Lilt

This excellent local duo was able to squeeze in a matinee show at the Jammin Java in between the many sets they are performing this weekend, when their music is the soundtrack for so many people headed to the clubs. But this is the perfect way for me to celebrate St. Patrick's Day--Irish music with a small enthusiastic sober crowd (I'll happily cover the Pogues another time of the year). Lilt played its usual set of reels and jigs and even slipped in a song with vocals and a traditional sounding tune written in the last few years. Even staying tight within the genre, there was a lot of variety here. They again invited a dancer to join in on a few songs. Today, it was a woman from Footworks adding a modern Irish style which including the shocking visage of her arms moving. That subtle addition brought a jazzy flair to the dancing which helped in the usual manner with a percussive strike to the floor or top of a barrel (nice touch). The bouzouki and banjo of Keith Carr and the flute and tin whistle of Tina Eck worked the usual magic as they locked into these classic tunes. There is a circular flow to most classic folk songs and a lot of ancient music in general where the song seemingly ends at the beginning with an active and natural flowing walkabout in between. It was easy to drift off into this music today as their playing is of such great quality and feeling. It was this Irish music that many years ago set me digging in deeper to all forms of European folk music and psychedelic folk music of the 1960s and 1970s, so it is important that I can still take it in, especially when it is played as well as Lilt is capable of. They also added a pleasant stage presence with nice stories of the songs and what is going on for them. You owe it to yourself to take in traditional music at least once in a while, and I can recommend few better than Lilt.

Quote of the Day: Discussing their appearance on NPR the other day... "Kojo Nnamdi said the flute looked really cool... he didn't say it sounds really cool." - DC Rock Live

I first heard this Irish folk duo on their recent album "Onward" which I found to be a vibrant approach to classic Irish folk music. They hit the stage for 90 minutes of mostly instrumental Irish folk (one shared vocal song) which fully absorbs this matinee audience. Tina Eck plays a lovely wooden flute and a bit of whistle (not so much tin anymore). Keith Carr mostly plays a cittern and adds a little banjo here and there. Their virtuosity is quickly apparent and their notes deftly flow together in those classic ancient patterns. I really love this music and it is perfect for me today as it is quick, moving, and has that melodic pattern that circles back to the starting point to a harmonious conclusion--nothing like the ancient modal harmonic compositions to balance the soul. These two know their instruments, know the music, and show off their nice personalities on stage. They invited an Irish dancer (you know, that mostly armless style) to come up on final verses of several songs to bang out a nice little rhythm with his feet while showing off his various moves. It was a nice visual touch, with a surprising rhythmic boost as well. This music fits perfectly into the revival era of British (and European) folk in the post Sweeney's Men era. Back then, you could stray from traditional or stay roughly within those bounds (as Lilt does) yet provide a modern depth to the sound and the performance. I hope many more people will check out these two, either as Lilt, or playing with other band variations around town. As someone from the crowd said, 'next time, we'll be bringing our friends!'.

Quote of the Day: paraphrasing Keith Carr, as he and Tina provided lots of interesting details about the music and instruments... "This is a ten-string bouzouki, which is properly known as a cittern, although no one in Ireland will call it that. That's more of a UK-Scotland thing."

David Hintz 12/31/2012 - DC Rock Live

Here is something I often do not get a chance to review for DC Rock Live, a local Irish folk duo. If I am wearing my Folkworld hat and digging into my pile of CDs, I might expect something like this. But it is refreshing to hear such crisp modern performances on mostly traditional Irish reels, jigs, and folk songs. The two musicians known as Lilt play flute offset by a stringed instrument such as cittern, banjo or mandolin. They have guest fiddles and a bodhran which add more flash when desired. The production is clean and the playing is sharp and with enough pace to make it interesting enough for those that learned their Irish music from the Pogues and not their father's favorite crooner braying away at "Danny Boy". If you enjoy De Dannan, Planxty and the many bands that do this sort of thing, you'll easily enjoy this as well. The key that makes this stand out for me is that little bit of extra sharpness in the way they hit their notes and pace they maintain. And they play around the DC area often enough, that a live show seems like it would be well worth the effort. You can certainly expect to read about it here when next I get them on my calendar.

Songs to try out first:

Actually, this album plays through nicely and you can easily find your own favorites. I like "Gallagher's Frolics" with its heavy flute and light strum. "The Thorn Tree" also featured some great picking. - DC Rock Live

LILT
Onward

Lilt present a very appealing ramble through the tune list of their lives on their album Onward. Tina Eck and Keith Carr seek to impersonate the very definition of their name and succeed on an album that holds true to the tradition. It is an honest and rewarding recording of the traditional Irish music that has formed their musical lives over the last decade or so. Endless nights in the pubs and clubs of Washington DC, where the duo met have paid off. With Tina on flute and Keith on bouzouki they found a natural partnership in their respective playing styles and their natural approach to the music shines through.

Launching The Boat/The Pipers Despair is a good old fashioned set of reels familiar to many, delivered in a clear and uncomplicated arrangement. In fact the whole album has this feel to it, making their music an honest representation of how this music should be played and enjoyed. Throughout the album they moderate the tempo nicely and introduce other instruments as required. This ads to the overall sound.

Hanley's Tweed/Considine's Grove starts with fiddle and bouzouki and builds nicely with Tina joining on flute, then taking the lead for a number of bars before the trio conclude a great set. As the album progresses it draws you in and the music does indeed have that oh so important lilt. Keith also surprises with a banjo and bodhran duet called The Trip To Miriam's/Major Harrison's Fedora that works very well. They close the album out with an air and some reels titled Michael O' Connors 2nd Air/Rolling in the Barrel/The Tap Room that gathers pace to a very fruitful conclusion to the album.

Lilt state that they love and try to capture the essentials of Irish traditional music, boundless energy, wildness and melancholy. They have done just that, all enclosed in a very tasteful CD cover that reminds me of Shanachie albums of old.

Tony Lawless - Tradconnect.com

LILT
Onward

Lilt present a very appealing ramble through the tune list of their lives on their album Onward. Tina Eck and Keith Carr seek to impersonate the very definition of their name and succeed on an album that holds true to the tradition. It is an honest and rewarding recording of the traditional Irish music that has formed their musical lives over the last decade or so. Endless nights in the pubs and clubs of Washington DC, where the duo met have paid off. With Tina on flute and Keith on bouzouki they found a natural partnership in their respective playing styles and their natural approach to the music shines through.

Launching The Boat/The Pipers Despair is a good old fashioned set of reels familiar to many, delivered in a clear and uncomplicated arrangement. In fact the whole album has this feel to it, making their music an honest representation of how this music should be played and enjoyed. Throughout the album they moderate the tempo nicely and introduce other instruments as required. This ads to the overall sound.

Hanley's Tweed/Considine's Grove starts with fiddle and bouzouki and builds nicely with Tina joining on flute, then taking the lead for a number of bars before the trio conclude a great set. As the album progresses it draws you in and the music does indeed have that oh so important lilt. Keith also surprises with a banjo and bodhran duet called The Trip To Miriam's/Major Harrison's Fedora that works very well. They close the album out with an air and some reels titled Michael O' Connors 2nd Air/Rolling in the Barrel/The Tap Room that gathers pace to a very fruitful conclusion to the album.

Lilt state that they love and try to capture the essentials of Irish traditional music, boundless energy, wildness and melancholy. They have done just that, all enclosed in a very tasteful CD cover that reminds me of Shanachie albums of old.

Tony Lawless - Tradconnect.com

LILT
Onward
13 tracks 47 minutes 11 seconds Lockhouse Records www.liltirishmusic.com

The phrase ‘a lilting pace’ sums up this recording. Onward created by the duo of flautist Tina Eck and Keith Carr on strings derives from years of playing and sharing tunes around the Washington DC session scene. These tunes are steeped in tradition whether it is the recent or the deep past and the sleeve notes tell a tale of melodies discovered and the stories behind the familiar airs.

These airs are very recognizable to discerning listeners of the old traditional and the more contemporary, ranging from the likes of The Ivy Leaf and Mayor Harrison’s Fedora taken from the pages of the O’Neill Collection to The Trip to Miriam’s composed by the young Manchester fiddle player Colin Farrell, (is it about Mulligan’s of Amsterdam?) the tracks emit an air of restful resonance and soothing tones.

The Liz Carroll composition The Ornery Upright is full of well- modulated phrasing and Eck’s flute is full oflife and is carried into the well known Paddy Fahy’s by Carr’s strings and the rhythmic beat of Jesse Winch’s bodhran.

An undulating string intro to Grainne Hambly’s The Thorn Tree paves the way for McGoldrick’s Farewell to Whalley Range and both slip jigs are enunciated with meticulous clarity. Joe DeZarn’s fiddle adds spice to the Hanley’s Tweed set which flares into Considine’s Grove the tempo rising to a flourishing finish.

Onward will suit listeners of every degree. The tracks are well defined and would be of a benefit to any budding beginner and the long time session frequenter also stands to gain too, as they relax into the entrancing quality of a well-administered tune.

- Eileen McCabe - Irish Music Magazine