MANdolin MAN from Belgium. Quality stuff!

[Dagger Gordon]

There was a great review for Old Tunes Dusted Down by this Belgian mandolin group in The Scotsman newspaper on Saturday.

This video gives you an idea. I have never heard of these people. They're really really good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPxc9Hl4CII

[Shelagh Moore]

Thanks for the clip David... yes they are very good! I used to know and played with Peter-Jan Daems in sessions back when I lived in Belgium and he is a fine player.

[Jim Garber]

I just wrote to them to see if they have these tracks available as downloads. It is very frustrating for us in the US when all this amazing European music is not available except with exhorbitant shipping charges. I know... now we know how you feel in the UK!!

[Bob Bass]

Thank you David! Terrific sounds! It's a fascinating tonal blend of very different sounding mandolin family instruments. I noticed the Lyon & Healy mandolin (Style C?) and the modern F hole A mandolin, and what looks like a European flat top mandocello on the right.

Jim- here's a detailed review of the album of the traditional Flemish dance tunes- http://www.folkworld.de/50/e/mandolin.html. The group also appears to have a connection to a Quebecois artist management group (Pare) and a note that the album was released in Belgium in 2011 and is to be released worldwide on the ARC label in 2014.

[Paul Kotapish]

Fun! Very nice playing, fine tunes, and lovely arrangements.

[foldedpath]

I think this YouTube clip may have been linked here before, but what the heck, it's a nice arrangement! This group doing "Agua de Beber" by Jobim:

[Jim Garber]

I wrote to them and it turns out that both their CDs are available on iTunes. I should have looked but always dumbly assume that European groups do not offer downloads. I looks fwd to getting their music.

[brunello97]

Dagger and Jim, I DLed the "Old Tunes Dusted...." a couple years back when this conversation (of which Jim was a part) rolled through.

Good stuff. Stayed in heavy rotation for some time.

Mick

[Jim Garber]

I guess I didn't know it was available as download... I certainly did not do so then for some reason. Also: I have a sub with emusic and both the CDs are available from there as well.

[brunello97]

I guess I didn't know it was available as download... I certainly did not do so then for some reason. Also: I have a sub with emusic and both the CDs are available from there as well.

Well.... now you get to have the nice surprise. Totally straight forward and enjoyable playing. Infectiously unpretentious and delightful. Makes you wonder why there isn't more of this around.

Mick