ALBUM REVIEWS WILD LAMENT	ALBUM REVIEWS DINDIRIN	ALBUM REVIEWS HORSES BRAWL DEBUT	REVIEWS
THE TIMES review 'Wild Lament' 2009 4/5 stars "Impossible to pigeonhole the Horses Brawl duo, Laura Cannell and Adrian Lever. Armed with recorders, fiddle, guitar, and guest artist Philip Thorby, they build improvised fantasias from scraps of medieval chansons, folk music and other ancient history. Ancient, but not dead; your foot taps and heart sings as these virtuoso magpie musicians duck and weave, making Northumbrian hornpipes and Guillaume de Machaut share common ground. A breath of fresh air" BRIGHT YOUNG FOLK review of Wild Lament 2009 "Horses Brawl, the very talented Norfolk-based duo of Laura Cannell and Adrian Lever have been together for about five years. With the former on recorders and fiddle and the latter on acoustic guitar. A guest on this album is early music specialist Philip Thorby on viol. Together they produce a truly memorable sound. Entirely instrumental, the music certainly has it's roots in traditional folk in the broadest sense. The guest's specialty says much as it has a very definite "early" feel. I say "feel" deliberately because Laura and Adrian cleverly re-work or indeed rewrite tunes from at least as far back as the thirteen hundreds. On many occasions the pieces are woven together from fragments and phrases of early music that are sometimes quite disparate. In fact the breadth of the source material is fascinating, from fourteenth century Italian Court music though traditional English folk to Bulgarian wedding tunes. The musicianship is excellent and through use of a variety of playing techniques, very varied. Tourdion, the first track is a good example of what's to come. Blending French, Spanish and Irish tunes in a delightful interwoven composition. Track two has two fine maggots (repeating tunes), the second of which is played quite ferociously, joined by a fine Northumbrian pipe tune. This is a great album. Don't let any doubts about "ancient music" put you off, this is no hollow replica, this has all the wit and fire of music created yesterday." THE GUARDIAN review of Wild Lament 2009 "Norfolk duo Horses Brawl are causing a stir in the lofty world of traditional folk by bowing their guitars. Their third album, Wild Lament, sees them turn fragments of Bulgarian wedding dances, Irish minuets and Bolivian melodies into chilling experimental art – via the medium of "preparation". The pair meld renaissance styles with pop music by adding stickers and clothes pegs to their fiddles and recorders. The nature of folk music has always made it open to embellishment, but adding modern paraphernalia in this fashion is taking the genre to new levels."	FOLKWORLD review 'Dindirin' 2007 "In the morning I arose, and I walked among the meadows. There I met a nightingale who was singing in the treetops: Dindirin dindirin dindirin dana dindirindin. "Dindirin", the song of the nightingale passing messages between two lovers, sets the stage for English, Spanish and Italian music from the 12th to the 19th century, including an excerpt from the "Carmina Burana" and the well known medieval estampie "La Rotta". Horses Brawl is a Norfolk based instrumental duo which had been formed in 2003. Laura Cannell and Adrian Lever play (bowed) guitar, recorder, crumhorn and fiddle, their second album "Dindirin" again is a collection of early and traditional music. At times experimental and virtuosic, they fuse folk, traditional and baroque music with a contemporary feel. Laura and Adrian take no prisoners, e.g. the traditional East Anglian fiddle tune "Shave the Donkey" sounds like a Scandinavian nyckelharpa piece. Thus Horses Brawl and "Dindirin" never get boring. Search it out!" LIVE REVIEW Brighton Komedia, The Argus "Fifty years ago, early music was largely forgotten. Its rehabilitation paralleled the folk revival and a new generation of musicians is now recognising early music and folk have common roots. Classically-trained Laura Cannell and folk guitarist Adrian Lever, manage to create haunting, strange but extraordinarily beautiful music with just a guitar, a fiddle and some recorders and crumhorns, blending both traditions into a unique, new style. It felt as if we were present at the birth of the first great musical movement of the 21st century. Their music is best heard live but, failing that, features on their second CD, Dindirin."	SONGLINES review Debut 2005 Gymnastic anachronisms from terpsichorean trio "The music of this trio, with Laura Cannell on recorder and crumhorn, Adrian Lever on guitar and Jonathan Manton on cello, takes as its starting point the dance music of medieval and Renaissance Europe, performed with tremendous energy, virtuosity and verve. It's clear that each performer has achieved a level of technical assurance and experience, and their familiarity with elements of European folk adds an extra dimension to the sound. Romanian, Bulgarian and English Traditional dances rub shoulders with material such as 'Douce Dame Jolie', a virelai by the seminal French composer and poet Guillaume de Machaut (performed here as an instrumental), and happy experiments with sound colour and technique means that it is sometimes impossible to tell exactly who is doing what. Cannell's fleet recorder scoots along above lively ostinato figures and rambunctious strumming, while slower pieces carefully balance emotion and poise. The bouncy good humour that marks much of the playing here is clearly founded on deep knowledge and long study, yet there is neither a slavish attempt to imitate folk styles, nor have the players taken out shares in the deeply irritating 'Merrie Englande Inc'. Instead they have come up with a solid piece of work which bears repeated listening, and makes me want to see them live – not simply to find out how they produce such fascinating and intricate textures with a band that is only three members strong." TRADITION MAG Album launch review "Their playing mothods were highly experimental, Horses Brawl's performance was wonderful. It all seemed so natural as if the instruments have always been played like that. This combined with their choice of tunes and fun banter made it well worth making the effort to see them live. Indeed, unless you've had the chance to see them live, it's impossible to appreciate just how some of their wonderful sounds are made. A fantastic, vibrant performance, I'd strongly recommend their CD"	"Virtuoso Magpie Musicians" THE TIMES "The nature of folk music has always made it open to embellishment, but Horses Brawl is taking the genre to new levels" THE GUARDIAN "Elegant, intricate and utterly engaging" EASTERN DAILY PRESS "Fascinating, jolly, mysterious, hypnoticm melancholic" EARLY MUSIC TODAY "A truly memorable sound" BRIGHT YOUNG FOLK "Performed with tremendous energy, virtuosity and verve" SONGLINES "Exciting virtuosity and sonic imagination" DERBY TELEGRAPH "Virtuosic and experimental...simultaneously accessible and challenging" BBC RADIO 2

ALBUM REVIEWS WILD LAMENT

ALBUM REVIEWS DINDIRIN

ALBUM REVIEWS HORSES BRAWL DEBUT

REVIEWS

THE TIMES review
'Wild Lament' 2009 4/5 stars

"Impossible to pigeonhole the Horses Brawl duo, Laura Cannell and Adrian Lever. Armed with recorders, fiddle, guitar, and guest artist Philip Thorby, they build improvised fantasias from scraps of medieval chansons, folk music and other ancient history. Ancient, but not dead; your foot taps and heart sings as these virtuoso magpie musicians duck and weave, making Northumbrian hornpipes and Guillaume de Machaut share common ground. A breath of fresh air"
BRIGHT YOUNG FOLK review of Wild Lament 2009

"Horses Brawl, the very talented Norfolk-based duo of Laura Cannell and Adrian Lever have been together for about five years. With the former on recorders and fiddle and the latter on acoustic guitar. A guest on this album is early music specialist Philip Thorby on viol. Together they produce a truly memorable sound.

Entirely instrumental, the music certainly has it's roots in traditional folk in the broadest sense. The guest's specialty says much as it has a very definite "early" feel. I say "feel" deliberately because Laura and Adrian cleverly re-work or indeed rewrite tunes from at least as far back as the thirteen hundreds.

On many occasions the pieces are woven together from fragments and phrases of early music that are sometimes quite disparate. In fact the breadth of the source material is fascinating, from fourteenth century Italian Court music though traditional English folk to Bulgarian wedding tunes.

The musicianship is excellent and through use of a variety of playing techniques, very varied. Tourdion, the first track is a good example of what's to come. Blending French, Spanish and Irish tunes in a delightful interwoven composition. Track two has two fine maggots (repeating tunes), the second of which is played quite ferociously, joined by a fine Northumbrian pipe tune. This is a great album. Don't let any doubts about "ancient music" put you off, this is no hollow replica, this has all the wit and fire of music created yesterday."

THE GUARDIAN
review of Wild Lament 2009

"Norfolk duo Horses Brawl are causing a stir in the lofty world of traditional folk by bowing their guitars. Their third album, Wild Lament, sees them turn fragments of Bulgarian wedding dances, Irish minuets and Bolivian melodies into chilling experimental art – via the medium of "preparation". The pair meld renaissance styles with pop music by adding stickers and clothes pegs to their fiddles and recorders. The nature of folk music has always made it open to embellishment, but adding modern paraphernalia in this fashion is taking the genre to new levels."

FOLKWORLD review

'Dindirin' 2007
"In the morning I arose, and I walked among the meadows. There I met a nightingale who was singing in the treetops: Dindirin dindirin dindirin dana dindirindin. "Dindirin", the song of the nightingale passing messages between two lovers, sets the stage for English, Spanish and Italian music from the 12th to the 19th century, including an excerpt from the "Carmina Burana" and the well known medieval estampie "La Rotta". Horses Brawl is a Norfolk based instrumental duo which had been formed in 2003. Laura Cannell and Adrian Lever play (bowed) guitar, recorder, crumhorn and fiddle, their second album "Dindirin" again is a collection of early and traditional music. At times experimental and virtuosic, they fuse folk, traditional and baroque music with a contemporary feel. Laura and Adrian take no prisoners, e.g. the traditional East Anglian fiddle tune "Shave the Donkey" sounds like a Scandinavian nyckelharpa piece. Thus Horses Brawl and "Dindirin" never get boring. Search it out!"

LIVE REVIEW
Brighton Komedia, The Argus

"Fifty years ago, early music was largely forgotten. Its rehabilitation paralleled the folk revival and a new generation of musicians is now recognising early music and folk have common roots. Classically-trained Laura Cannell and folk guitarist Adrian Lever, manage to create haunting, strange but extraordinarily beautiful music with just a guitar, a fiddle and some recorders and crumhorns, blending both traditions into a unique, new style. It felt as if we were present at the birth of the first great musical movement of the 21st century. Their music is best heard live but, failing that, features on their second CD, Dindirin."

SONGLINES
review Debut 2005

Gymnastic anachronisms from terpsichorean trio "The music of this trio, with Laura Cannell on recorder and crumhorn, Adrian Lever on guitar and Jonathan Manton on cello, takes as its starting point the dance music of medieval and Renaissance Europe, performed with tremendous energy, virtuosity and verve. It's clear that each performer has achieved a level of technical assurance and experience, and their familiarity with elements of European folk adds an extra dimension to the sound. Romanian, Bulgarian and English Traditional dances rub shoulders with material such as 'Douce Dame Jolie', a virelai by the seminal French composer and poet Guillaume de Machaut (performed here as an instrumental), and happy experiments with sound colour and technique means that it is sometimes impossible to tell exactly who is doing what.

Cannell's fleet recorder scoots along above lively ostinato figures and rambunctious strumming, while slower pieces carefully balance emotion and poise. The bouncy good humour that marks much of the playing here is clearly founded on deep knowledge and long study, yet there is neither a slavish attempt to imitate folk styles, nor have the players taken out shares in the deeply irritating 'Merrie Englande Inc'. Instead they have come up with a solid piece of work which bears repeated listening, and makes me want to see them live – not simply to find out how they produce such fascinating and intricate textures with a band that is only three members strong."

TRADITION MAG
Album launch review

"Their playing mothods were highly experimental, Horses Brawl's performance was wonderful. It all seemed so natural as if the instruments have always been played like that. This combined with their choice of tunes and fun banter made it well worth making the effort to see them live. Indeed, unless you've had the chance to see them live, it's impossible to appreciate just how some of their wonderful sounds are made. A fantastic, vibrant performance, I'd strongly recommend their CD"

"Virtuoso Magpie Musicians"
THE TIMES

"The nature of folk music has always made it open to embellishment, but Horses Brawl is taking the genre to new levels"
THE GUARDIAN

"Elegant, intricate and utterly engaging"
EASTERN DAILY PRESS

"Fascinating, jolly, mysterious, hypnoticm melancholic"
EARLY MUSIC TODAY

"A truly memorable sound"
BRIGHT YOUNG FOLK

"Performed with tremendous energy, virtuosity and verve"
SONGLINES

"Exciting virtuosity and sonic imagination"
DERBY TELEGRAPH

"Virtuosic and experimental...simultaneously accessible and challenging"
BBC RADIO 2