Live music review: Slow Moving Clouds

Quiet Lights Festival: Griffith College, Cork

[rating]4[/rating]

The chapel of a former hospice might seem an appropriate venue for a group whose music has been described as a mix of Irish and Nordic folk traditions, with a nod to contemporary classical.

It’s a combination that promises a night of sombre and overly-serious appreciation. Not so. For one thing, the deconsecrated setting might still have its altar intact, but it is warm and welcoming. Griffith College’s hosting of several gigs for the inaugural Quiet Lights mini-festival in Cork is a welcome addition to the city’s roster of venues.

More importantly, the trio providing the music fill the air with sounds that were always interesting, and regularly magical. Yes, there’s a drawing from the well of obvious influences, but Slow Moving Clouds bypass any associations with the dodgier side of ‘fusion’ by melding those styles into something quite original.

Dublin fiddler Danny Diamond provides the more distinctly Irish sounds; Aki from Finland is on nyckelharpa (looks like a big fiddle, but is closely related to a hurdy-gurdy); and between them on cello sits Kevin Murphy, from Monkstown, Co Cork, occasionally unleashing a strange falsetto.

Close your eyes and just as you imagine you’re sitting in a seisiún in stone-floored bar, you’re dragged off to a frozen lake in the far north, and back again through a Louisiana swamp or the set of a gothic drama.

Standout on the night is ‘Swansong / Starfall’, one of several pieces developed from the group’s soundtracking of the widely-acclaimed Loch na hEala dance show, a contemporary take on Swan Lake.

That track also provides the title for the group’s second album, about to be released via the People platform, the musician-focused brainchild of Aaron Dessner of The National and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). Their relationship with the Clouds was fostered at 2017’s Sounds From A Safe Harbour festival in Cork.

The tunes tonight are short enough that they don’t test you too much, and the lighthearted banter between the musicians further adds to the atmosphere. A hugely enjoyable night from an act occupying a unique space in the Irish music scene.

Des O’Driscoll

Starfall is released on Sept 21