Helen Gentile & Lewis Wood - Violet Sky

One of the joys of the Balfolk scene is its open minded approach to instrumental combinations - if a player has a good musical feeling and sense of rhythm they’ll fit in just fine. Which leaves plenty of room for the clarinet and fiddle pairing of Helen Gentile & Lewis Wood, now on their second album Violet Sky.

The southern England-based uni friends take on a range of tunes from and inspired by different continental traditions. The simple and uncontrived arrangements over twelve tracks allow their full musicality and command of their instruments to come out.

The full expressive range of the clarinet is put to good use by Gentile, from the desultory low notes of Coffee and No One to the well-accented highs on Kost ar C’hoats. Meanwhile Wood acts both as co-lead and accompanist on fiddle, getting broad double stops out on the title track and Jigs set.

The duo sound much more than the sum of their parts, though they also know when less is more. Limousin Bourrées sees Wood flitting in and out of unison with Gentile’s clarinet melody, all the better to accent the end of the hypnotic three time phrases. Equally the spaces between notes when they play in unison together such as on the perky Skrap-ollas Polska gives the tunes extra lift and bounce.

Wood also does a handy sideline in guitar, whether it’s playing the restful melody on the somnabulant Four Forty-Five, or giving it some serious acoustic riffage on the Gentile-composed an dro Triangles.

More than anything, the two play in the hand in glove way that can only have come from years of playing together. Here’s hoping there’ll be many more.