Celtarabia play high energy world fusion music. East meets West, ancient meets modern to create a spectacular musical mix. Great musicianship combined with a unique mix of archaic melodies, ancient instruments and global beats create an exhilarating and unforgettable live show. Storming instrumental tracks and stunning vocals combined with a deep understanding of ancient traditions and a passion for rhythm allow Celtarabia to create music of breath-taking vision and richly layered textural and rhythmic complexity. Hurdy-Gurdy, Hammer Dulcimer, Vocals Low-Whistle, Cittern, Bag-pipes, Shawm, kit drums, bass, percussion and Didjeridu create a vibrant celebratory sound designed to lift spirits and get bodies dancing.
CELTARABIA have been touring and playing their unique brand of world fusion music to packed houses since the early 1990’s. The band is synonymous with a great night out and a chance to let your hair down and dance. Their first album ‘THE LOST MUSIC OF CELTARABIA’ (GRINCD941) was greeted with wide-spread popular acclaim being reviewed favourably in Q; MOJO; MIX MAG and FOLK ROOTS. Ancient Forces saw them making an impact on the Folk Festival Circuit whilst their collaboration album CELTARABIA MEETS THE ROOTSMAN – UNION OF SOULS combined dub, Arabic and world music elements.
DISCOGRAPHY: THE LOST MUSIC OF CELTARABIA (GRINCD941) 1995. ANCIENT FORCES (OSMOCD011) 1997. CELTARABIA MEETS THE ROOTSMAN – UNION OF SOULS (TEMCD013) 1998.
Celtarabia have appeared at festivals and venues throughout the UK including the Sidmouth Festival, Ely Folk Festival, Towersey, The Fishquay Festival, Whitby Musicport and The Big Chill.
Live reviews
‘This remarkable band use medieval and African instruments to give a mesmerising mix of trancy dancy music, with world-wide influences………. Quentin Budworth playing hurdy-gurdy as never heard before…… Amanda Lowe’s soaring vocals and dazzlingly diverse Hammer Dulcimer playing were spell-binding and up-lifting……… The joy of dance and unity of culture comes through as threads of different musical styles weave together to form a new entity, an almost spiritual experience that seems to stretch back forever and tugs at the memory.’
‘ THE SHEFFIELD DAILY STAR’
‘East/West fusion has often been attempted but never so exciting so compelling. Celtarabia compel you to dance, their insistent layers of sound trance inducing.’
‘FOLK BUZZ’
‘Using a range of strange musical instruments including hurdy-gurdy, Hammer Dulcimer, Didgeridoo and Djembes, they drew from primitive African, Asian and Celtic music creating beautifully inspired global trance-dance eco-grooves, instantly likeable and danceable.’
‘SPECTATOR’
‘It gives me no small amount of pleasure to report that Dr.Q’s hurdy-gurdy led global dance engine does indeed deliver the goods, and more. What we have here boys and girls, is a hot happening collision of sweaty syncopated rhythms and an ethnic tonal pallet that extends way beyond any limitations the bands name might imply……. this is TRUE eclecticism in action, frequently stunning in its vision and audacity.’
‘ROCK ‘N’ REEL’
‘From erect medievalism to tribal dervish’
‘MOJO’
Celtarabia 