Salsa Celtica

Salsa Celtica have built up a loyal fan base in Edinburgh and they turned out in force on Wednesday night to support the band. The music is an eclectic mix of music from Africa, Cuba, Ireland and Scotland and is a unique fusion of styles and instruments from each tradition.

I gained the impression that much of the audience falls into two camps: those who love traditional Scottish and Irish music and like salsa and those who love salsa and like traditional Scottish & Irish music. Different sections of the audience went wild for one or the other style. There are clearly many too who enjoy the mix.

In places the coming together of the two styles works well, in others I found myself wanting it to be one or the other. Salsa Celtica are unique in fusing the two and offering a very individual experience. For me the numbers which relied most on the sax, fiddle and drums succeeded best in blending the styles.

I think the songs with more of the Scottish / Irish content work better because they are tighter and better constructed. Some of the salsa numbers are long and rambling. There isn't enough variation to differentiate between the songs.

Each of the musicians perform very well and they have a lively enthusiasm for what they do. The number in the core band varies (around 11) and they were joined by José and Chico from the Havana Rumba fringe show.

Guest performers add variety and give regular fans a new experience of the band. Some of the dancers from the Havana Rumba show would be a great addition, as several people commented. Ross playing fiddle and Steve on sax are particularly good as is the mad drummer on bongos / djembe.


© Salsa Celtica in action

The central floor space wag given over to a standing area. This was good for dancing but meant that the seated areas had poor visibility. I couldn't see the band or their instruments clearly. With no programmes or band member details on the their website, I can't give more detail on individual band members.

Unfortunately the sound quality really let this show down. The Queen's Hall has excellent acoustics so it isn't easy to get it so wrong. The size of the speakers and volume would be more appropriate for a much larger venue. I couldn't hear more than a few spoken words or lyrics for the deafening and overwhelming sound. The excessive volume was unpleasant, unnecessary and distorted all of the sound for the evening. I've stood right in front of Meat Loaf's speakers without turning a hair, but this was downright painful.

Lighting relied too much on that irritating technique of sweeping very strong lights directly into the audiences' eyes.
The show started 20 minutes late and finished early with no explanation or apology which I thought was disrespectful of their audience. They did play a well-received encore. The bongo / djembe player lead the audience in percussion games at the start of the encore and that was fun.

Salsa Celtica have a niche market and play to their strengths. They played selections from old and new albums. They didn't convert me. I prefer my salsa separate from my jigs and reels. However, the musicianship is of a very high standard and they offer a unique musical experience which many people enjoy.

© Mairi Anderson. 23 August 2007. First published on www.edinburghguide.com.
Concert Date: 22 August 2007<br />
© Images Ewan Myles from the Salsa Celtica website