Reviewed by Andy Shaw

A brief look at the output from the husband and wife team of Nigel Cameron and Julie Cameron-Hall shows an impressive array of projects all brought together through their Sounds Of Wonder label. Whether it is worship music with their international group The Worship Company, classical improvisation with their group Epiphany or Julie's work on baby music they are always looking for ways to use music to help people connect with God. 'Celtish' is the first instrumental album released through Sounds Of Wonder in 2016 and also acts as the banner under which they perform their Celtic inspired work. Prior to forming this project, both Nigel and Julie had been influenced by Celtic music with Belfast native Nigel a percussionist and Irish whistle player and Julie a classically trained violinist who released a number of folk albums earlier in her career. The album features a selection of classic Celtic tunes as well as some original compositions and draws on a wide range of instrumentation beyond Julie's violin and Nigel's Irish whistle featuring contributions from a number of musicians including regular collaborator Dave Bainbridge (Iona). The choice of tracks is a great blend of the ancient Celtic tunes such as "With My Love On The Road", known as the tune of "Be Thou My Vision", and more modern Celtic rock inspired compositions with Nigel Cameron's own "Celtic Jubilee" adding drums and electric guitar to the mix. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into the arrangements on each track, carefully selecting the pallet to paint a picture in sound. There are moments of delicate simplicity with just the whistle over a backdrop of synths on tracks like "Midnight Walker" or "Dunluce". The traditional Irish slip jig "The Butterfly" shows a playful side creating a sense of fun through the interplay between the whistle, violin and guitar. There is a real spiritual feel throughout the album as it washes over you leaving a feeling of peace and joy through the uplifting sounds beautiful soaring arrangements. I would recommend getting hold of a physical copy of this album as the sleeve notes provide an excellent accompaniment, offering fascinating insight into the background of each track.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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