Sometimes people
say nice things about us, and when they do we like to show off
about it. So here are a few of our favourite reviews.
Dirty Linen
(U.S.) - December'00/January'01
Xim is a quartet from Norwich (U.K.) who has been playing original
material in a pan-European folk style since its formation in 1998.
The material on this release is based on themes from the dance
music of Central France, an influence which clearly comes through
in the writing and playing. There are 11 tracks of mazurkas, schottisches,
bourrées and stirring waltzes like the curiously titled
"The Clint Eastwood Waltz." Tracks such as "Sweetbriar
/ The Whiffler". have a contemporary groove set by the bass
and then confirmed by a melodeon solo. Xim's success in achieving
a French traditional sound is enhanced by the instrumental line-up
which includes hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, melodeons and flutes (along
with some bass and percussion). In their choice of inspiration
and their delivery, Xim is one British band that is taking the
idea of Europianization quite seriously, indeed. (IE)
Nick Beale
- FRoots Issue No 209 November 2000
Xim are a Norwich quartet (melodeon, hurdy gurdy, bagpipes, flute
and assorted exotic percussion) composing their own music in the
styles of central France and doing it rather well (and none too
slavishly), I thought.
Alongside the more customary ingredients, piper Paddy Shaw overdubs
sparing bass guitar lines that are very effective in rounding
the music out- They have a good instinct for building a number
up from a quiet beginning to pounding reiteration and they take
a few of the tunes off in the direction of Paris as well as throwing
in their own diverse influences. Gas Hill is a particularly insidious
creation, beginning with "typically French" squeezebox
overlaid by a flute line that's something else again and passing
through some tension-stoking interlude sections before emerging
melodically on the far side. Additional house points for the attention
paid to the liner design and for entitling a tune The Clint Eastwood
Waltz.
Hector Christie
- Living Tradition, Issue 40 Sept/Oct 2000
This is an album called '989', by a group called XIM (in case
you thought it was an album called 'XIM' by a group called 989).
Like the product in the TV ad, the CD is 'tasty, tasty, very very
tasty…'. The members are Nick Carpenter, Kate Ross, Paddy
Shaw and Frank Vickers; it's a recent recording, done in Spring
this year in Norwich, and features melodeons, darabuka, flutes,
bass, djembe, bagpipes, hurdy gurdy, bodhran and tambourine. The
standard is consistently good, lovely in bits, and the tunes are
all penned by the group working in different combinations (with
Shaw just having the edge in prolific terms), and have great titles
like '2CV', 'The Whiffler', and 'The Clint Eastwood Waltz'. This
is precisely my cup of tea - a gem well worth a listen.
Dave Rowlands
- Chanter (The Bagpipe Society), Autumn 2000
XIM is a four piece outfit from East Anglia comprising of Nick
Carpenter (Melodeons/Darabuka/Tambourine), Kate Ross (Flutes/Bass/Djembe),
Frank Vickers (Hurdy Gurdy/Bodhrán) and Paddy Shaw (Bagpipes/Bass),
he of the Massif Village Orchestra project.
So here's a CD of the same sort of big noise French dance music
that Paddy is famous for, right? Wrong. What we have here is a
much quieter, more thoughtful offering. Kate's flute gives a wistful
quality not often associated with groups containing the bagpipe/hurdy
gurdy combination. Whilst almost always in evidence, neither the
pipes nor the hurdy gurdy overshadow the other instruments. Nick's
melodeon skips from driving in the foreground to an underpinning
role which, along with some tasteful bass playing and minimalist
percussion provides the basic platform. The twenty-one tunes,
all original compositions by the band, are presented over 11 tracks
with a great deal of thought and expertise. The result is a body
of work that feels as though it's touching Ireland, Scotland,
France and the Low Countries but is very, unmistakably, English.
The breadth of the album shows that here is a band trying out
new ideas and mixing styles from all quarters. From 'Sweetbriar',
which sounds a little naïve, as though it could be from a
1950's light entertainment short film, to 'Gas Hill', with it's
modern Penguin Café Orchestra feel; and from the punchy
bourrées 'Smoking' and 'SOS' with its power chords, to
'The Rosary', a schottische with an almost TV test card quality,
this is a varied and interesting collection of tunes. The pick
of the bunch is 'Trouble Down Below', a delightfully melancholic
mazurka. Personally I would like to have seen some more information
on the CD insert, some biographical notes and brief notes about
the tunes (although the pictures inside do serve to illustrate
the titles), but that's a minor quibble. This CD presents an interesting,
thought provoking, well played, varied and different selection
of music.
Garry Farside-Bogden
- Folk London, July/August 2000
"…a
cross between an Irish Wolfhound and a Petite Basset Griffon
Vendéen".
What?