Reviews
Reviews for En Vivo El Norte released March 2010
'The huge sound of the Edinburgh-based international touring band has finally been properly captured in a magnificent live recording (by Calum Malcolm) of a concert in Findhorn's Universal Hall at the climax of a US/European tour.
The 14-strong line-up included guests such as Altan's Irish accordionist, a legendary New York trombonist, an Argentinian bassist and Cuban and Venezuelan vocalists, the feral ferocity of the band's built-in bagpipe/banjo/fiddle section added to by sax and percussion. Tight as the warnings of our new chancellor, everyone in the band plays their socks off.'
* * * * Scotland on Sunday - 20th June 2010
'This live recording of the final gig of the 2009 "Salsa Celtica All Stars" tour recorded in the beautiful Universal Hall of the world-renowned Findhorn Community on Scotland's north-easty cost is nothing short of exhilirating. It captures everything Salsa Celtica is: a band of intrepid musicians who create a thrilling fusion drawing on two of the worlds richest melodic and rythmic traditions, shifting from rumba to reel in one song.'
* * * * Songlines - May/June 2010
'El Agua De La Vida turns fiddles into instruments capable of conveying hot, sticky sultriness, while the quickly strummed koras on Sies, Ocho, Nueve shimmer like Celtic harps, while losing none of their equatorial sparkle. El Vivo El En Norte.... a romance that will last rather a sweaty summer fling'
Full review here - BBC reviews - May 2010
Reviews for El Camino released 6th March 2006
'Salsa Celtica have real emotional range… El Camino's passion, energy and virtuosity suggest that Salsa Celtica's form of fusion has far to go. A road well worth following.'
* * * * * Songlines - March/April 2006
'An album that fizzes with energy and vitality and does honour to music styles that are often hermetic to change.'
Mondomix - Feb 2006
'What gives Salsa Celtica an edge over the home-grown competition is the. collision of South American exuberance and British folk roots .All in all, a clever way of freshening up a genre'
* * * Sunday Times - March 2006
'The tight Cuban piano and percussion kick off an exuberantly good-time salsa track that seamlessly weaves in a Scottish reel on fiddle and pipes.their fourth album and they're swinging.'
* * * * Evening Standard - 3rd Mar 2006
'Each strand within the mix retains its own vivid character, enhancing the elegance of their alignment with the frisson of contrast.'
* * * * * The Sunday Herald - 12th Mar 2006
'Calum Malcolm brings out an effortlessness in the big band's energy and an ease to their subtle musical blend'
* * * * The List - 16th Feb 2006
REVIEWS - El Agua De La Vida
Salsa Celtica - El Agua De La Vida (Greentrax Recordings) ****
Salsa Celtica need little introduction these days - they have long left behind any perceived novelty dimension to their signature blend of big-band Latin dance music with Scottish accents. They have earned admiration among the cognoscenti for their balance between authenticity and originality. And they're recognised by audiences of folk, jazz and world music alike as one of Scotland's top party bands.
The title of their third album is El Agua De La Vida - 'the water of life' - a sly Hispanic nod to the Gaelic root of 'whisky'. Its Celtic elements are more artfully pronounced than ever, right from the cheeky opening number Cumbia Celtica - featuring guest Eamonn Coyne on tenor banjo - to the equally impish closer, a salsa-style revamp of Auld Lang Syne. The band now features two fiddlers - Chris Stout and Kenny Fraser - with long-time member Fraser Fifield on bagpipes, whistles and soprano sax.
Their integration of idioms boasts a new sophistication - as in the plaintive slow pipe tune that leads into Guajira Sin Sol, or the ebullient pipes and fiddle reel that kicks off the high-spirited title track. The alternating moods of yearning and celebration, after all, are fundamental to the music of both cultures; and it's by expanding on this emotional commonality that Salsa Celtica combine them so effectively.
Sue Wilson
"From the opening blast of banjo'n'brass on Cumbia Celtica to the closer, the grooviest version of Auld Lang Syne ever, this really is the water of life... this fusion of Latin rhythms and Scottish folk music is completely infectious."
Penguin Eggs (Summer 2003)"Well, yes, it does sound like it could be a condiment served at a Mexican restaurant in Dublin or Edinburgh. However Salsa Celtica is actually a group of adventurous Scots whose discovery of Afro-Cuban dance music and related sounds has led to an ingenious blend of the styles of the Buena Vista Social Club and traditional Scottish dance halls... it's like a potent cocktail of Scottish whisky and Cuban rum, a steamy Havana ceilidh driven by an irresistible beat."
Dirty Linen (Aug/Sept 2003)
"Unlike Japan's Orquestra de la Luz, which replicated the sound of a salsa band, Salsa Celtica boldly meshes two musical styles with exuberant results... oh-so-irresistable."
Billboard (July 2003) - the Billboard reviewer of Latin albums in 2003 included El Agua at no 8.
"What in the world have we here? Cuban jazz with a Celtic accent. The guys in this band hail from all over the world, and they fuse Afro-Latin rhythms and melodies with traditional Celtic and Scottish music. It may sound outlandish, but it works incredibly well. Music doesn't get more exciting than this."
The Boston Globe (July 2003)
Salsa Celtica performed at The Barrowlands in Glasgow on January 25th as part of Celtic Connections 2003 - read a review from The Scotsman and an El Agua De La Vida album review (both by Sue Wilson).
The album reached Number 5 in the World Music Charts Europe. In the top 150 of 1,040 nominated records for 2003, Salsa Celtica's El Agua De La Vida came in at number 24.
Irish Music Magazine - Dublin Top Ten - No 8
Songlines World Music magazine - Top of the World - Top Ten
"An album of gems from the Scottish Latino outfit."
Rootitooti
"A band that's not only tight but that are firing on all cylinders with a big sound and joyous danceability."
Mundial Music Pool - Top 40 World - in at No 34
Salsanoticias magazine - Salsalista for April - No 17
Salsa Celtica general quotes
"What their compatriots from Average White Band were for funk in the seventies, Salsa Celtica are for Latin-American music - a fresh, new and original sound..."
De Morgen, Belgium
"A stunning marriage of musical styles... Virtuosos to a man..."
The Scotsman
"Salsa Celtica have now proven there are Celts among us whose blood runs pure chilli..."
Cork Examiner, Ireland
"Scene stealers..."
The Observer, UK
"In the Latin scene along with Manu Chau, Salsa Celtica were without doubt the most exciting and freshest thing to hit New York this summer..."
Listin Diario, USA / Dominican Republic
"Rhythms bordering on a religious frenzy..."
The List, Scotland
"Unique..."
Rhythm Magazine, USA
"Salsa Celtica gerade deshalb so exzellent..."
Tontrager, Sweden
"Le melange rhythmique est magique..."
Musique Traditionale, France