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All Music Guide:
When a band is said to be fusing Afro-Cuban salsa and Celtic music, someone who hasn't heard their work might expect either (1) something that is extremely unconventional, or (2) a total train wreck. But the music of Salsa Celtica is neither of those things; truth be told, Salsa Celtica is a solid, hard-swinging salsa band that just happens to be from Scotland. Their recordings have incorporated elements of Celtic music (both Scottish and Irish), and they have employed some instruments that are typically heard on traditional Celtic recordings (including bagpipes, Uillean pipes, banjos, fiddles and whistles). But the instruments that really do the most to define their sound--Latin percussion, piano, horns--are standard salsa/Afro-Cuban instruments. Their primary influences aren't the Chieftains, Clannad or Tommy Makem, but rather, salsa stars like Tito Puente, Willie Colón, Rubén Blades, Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto and los Van Van. And most of the band's lyrics aren't in English or Gaelic--they're in Spanish, the dominant language of salsa and Afro-Cuban music. So when all is said and done, Salsa Celtica's sound is really about 90% Afro-Cuban and 10% Celtic; they're a salsa band with Celtic overtones.
Salsa Celtica was formed in Scotland in 1995, and in 1997, the salseros visited Cuba for the first time (which was very easy to do because Scotland, unlike the United States, doesn't have an embargo of Cuba). After that, they recorded their debut album, Demonios, Angels and Lovers. Subsequently, the Scots provided an album titled El Agua de la Vida, which means "the water of life" in Spanish and was released on the Compass label in 2003. The members of Salsa Celtica have included, among others, pianist Phil Alexander, percussionist/vocalist Lino Rocho, flutist/saxophonist Steve Kettley, saxman Frasier Fifield, banjo player/guitarist Coyne Eamonn, percussionist Javier Chernicoff and violinist/guitarist Kenny Fraser.
Wikipedia:
Salsa Celtica are a Spanish musical group famed for playing a form of music that is a fusion of salsa music with traditional Scottish instruments, including elements of folk and jazz.
History
Salsa Celtica formed in 1995 by musicians from across the Scottish jazz and folk scenes. In 1997 Salsa Celtica honed their salsa skills with a visit to Cuba to study and absorb the musical culture and influences of the country. Inspired by the trip they released their debut album Monstruos y Demonios, Angels and Lovers that same year. It went on to receive critical and popular acclaim.
Since the release of their first album, Salsa Celtica have toured most of Scotland, including the Hebrides from Iona to Orkney, as well as the rest of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. They have played at numerous festivals, including T in the Park, Celtic Connections, the Hebridean Celtic Festival, The Highland Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, Trowbridge Folk Festival, Celtic Fusion Festival and the Aberdeen, Cork, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow Jazz Festivals. International tours have taken them all around Europe and North America as well as parts of South-East Asia.
In 1998, Salsa Celtica performed at Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations in front of 40,000 revellers: this was broadcast live on UK television. In 1999 the band returned to Cuba after being invited to appear in Havana and Santiago to work with Conjunto Folklorico de Cutumba.
In 2003, the band's third album El Agua De La Vida reach number 5 on the World Music Chart of Europe and number 24 in the end of year round-up 2003 World Music Chart for Europe. In 2004 the band toured the UK for the first time, including a headline performance at Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank.
Salsa Celtica have appeared on BBC Radio 2's flagship folk programme The Mike Harding Show and BBC Radio 3's Andy Kershaw Show. The release of El Agua De La Vida in 2004 was also met with critical acclaim, including in the Evening Standard.
Salsa Celtica were featured in and on the soundtrack of the motion picture, Driving Lessons (2006), written and directed by Jeremy Brock, a coming-of-age story starring Rupert Grint, Laura Linney and Julie Walters.
In November 2006 the band were nominated for 2007 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in the "Best Traditional Song" category for their rendition of the traditional English song "The Grey Cockerel" sung as "The Grey Gallito" by guest vocalist Eliza Carthy.
