Latest from the uncharacterisable, irrepressible, Birmingham sextet blends Balkan beats with Scottish and Scandi tunes to unique effect

PROG FOLK WITH SEQUINS

Pigeon-holing bands is a bad habit, but it is often a useful shortcut when trying to describe an artist to someone who has never heard them before.  So, in which slot shall we put Birmingham’s Bonfire Radicals? Dance-oriented folk? OK, kind of.  Balkan beats? Definitely a lot of that. Kletzmer? Sure, you can hear a bit in there. Scottish fiddle music? Present and correct. Nordic trad? Yep. Songs about Midlands motorways? Hmmm… Perhaps let’s leave them as “Prog-folk with sequins.”

The Bonfire’s sound is based around their unique instrumentation and differing backgrounds. Front and centre is Michelle Holloway’s recorder and flute, flanked by Katie Stevens’ clarinet and – for this album at least – Sarah Farmer’s fiddle. Backing them and driving the beats are Emma Reading on electric guitar, Pete Churchill on bass and box, and Ilias Lintzos on the kit.

Each Bonfire brings their own experience, musicality, and songwriting to the band, and it’s the blend of backgrounds and styles which gives them their distinctive sound. Sarah’s Scottish inspiration, Katie’s Eastern European heritage, Ilias’ Greek rhythms, and Pete’s cosmopolitan influences all combine to add up to more than the sum of their parts.

FORCE OF NATURE

Live, the Bonfire Radicals are a force of nature – with the diminutive Michelle, usually bedecked in sequins, throwing herself around the stage. It’s impossible not to dance to the high-octane numbers, even when the music’s complex time signatures make it an interesting challenge.

Spaghetti Junction is their fourth record and it puts on tape the core of their ebullient live set from the last few years. It also marks the final contribution of fiddler Sarah, who left the band after the release. Sarah’s fiddle tunes have been a core part of the Bonfire sound, and it will be interesting to see if they take a different direction without her.

The album opens with a signature track, Balkan Replacement Service, written by Pete and Katie apparently in a lunchbreak while hosting music sessions at HMP Birmingham. In between breathless bursts of accordion-driven energy, the track abruptly stops for a whistle break sounding like a fairground organ.

Bonfire Radicals live this summer. Pics: Stuart Anderton @quaperlake_photo

EXAGGERATED DANCE MOVES

In Toicht Lang Tae See Dee moves the sound north of the border – way north to Shetland in fact, with a set of three fiddle tunes which were contributed by Sarah. They start traditionally enough before a processed recorder and calypso guitar make them the Bonfire’s own.

The sounds move across the North Sea with Northern Lights, built around a trio of Norwegian and Swedish tunes which have a healthy sprinkling of African influence drizzled over them to excellent effect.

The joyful Der Heyser Bulgar skips along and is a live highlight with the band’s exaggerated dance moves inevitably getting the audience up and going. Green Fingered Hectus was inspired by guitarist Emma’s stress dream about playing with the Bonfires – so naturally they made it into a daily recurrence, with a delightful electric guitar and bass riff.

Another Bulgarian dance tune (and another cryptic title) is Krim Krams Rucenica, with its 7/8 rhythm created by Katie as part of a commission, breaking away from the tradition for its discordant ending. 

frenetic, ever faster climax

In Mara, the Bonfires visit Brazil with a set of Maracatu tunes, but not content with that they throw Bog an Lochan, a very old traditional Highland Strathspey into the mix. Perhaps we should not be surprised that the blend works extremely well.

The title track of Spaghetti Junction has been the closer of the live show for a while now; building on a cheery Sardinian-style tune written by Pete, and ending in a cod operatic section celebrating Midlands transport engineering leading into a frenetic, ever faster climax. 

Closing the album is a bonus track song— the only one on this record— an ode to Birmingham sung by Michelle. The song was written by local singer-songwriter Barbara Norden and features The Choir With No Name, a singing community which involves people affected by homelessness. Pete is the musical director of the choir, and several other Bonfires are involved.

COMPELLING LIVE

Spaghetti Junction continues the development of Bonfire Radicals as a leading proponent of dance music which blends multiple traditions into an irresistible new whole, which is especially compelling live. With the loss of Sarah, change is afoot and it will be fascinating to see how a different mix of influences take them forwards.

Catch the Bonfire Radicals on tour in November; see their website for dates.

Bonfire Radicals: Website

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