Interview: Sheelanagig

“We’ve collected a serious number of tunes over our musical careers,” says Aaron Catlow of Sheelanagig. “We always keep an ear out on our travels for new traditional pieces to steal – pressing our ears against rehearsal room doors, lifting manuscripts from fiddlers’ handbags…”

Sheelanagig blend folk genres the way a good party DJ blends beats, and the effect on an audience is much the same. Irish folk, klezmer, ska and North African music are all present in their frenetic round-the-world hoedowns, although the irrepressible sound of the Balkans leads the way. “There’s something about Balkan music that really gets us going,” says Aaron. “It has so much passion behind it but at the same time it’s very playful. We used to play a lot more Irish music in our sets but found that audiences respond with more excitement to the Balkan-flavoured material so over time that became more prevalent.”

While Sheelanagig are hardly the only British band to look to South-Eastern Europe for ideas, some of their other influences may be less familiar to today’s festival crowds. “Another influence for the band is European medieval folk music,” Aaron explains. “We now have three tunes in our repertoire and they let us explore a more rocky feel. Whenever they’re played live the crowd go absolutely wild like some sort of 14th century mead-fuelled witch burning party.”

It helps that they’re such great musicians of course – check out their version of Lamento di Tristano for evidence of Aaron’s own chops as a fiddle player. The other members – Adrian Sykes (flute, tabla, banjo), Kit Hawes (guitar), Jon Short (double bass) and John Blakeley (drums, percussion) – are all equally skilful players with backgrounds in everything from jazz to early music. “We do tend to throw a lot into the bag when we are writing music,” says Aaron, “inserting different styles under melodies to completely change the feel of the piece…” That tinkering mentality could be a recipe for muso self-indulgence but it’s all done with one purpose in mind: “We want audiences to dance to it”.

People who’ve seen Sheelanagig often comment on the physicality of their performances. “We’ve spent a lot of time playing large busking festivals in Europe”, explains Aaron, “and found we had to up our game to attract the attention of crowds that had jugglers, magicians, fire eaters they they could watch instead.” As a result they incorporated elements of physical performance into their shows: “some of which translated onto the bigger stages, like handstands and human pyramids.” The result is a carnival atmosphere that’s hard to resist.

They’re currently celebrating ten years as a band, and their anniversary tour culminates here in Bristol with a Colston Hall takeover that looks tailor made for the festive season. “It’s going to be a party not to be missed,” says Aaron. “Apart from us we have four other great bands – The Urban Folk Quartet, The Turbans, The Gypsies of Bohemia and The Schmoozenbergs”, while other treats include an aerial show, DJs, flash mob clowns and “a few other surprises” to be revealed on the night. “We’re very excited about it,” says Aaron. “We can’t wait to celebrate our 10th anniversary in our home town of Bristol.”

A decade of gigs clearly hasn’t dulled their appetite for the touring life (or Transitvania as one of their song titles has it.) “We’ve had such a cracking ten years on the road and so many fantastic gigs” says Aaron, citing “WOMAD, Shrewsbury Folk Festival, Beautiful Days” as well as “lovely gigs” at weddings, village halls and street festivals. “One gig that will always stay in our minds was a guy’s funeral,” recalls the violinist. “We played in the family’s garage and everyone danced and laughed and really celebrated his life in such a fantastic way. When I die that’s how I would like my funeral to be.”

Sheelanagig 10 Year Anniversary Party, Colston Hall, Friday December 18. For more information visit www.colstonhall.org