A Far Cry

A FAR CRY is David Nigel Lloyd and Jill Egland, an acoustic duo with a fresh non-traditional approach to traditional Celtic music. Their repertoire is unique. Their style is eclectic in the best sense of the word. Their incisive and irreverent wit is disarming audiences wherever they perform.

The two friends —both veterans of the California Celtic scene— place the anticipated ballads and reels in unexpected settings which include old-timey songs, blues and sung poetry. Their music has its roots in the far-off British Isles yet is uniquely American.

There is a strong and fascinating sense of history, poetry and purpose to A FAR CRY’s music. What seems to appeal immediately is the sense of casual effortlessness and delight Jill and David have in playing together. They are at ease and so is their audience.

Both are strong singers and instrumentalists. An accomplished finger-style player, David plays steel-stringed guitar in a very unusual tuning, a classical guitar tuned regularly and an odd mongrel of an eight-stringed instrument he calls an octar. This is the basis of his —and now A FAR CRY’s— rich and distinctive guitar sound. A multi-instrumentalist, Jill plays accordion, penny whistle, flute and bodhran. Her playing is both plaintive and eloquent and, along with her harmony singing, lends great variety and range to the duo’s music.

Their repertoire consists mostly of songs from DNL’s critically acclaimed 1998 release, HOW LIKE GHOSTS ARE WE and from his soon to be released CD, RIVERS, KINGS AND CURSES. Jill brings a large number of traditional tunes to the mix; many are from EVEN HOTTER WATER, the latest release of her national touring band Banshee in the Kitchen. More and more A FAR CRY pieces, however, are the unique products of their collaboration.

A FAR CRY’s non-traditional approach to traditional music is unique but not without precedent. During the 1960s, there was a wild group of players in Britain who saw the old ballads, Delta blues, beat poetry, and Zen teaching tales, for instance, as essentially the same thing. They were visionaries and they made some extraordinary music. A FAR CRY is firmly in that non-tradition.