Gig review: A Night of Celtronika

Published on Sunday 30 January 2011 18:59

A Night of Celtronika Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow **

Anyone hoping that A Night Of Celtronika would lead to an enhanced understanding of this hip mongrel music might well have been bewildered by the breadth and defeated by the length of Sushil K Dade's latest curated theme night for Celtic Connections.

Lau's Martin Green helpfully defined the genre as a Jimmy Shand and a Depeche Mode record playing simultaneously, but what looked like an ambitious programme of crossover collaborations and special commissions lacked focus, appeal and momentum.

Dade's Indian Pop Art Orchestra's ramshackle mix of world pop and spaced-out soundtracks felt unfinished next to Hidden Orchestra's mesmerising jazzy electronica, enhanced by guest cellist Su-a Lee and saxophonist Fraser Fifield, while the premiere of a brooding new suite for cellos, double bass and piano by Craig Armstrong should have felt like more of an occasion.

Skye's Nightworks were the one band on the bill who brazenly mashed up club culture with Celtic instrumentation.

The result was an unhappy marriage to these ears but they were the only act of the night who coaxed the crowd to dance and brought proceedings to an energetic climax – at the half-way point on the bill.

From here, it was a matter of hanging in there until former Blue Nile man PJ Moore presented a brief, disjointed set, including two elegant croons sung by Love & Money's James Grant and Chris Thomson of The Bathers.

Michael McGoldrick and his Future Trad Collective were thrown away in front of a much- depleted audience.