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the expatriate game ben paley ~fiddle
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ben paley ~fiddle“...just about the best folk fiddler of his generation” fROOTS “Clean, fresh and inventive” Dirty Linen “Lovely intonation, supple wrist and fluid bowing, pulsing, lilting rhythm and a superb ear for melody and counter-melody” Jim Younger |
Ben's a fabulous young fiddle player who readily immerses himself in activities as diverse as Scandinavian music, revivalist oldtime (with his father in the New Deal String Band) and the vibrant acoustic thrash of McDermotts 2 Hours and the Levellers. Born in London, Ben Paley was surrounded by traditional music from the outset: his father (Tom Paley, one of the great figures of the American folk revival), mother (singer Claudia Gould) and step-father (Ron Gould, writer on jazz, country and folk music) were all enormous influences. Ben has been playing the fiddle music of the USA, Sweden and Ireland since he was six years old. Ben and his family returned to England, and he discovered Swedish fiddle music and Punk Rock. Some years later he washed up in Brighton: hanging out at Irish sessions; busking; touring the UK, US and Europe; playing recording sessions, festivals and folk-clubs; and playing for more bands than he can possibly remember, including buskers Anton the Aardvark's Hot Knives and Cyril the Squirrel's Sock Suspenders, and the infamous death-metal-bluegrass outfit and festival favourites The Wild Turkey Brothers. His collection of Swedish fiddle tunes is the standard work on the subject in this country. He has toured widely with his father Tom (founder-member of the New Lost City Ramblers) and recorded with Bing Lyle, psychedelic dance-merchants Mandragora, The Saw Doctors, poet Murray Lachlan Young and The New Deal String Band. He also found time to play and record with such people as Damon Albarn and Michael Nyman on the Fox feature film Ravenous, theatre company dreamthinkspeak & The Levellers. Currently he's working in a duo with Tab Hunter; with poet, playwright and songwriter Nick Burbridge in McDermott's 2 Hours; and Joe Locker in the New Deal String Band; and in English dance band The Sussex Pistols, amongst other things. |
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