Gráda On their new CD, Natural Angle, Irish band Gráda launches headlong into the cross-genre world of new acoustic music, bridging traditional Irish and Appalachian tunes and songs with Americana songwriting. Gráda, whose name means "gradient" in Irish, have always drawn on their melting pot of influences from New Zealand and Ireland. On this CD the American edge and bluegrass twang set their Irish melodies and styles in sharp relief. Four of the twelve tracks are American songs—although some of those have older Irish roots—and there are three original songs from the band, including, for the first time, an original song by vocalist Nicola Joyce. Gráda sought out famed bluegrass musician and singer Tim O'Brien, whom they had met at the Tonder Festival in Denmark in 2005, to produce the CD in Nashville. Capturing the explosive energy of the band in the discipline of a Nashville studio was a challenge and a revelation. Gráda's improvisatory relish may seem at an angle to how people think about Irish traditional music, but it's natural for this quintet. Made up of singer and bodhran player Nicola Joyce, fiddler and concertina player David Doocey, and flute and accordion player Stephen Doherty all from the west of Ireland, along with founding members Andy Laking, a non-Irish New Zealander whose instrument (besides guitar and vocals) is double bass, more commonly found in bluegrass and jazz than in Irish bands, and Gerry Paul, an Irishman brought up in New Zealand, on guitar and vocals. Guests on Natural Angle include banjoist Alison Brown and veteran Nashville sideman John Gardner (Dixie Chicks, Kenny Rogers, Earl Scruggs) on drums. Natural Angle captures the excitement, energy and zest of the band's live concerts. "We're never concerned with fitting in to a certain slot," says Laking, who's been with the band since its beginnings in 2001.“But Natural Angle is Irish down to the ground, in its melodies and its acoustic arrangements. Says Paul, "Always over the years, the American tradition has incorporated bits from the Irish, so doing that in reverse is a natural step." Original songs blend in with a modern folk style, but lyrics are modern. "We didn't want to sing about pots and pans and maidens," says Joyce. "Wording things in a more contemporary way makes it more appealing for young audiences; it's something they can relate to." The two newest band members, Stephen Doherty and David Doocey, should know as they are just 21 and 22. "Stephen was only 20 when we recorded this," laughs Paul, "he couldn't come out for a drink with us to celebrate." From the intensity of the first sounds of Doherty's flute on the opening track, "Abe's Axe," made up of the Templehouse Reel and the original Moy House reel, Natural Angle leaps with energy. Guitars drive the swift flute and fiddle. "Abraham Lincoln's axe required several different sets of blades and handles over the years," says Laking, "We were going to do an old tune set we put together for an encore in live gigs and one by one we swapped the origianl tunes for new ones, until we were left with an entirely different set altogether”. The second track, "John Riley," is an anti-war song the band learned from Tim O'Brien, who backs Joyce's emotional vocals in his subtle, powerful style. Doocey's improvising fiddles add a bluegrass flavor too. Though it's about an Irishman serving in the U.S. Army and jumping ship to go to Mexico, its atmosphere says Nashville. Joyce's song "No Linen, No Lace," the third track, is an answer to Canadian Stan Rogers' song "The Lock-Keeper." In Rogers' song, a sailor boasts of his travels, telling a lock-keeper whose wife has given him a son, "is that all you've done?" What about the sailor's wife, Joyce wondered? "He continues to travel all around the world afterwards with beautiful gifts but she doesn't have him. In my song, she says 'I gave you my name to have you near'—but he's more interested in adventure than he is in her." Joyce admits, "everybody always says it's about life on the road. Maybe it is, subconsciously." The sweetly sung “No Linen, No Lace” is an Irish ballad and a country and western song, all at the same time. "Butcher Boy," an old Irish song also popular in bluegrass circles, opens with a mournful fiddle, light bodhran taps and Joyce’s solemn vocals. The urgency of the pregnant girl's impending suicide (and the faithless butcher boy coming too late) draw near with each note played and word sung. The band learned "Fem Spring," the first tune in "5 Jumps," at a Danish commune. The mellow song is led by Doherty's flute, in a timing of five, but then former bandmate fiddler Colin Ferrell's peppy "New Plymouth Reel" joins in. The build up with guitar, whistle and bass evolves throughout and brings it back home with the traditional Irish "Edenderry Reel." Danish, original, Irish—it's international. The old-timey "Louis Collins" is a Mississippi John Hurt song. "It has an eerie background to it but an upbeat sound. If you just hear the song, it sounds like a tap-a-long happy sort of thing until you realize it's about a man that's been shot dead," says Joyce. While the lyrics of "Pretty Polly" might be familiar from the singing of Ralph Stanley, the band totally reworked the melody. "There aren't really any boundaries," says Joyce. The song tells the story of a woman lured to her death—in Irish versions she sometimes kills him first, but not in this one. When Polly realizes her lover is going to murder her, he says "your guess is about right." And, says Laking, “you can't tell whether she's crying because she's lost him or because she's dying.” None of the love songs turn out well on the CD. But the original songs tell a different story, the story of a band of young innovators. Laking's song "Panama" approaches indie folk in sound and compressed poetry. "It's about trying to find a place you think is much better than where you are, but ultimately ending up back where you started," he says. The idea, Laking explains, came from a book called How Beautiful Is Panama by the German writer Janosch, a story about a tiger and a bear. Gerry Paul's original "Bottom of the Hill" blends a folksy American sound with Kiwi expressions and Paul's New Zealand accent. "Naked as a jelly bean" is something we say back home. A jelly bean has not much dressing it up, it's completely naked!" "Salthill Bugalú," the closing song of Natural Angle, is a jam number. The band wrote it together just before recording the album. With its catchy, dancey vibe, it's irresistible, completely alive. With an acoustic, contemporary sound, Natural Angle’s free, loose feeling focuses on melodies both new and old, Irish and Appalachian. Supported by the band’s unrivaled instrumental prowess and emotive vocals, Natural Angle captures the tangible excitement and explosive energy Gráda brings to over 150 stages in 20 countries year after year.

Natural Angle, 2010

Cloudy Day Navigation (2007)

The Landing Step (2004)

Endeavour (2002)

No tours for artist