REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

KIERAH - Stonemason’s Daughter
Private Label

Canadian fiddler Kierah Raymond is an accomplished musician and composer, equally adept at classical and ethnic folk music forms. Her background is urban Canada in Vancouver and she is the daughter of a stonemason - the deft attention to detail of her father’s craft reflects itself in the disciplined methodology of her approach. Terms spent in Ireland and Cape Breton have influenced her music and outlook and while still considerably young compared to her CB peers, there is a maturity of style and interpretation that belies her youth.

Stonemason’s Daughter is Kierah’s third album and mixes her Canadian roots with strong Irish and Scottish influences. The tunes are both self-penned and traditional, having spent time at Blas in the University of Limerick absorbing tunes and also years of learning Celtic styles and repertoire, distilling ideas into tunes. The classical formality is still intact and it offers graceful pace in airs like A Street Called Winter and offers melodic flourishes to Climbing The Chief where classical nuances plunge into controlled mayhem with Adrian Dolan’s accordion. Daniel Lapp adds banjo to Ireland Meets Scotland and Adam Dobres’ strutting guitar underscores Bohemian Rush.

While this is Canadian fiddle music, generally it doesn’t have the pile driving swing of Cape Breton nor the pronounced Scottish-isms of American exponents like Bonnie Rideout. Instead it rolls on a classically infused Irish/Scots melange of excitement and reserve. Stonemason’s Daughter is a work of finely wrought conviction and musical pedigree and is worth checking out.

John O'Regan