A band that came into being when a Frenchman, an Austrian, an Italian and a Scotsman met up in Ireland, so there's a real hotchpotch of influences going into their music. The result feels fresh and ofttimes exhilarating. With a nod towards the pioneering spirit of Lau in showing how traditional musicianship and instruments can be used to produce a truly original sound, Fourth Moon take a mixture of tunes, many of them self penned, and put together sets that play around with styles and tempos and deliver the unexpected. Guitar, fiddle, concertina and flute and whistles are a reassuringly trad lineup, but serving a very contemporary form of music.
They're a cheerful bunch on stage, showing obvious delight in playing together, and joking with the audience and each other. Scot Mohsen Amini, who did most of the talking between numbers, was informative and funny, but all four are comfortable chipping in to add variety.
Whilst there are some beautiful slower passages, it's the fast stuff that bring both band and audience fully to life and gets the pulse racing. These are seriously talented musicians who have found in each other a chance to experiment and extend their own musical experiences. It's a shame there was no CD to take away, this music would benefit from further listening to better appreciate the complexities, so I hope there will be an album in the near future. Definitely a band I want to see again.
Here's an example of what they can do.
Final thought. Fourth Moon are a living allegory for the benefits of Scotland being closely integrated with our European friends. Just sayin'....
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