Future Trad Collective

Pressures of work meant I missed Future Trad Collective in London last week, so on Monday I went to see them at Band on The Wall in Manchester's Northern Quarter; an old pub venue and picture house now updated to make a small venue with an upstairs gallery, a bit like London's Jazz Cafe.I've seen this band twice before, first at Celtic Connections and then at Bury Met as part of their Big Whistle Weekend. Each time they've had a different line up but both times good enough to know I was in for a good evening. I like gigs like that, where you know enough about the band to know you're in for a good night, but not so much that there won't be surprises.

Michael McGoldrick's latest outfit is a mix of AfroCuban Cross-Rhythms, Tabla-driven Funk, Flamenco, Samba, Afrobeat, HipHop to House, Reggae, Disco, Breakbeat and Jungle. Not my words, but lifted from the band's website. Still, it gives you an idea as to how difficult it to accurately describe what this band do. Last night founder members McGoldrick, Ian Fletcher (guitar/programming) and Andy Dinan (fiddle) were joined by Emma Sweeney (fiddle), Parvinder Bharat (tablas) Richard Sliwa (percusssion) and two singers, whose names were mumbled but I didn't catch! The audience was as mixed as the sound, with representatives from each musical genre, but the bulk was made up of Manchester men who appreciated good music and weren't afraid to dance. Because fundamentally that's what this band is about- the heavy beats, bass and drums driving a rhythm through all the tunes that is impossible to resist, the audience swaying and moving in time like some organic tribal dance routine.

 And that's what's so incredible about this music. No one doubts the ability of these musicians- their technical skills have them playing with the biggest names in music like Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder, yet here they were, giving their all on a tiny stage in a small venue in Manchester. No, it's more the creative genius needed to mix all these genres, rhythms and tempos together and come up with something that not only works, but sounds bloody brilliant. One tune starts off sounding like a seventies Stax classic but somewhere along the way becomes an Irish jig before settling down into something else entirely. I've no doubt that a large part of this creative genius is McGoldrick himself, who finally seems to back on top of his game after a gap of some five or six years, making  the kind of music that is exciting, unique and well deserving of a 450 mile road trip! I've no idea when and where this band is playing next, but I know that I'll be going...