Two players at the top of their game. Button accordionists Moya Sweeney and Archie Churchill-Moss pool their resources to explore the expressive possibilities of the diatonic button accordion on their debut EP, From The Aa.
DIATONIC BUTTON ACCORDIONS
It was a mutual appreciation of traditional folk dance music and a desire to examine their instrument’s full tonal and rhythmic range that led to this collaboration between Irish accordionist Moya Sweeney and English multi-instrumentalist, Archie Churchill-Moss.
Rooted in a shared respect for tradition and a full awareness of contemporary opportunity, the duo’s debut EP, From the Aa, presents the button accordion as both a melodic and a harmonic instrument. Both player’s instruments – Moya plays a B/C model, Archie’s is a D/G – were constructed by Dutch luthier Frans Vanderaa and their combined sound feels less like two players in conversation and more like four hands working a single instrument.
Moya and Archie are both legends in their own right. Moya, a native of Trillick, Co. Tyrone, is currently touring with the new Irish folk musical, Daughters of Ceithleann. The music of the north of Ireland runs in her blood and her playing carries both the lift of dance music and the subtlety of song accompaniment. From Somerset, Archie is widely regarded as one of Britain’s foremost exponents of the diatonic button accordion. A previous BBC Young Folk Award winner, he’s worked with many of the UK’s best-known folk artists and producers and he’s toured extensively across Europe.
TEASING AND TEMPTING
This short collection of tunes is opened by a tribute to Frans Vanderaa, the maker of Moya’s and Archie’s respective instruments. It’s a bright, light tune, in which the two accordions seem to be teasing and tempting each other into some sort of over-commitment – and that’s a theme that permeates the entire EP.
There’s no bodhrán featured on Mollaí’s Bodhrán, a reel, written especially for one of Moya’s up-and-coming students. Instead, the pair’s fluttering, darting accordion tones are supported by subtle strums from guest Dave Malkin’s guitar. It’s a lively reel, too, with an authentic Springtime feel. And, speaking of the changing seasons, the slow-building Speckles of Yellow was inspired by the colours that appear in the trees of Carmarthenshire each Autumn. Appropriately, the tune would make the perfect soundtrack to a nature documentary.
The first part to the medley Three Nights At The Tafarn/Jack’s First Slip is the duo’s eulogy to the perfect pub. The tune is as warm and welcoming as its subject and it’s almost possible to see the welcoming light and to feel the warmth as the tavern door opens. The second tune was inspired by a guitarist friend of Moya’s, who became very confused by the 9/8 time signature of one of her tunes. This time, the feeling is more expansive and the cosy interior of the tavern is replaced by the imagery of rolling green hills.
CHEATERS, HAWKS AND A WEDDING GIFT
Described as: “A waltz for all those who cheat at board games” (it’s a fair cop…), The Magician’s Look is a slow, pensive tune, guaranteed to magnify the guilt and regret of those cheaters as they dance. The traditional roots of the tune are just about detectable but only as a platform for some serious exploration by both Moya and Archie.
The idea for closing track, The Harrier Hawk/Isaac and Gabby’s came about when Moya and Archie were told the story of the harrier hawk (named Molly) that inhabits the Welsh studio where From the Aa was recorded. They didn’t get to meet the hawk, but they did the second best thing and wrote a tune in the bird’s honour. And it’s so easy to imagine the hawk in flight as the duo’s accordions swoop and soar, whilst Dave’s guitar maintains contact with the ground. Isaac and Gabby is a tune that Archie wrote as a belated wedding gift to a couple of his friends. It’s fast-paced and it’s utterly joyful – and I’ve no doubt that the newlyweds loved it!
Moya and Archie will be launching from the Aa at a special show on Sunday 16th March at Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast. If you’re in the area, why not pop along and be amazed!
Watch Moya and Archie in action:
Archie Churchill-Moss: Instagram
Moya Sweeney: Instagram