Hom Bru

Last updated

Hom Bru
Origin Shetland, Scotland
Genres Folk
Years active1978 – present
MembersGary Peterson
Davie Henry
Brian Nicholson
John Robert Deyell
Website http://www.hombru.co.uk

Hom Bru are a folk group from Shetland who formed in 1978. [1] They moved to Edinburgh in 1980 and using the city as their base, toured all over Europe. In 1982 they moved back to Shetland and continue to perform regularly. [2]

Contents

The band play a mixture of instrumental music, mainly traditional Shetland and Scandinavian tunes, and songs sung in Shetland dialect.

Personnel

Current members

Gary Peterson is a superb mandolinist with a mastery of the music of his native islands. The way he ornaments tunes is a joy to the ear and his use of short bursts of tremolo in place of the triplets others might use is especially distinctive and most impressive.

Simon Carson, www.mandolin.org.uk [3]

Brian is internationally recognised as one of Shetland's finest ever guitarists, whether in a traditional music context or performing music of a more contemporary nature. He has traded 'licks' with a number of very prominent guitarists, including Albert Lee who termed him "a world class guitarist", while he has supported the likes of Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell on their visits to Shetland, to name but two.

Brian Nicholson article at www.shetland-music.com [4]

Previous members

Reviews

Hom Bru have been playing their infectious blend of Shetland-based music for over twenty-five years now.... They have an instantly recognisable sound, with their blistering use of mandolin and banjo as lead instruments, all the more surprising, given the predominance of the fiddle in the Shetland tradition. The fire and attack that is brought to the livelier numbers does not come at the expense of sensitivity, with waltzes, slow airs and songs taking their place amongst the more fiery instrumentals.

Extract from review by Gordon Potter of the "No Afore Time" album in The Living Tradition magazine. [5]

Discography

The First Swig

The First Swig
HomBruAlbumFirstSwig.jpg
Studio album by
Hom Bru
Released1978
Genre folk
Label Viking Vision

First Swig was Hom Bru's debut album released in 1978. The album was recorded by Douglas Bentley in his Viking Vision "studio" which was actually the front shop of his electrical retail premises. [6] The recording was released on cassette only.

Track listing

Side 1:

  1. Nine points of roguery
  2. Greenland whaling
  3. Delta dawn
  4. Till the rivers all run dry
  5. Gardebylaten

Side 2:

  1. Never on a Sunday
  2. Fiddler's green
  3. Banks of Newfoundland
  4. The alamo
  5. Scotland the brave

Personnel

Davie Henry (vocals, rhythm guitar, mandolin); Alec Johnson (bass, harmony vocals); Gary Peterson (drums, mandolin); Brian Nicholson (vocals)

Obadeea

Obadeea
HomBruAlbumObadeea.jpg
Studio album by
Hom Bru
Released1982
Genre folk

Obadeea features a recording of "The Unst Boat Song" which is sung in the old Norn language [7]

Track list

  1. Christmas Day/The bonnie Isle of Whalsay (Trad.)/Leather reeches (Trad.)
  2. Gardebylatten (Trad.)
  3. Lassie lie near me (Trad.)
  4. Chicago reel (Trad.)/The scholar (Trad.)/St Anne's reel (B. Scott)
  5. Ragtime Jane (J. Elliot) - listen
  6. The new song on the turnout (Lyrics trad, tune G. Faux)
  7. The brolum (Dr.C.Bannatyne)/Pete da mill (G. Peterson)
  8. Janine's shell (G. Faux), Sandy Bell's hornpipe (R. Smith)
  9. Unst boat song (Trad.)
  10. Garster's dream (Trad.)/Da brig (Stickle)/Da sooth end (W. Hunter)
  11. Sandy burn reel (F. Jamieson)
  12. Banks of the bann (Trad.)
  13. The eighth Black Watch on Passchaendale Ridge (S. Bremner)/John Murray of Lochee (J. Hastings)

Personnel

Pete Miller (vocals, guitar, electric bass); George Faux (fiddle, mandolin, guitar, vocals); Gary Peterson (mandolin, tenor banjo, fiddle); Ivor Pottinger (guitar)

Rowin Foula Doon

Rowin' Foula Doon
HomBruAlbumRowinFoulaDoon.jpg
Studio album by
Hom Bru
Released1990
Genre folk

Track list

  1. Sylvia / Tulloch's farewell tae da Hagdale
  2. Rowin' Foula doon - Da song o' da Papamen
  3. Huckleberry hornpipe / Homesteader's rell / Donkey reel
  4. Caladonia
  5. Niamh's capers / Toss the feathers / The pinch of snuff
  6. Shaskeen / Paddy Faheys / Fair Jenny
  7. Miss Rowan Davies
  8. Smugglers
  9. I'll remember you this way
  10. Moving cloud

Personnel

Peter Miller (vocals, guitar); Steven Spence (fiddle); Gary Peterson (mandolin, tenor banjo); Davie Henry (vocals, mandolin); Ivor Pottinger (vocals, guitar)

No Afore Time

No Afore Time
HomBruAlbumNoAforeTime.jpg
Studio album by
Hom Bru
Released2003
Genre folk

Track list

  1. Coopers Reels
  2. Da Sang O' Da Delting Lass
  3. Suzi's Waltz
  4. Scarce O' Tatties Set
  5. Da Sang O' Da Fisher Lad
  6. Recuerdos De La Alhambra
  7. Hornpipes
  8. Da Trowie Song
  9. Serendipity
  10. Hoedown Set
  11. High Rockin Swing
  12. Da Lass O' Hascosay
  13. Bonnie Nancy
  14. The Harley Set
  15. Simmer Dim

Personnel

Brian Nicholson (vocals, guitar, bass guitar); John Robert Deyell (fiddle); Gary Peterson (mandolin, tenor banjo); Davie Henry (vocals, mandolin); John Hutchison (vocals, guitar)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dillards</span> American bluegrass band

The Dillards are an American bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. The band is best known for introducing bluegrass music into the popular mainstream with their appearance as "The Darlings" on The Andy Griffith Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tannahill Weavers</span>

The Tannahill Weavers are a band which performs traditional Scottish music. Releasing their first album in 1976, they became notable for being one of the first popular bands to incorporate the sound of the Great Highland Bagpipe in an ensemble setting, and in doing so helped to change the sound of Scottish traditional music. In 2011 the band were inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame.

<i>Will the Circle Be Unbroken</i> (album) 1972 studio album by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Will the Circle Be Unbroken is the seventh studio album by American country music group The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, released in November 1972, through United Artists Records. The album was a collaboration with many famous bluegrass and country-and-western players, including Roy Acuff, "Mother" Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Merle Travis, Pete "Oswald" Kirby, Norman Blake, Jimmy Martin, and others. It also introduced fiddler Vassar Clements to a wider audience.

<i>Woman of the House</i> 2005 studio album by Cherish the Ladies

Woman of the House, an album by Cherish the Ladies, was released in 2005 on the Rounder Records label.

<i>Blackwater</i> (Altan album) 1996 studio album by Altan

Blackwater is the fifth studio album by Altan, released in April 1996 on the Virgin Records label. Three of the songs are sung in Irish. "Ar Bhruach Na Carraige Baine" is sung partly in English and in Irish. "Blackwaterside" is sung in English. It was the first album released by the band since the death of founding member Frankie Kennedy two years earlier. The final track on the album is a tribute to Kennedy and was written by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh herself.

<i>Forerunner</i> (album) 2006 studio album by The Cottars

Forerunner is the third album by the Eastern-Canadian Celtic band The Cottars.

<i>Finnegan Wakes</i> 1966 live album by The Dubliners

Finnegan Wakes is a live album by The Dubliners. Recorded at the Gate Theatre on 26 and 27 April 1966 and produced by Nathan Joseph, this was The Dubliners' final recording for Transatlantic Records. But it was also their first to feature their first established line-up of Ronnie Drew, Barney McKenna, Luke Kelly, Ciarán Bourke and John Sheahan. The album featured "Nelson's Farewell", a satirical song about the bombing and destruction of Nelson's Pillar in O'Connell Street, Dublin on 8 March 1966.

<i>Alive Alive-O</i> 1997 live album by The Dubliners

Alive Alive-O is a double album by the Irish Folk Group The Dubliners which was recorded live throughout several Evenings in December 1996 in Germany at the end of their European tour. After the departure of Ronnie Drew, The Dubliners were joined by the famous Irish singer Paddy Reilly who lends his voice to several ballads on the album. John Sheahan's daughter Ceoladh guests with her father, duetting on fiddle with him on his composition, "Among Friends". The album is notable for some mixed German-English song introductions by Sean Cannon, causing widespread laughter among the audience.

<i>Live from the Gaiety</i> 2003 live album by The Dubliners

Live from the Gaiety is a live album by The Dubliners. It was recorded during the Irish leg of their tour celebrating forty years on the road. The double album was recorded at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin in June 2002. All surviving members took part. A companion double DVD of the concert in its entirety was also released.

<i>Farewell and Remember Me</i> 1987 studio album by The Boys of the Lough

Farewell and Remember Me is an album by The Boys of the Lough, released in 1987.

<i>Song of America</i> (album) 2007 compilation album by Various artists

Song of America is a 3-disc, compilation album comprising 50 songs related to the history of America. Released on September 18, 2007 under Split Rock Records/Thirty One Tigers, the music collection was conceived by former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and musician Ed Pettersen.

<i>Sluz Duz Music</i> 1985 studio album by Peter Ostroushko

Slüz Düz Music is the debut album by American multi-instrumentalist Peter Ostroushko, released in 1985.

<i>Blue Mesa</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Peter Ostroushko

Blue Mesa is an album by American fiddle and mandolin player Peter Ostroushko, released in 1989.

Bongshang are a Scottish band from Shetland, who fuse traditional Shetland and folk styles with rock, funk, electronica and contemporary production techniques. They have been likened to Celtic fusion artists such as Shooglenifty and Martyn Bennett.

<i>Vy-lo-fone</i> 1999 studio album by Bongshang

Vy-lo-fone is the third studio album from Shetland-based band Bongshang.

<i>Walking Among the Living</i> 2005 studio album by Jon Randall

Walking Among the Living is the third studio album released by American country music singer Jon Randall. It is his third major-label album, and his first album since Willin' in 1999. This album includes the song "Whiskey Lullaby", which was also recorded by Brad Paisley as a duet with Alison Krauss on Paisley's 2003 album Mud on the Tires. Paisley's version was a Top 5 country hit in mid-2004. Singles released from Walking Among the Living include "Baby Won't You Come Home" and "I Shouldn't Do This", neither of which charted.

<i>Heartstrings</i> (Willie P. Bennett album) 1998 studio album by Willie P. Bennett

Heartstrings was the seventh and final solo album released by Canadian singer-songwriter Willie P. Bennett and was released on CD by Bennett's own Bnatural Records in 1998.

<i>Only Slightly Mad</i> 2013 studio album by David Bromberg Band

Only Slightly Mad is an album by the David Bromberg Band. It was released by Appleseed Recordings on September 24, 2013.

<i>On the Fly</i> (album) 2007 studio album by Patrick Street

On the Fly is the ninth album by the Irish folk band Patrick Street, released in 2007 on Loftus Music.

<i>The Wonderful Grand Band</i> (album) 1978 studio album by The Wonderful Grand Band

The Wonderful Grand Band is an eponymous debut album release by The Wonderful Grand Band. The album was inspired by music the band played during a six-part television mini-series on the CBC called The Root Seller. The songs on the album are a mix of traditional music and folk-rock. The album comprises music composed by Émile Benoît and songs written by Ron Hynes. This album features some of Benoît's first recorded music, specifically "Emile's Dream" which later, in 1980, the album of the same name was released by Benoît featuring titles that also appear on The Wonderful Grand Band. The album also features the first and original version of the widely covered "Sonny's Dream" which also appears re-recorded on their second album, Living in a Fog. The album was only available on LP until 2010 when it was reissued for CD.

References

  1. "Shetland Music - Hom Bru". Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  2. "Scottish Music from Hom Bru". Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Potter, Gordon. "Hom Bru – No Afore Time". The Living Tradition (review). No. 56. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  6. "Hom Bru - music from Shetland and beyond". Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  7. "Shetland's written and spoken form : Unst Boat Song - Shetlink". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2008.