Brian Hughes - When the Wind Blows Wild

Brian Hughes is surely one of the most acclaimed musicians on the Irish trad circuit; his whistle playing has been and still is of great inspiration for every lover of this instrument. On his new album When the Wind Blows Wild he has gathered a number of tunes, some of which are even three centuries old, and delivered them in his own distinctive style.

The release combines sets of foot-tapping reels, jigs, polkas and slides such as the opening Trip to Birmingham / The Humours of Lissadell / The Sandymount Reel, the lively Mist Covered Mountain / Coleman’s Cross / The Wishing Well and the very technical The Rookery / The Castlebar Traveller / Miss Ramsey’s with redolent slow airs such as The Iron Man and Aird Ui Chuain.

Among these fifteen tracks, there are moments in which Hughes’ whistle shines bright above a sparse substrate and others in which it is enveloped by the warm soundscape created by other instruments like the harp, the concertina and the guitar; but in every track the exquisite technique, the precise embellishments and the dainty variations are a pleasure to listen to.

This collection also includes a sample of Hughes’ uilleann piping skills in the joyful barndance and polkas set, one of the most striking tracks on this release, and in the fast-paced jigs and slipjig set that closes the album on a high.

The fluency of the playing, the palpable connection between the artist, the tunes and the land they come from, the distinctive sound of the whistles, all help make When the Wind Blows Wild another jewel in Brian Hughes’ long career and a new must for Irish folk music fans around the globe.