duggup

Cantara are from Edinburgh Scotland and they play a deliciously spicy fusion of Celtic inspired world music. They were formed about 8 years ago and while the lineup has changed their style of music has remained. The highland piper Louise Marshall Millington has the following to say about her band on her website VIPpiper:

Our line-up is currently Bagpipes, Whistle (Me), Accordion, Keyboards (Elizabeth), Vocals and Drum Kit (Hazel), Spanish/Electric Guitars (Martin), Bass Guitar (Andy) and Mikey on Percussion. We go down a storm wherever we play with our unusual line-up and music, which covers Breton, Spanish, Celtic, Reggae, African, Blues and Jazz influences.

The band website includes some sample tunes from the Cantaras debute CD “Celtic world” which was recorded arranged and produced by Martin at his home studio in Edinburgh. The tracks require quicktime to play or can be downloaded if you prefer. There are also a couple of videos there also, but be warned – they took simply ages to download. I recommend the track “Breton Reggae” as an interesting introduction to the hybrid music style that are the domain of Cantara. “Solway Shore” is worthy of too – featuring the mighty lungs of Hazel.