and also the mandolin.

Have fun with  Bonnie Sims!

“Pumped Up Kicks” Acoustic Mandolin Cover

For my bestbestie in the whole world, Jamie. Learned it because I heard it in her car and this song is awesome and so catchy.

Pretty Fair Maid

A song I love to play on the mandolin, that my good friend and fellow Bonnie, Bonnie Hancock, asked me to make a video of like 100 years ago. So I finally did! Thanks for watching T-shirt is compliments of Idlewhile, another local Longmont band you should totally google and check out!!

Bonnie & The Clydes • Bohemian Nights • Fort Collins, CO • August 13, 2011 • NewW

Bonnie & The Clydes perform at Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest on Saturday, August 13, 2011 on the Mountain Avenue Stage.

Bonnie & Taylor Sims, “Take Me Home”

Bonnie and Taylor Sims play “Take Me Home” at the Second Story Garage in Boulder, Colorado.

Additional information

youtube channel Bonnie Sims: https://www.youtube.com/user/bonniesims443

Bonnie & The Clydes

Bonnie & the Clydes is a brand new six piece country band exploding on to the Colorado Front Range scene. Fronted by Bonnie Sims, one of Colorado’s best up and coming singer/songwriters, and backed by a unit of musicians with more than 80 years of combined musical experience, this band is shaping a new sound of Colorado country.

http://www.bonnieandherclydes.com/