... since my last post. I've had a mixture of connection problems, enjoying the summer weather and just taking a break from the interweb type thing.

Dutch Hoops Blog gets a reprieve! More news on HERE
See also http://www.freewebs.com/dutchhoops/

Album Of The Week
This time around it's the turn of Martyn Bennett - Bothy Culture (Rykodisc)

I first saw Martyn Bennett (& Cuillin Music) perform at the Hebridean Celtic Festival at Stornoway in 1998, and then at the Cambridge Folk Festival later that summer. Martyn Bennett was an act I always hoped would play the Folkwoods Festival here in the Netherlands, but unfortunatly died of cancer in 2005.
Of the album I think this sleeve note describes it better than I could say.

There is a dichotomy in this music; a gentle old tradition of the land and the sea against the neon technology of our growing Urban culture. The tunes are of an old style: Scottish, Irish, Swedish even Islamic. The beats and mixes are of a new style: Garage, Breakbeat, Trippy, Hip Drum & Bass. I hope when you listen or dance to these tunes you get a sense of your roots. If you push back the pressure of Urban development for a second you might rememberwhere you came from. Go climb a mountain and see.