Live Reviews:
The Shetland Times - Shetland Folk Festival 2012
Up next was another local man, fiddler Ross Couper joined by Tom Oakes from Devon with guitar and flute – not at the same time of course.
Energetic and polished is perhaps a little cosmetic a description for these two but they were. Very often tune names are dull but Ross introduced the Bigton Hall to I’ve been Here Before but Not With You. Written in reference to an unfortunate incident involving sherry, a one-night stand and an ex-girlfriend’s house. The tune was a delight but didn’t reflect the horror of the situation; there was nothing in there that made you envisage Boris Karloff at all.
Oakes loved Shetland already and in his best Shetlandese he pronounced the previous night’s trip north on the boat had been a “bra struggle”. His playing wasn’t reflected in that.
The two men were certainly raising a sweat with their powerful performance, it felt like that even watching. There is something perfect about the fiddle and flute together, just ask the Irish. A couple of hornpipes later, including the uplifting The Newcastle Hornpipe and the audience were in complete agreement.
Review from Three Weeks - Edinburgh Fringe 2011 - 5/5
Fusing traditional Scottish folk music with Irish fiddle accompaniments, Couper and Oakes’ infectious dynamism erupts from the stage as the duo shift from Shetland capers to Irish reels; seldom do audiences get a chance to see such a skilful, well-organised and whole-heartedly impassioned performance. Inviting the audience up to have a dance on the stage, this gracious and sincere gig affords the space to sit back and soak up the craft; chatting in between songs, the pair laugh along and regale us with stories of drunken PRs and small-time pub gigs. Assisted by a lone, rattling snare drum, the pace and energy of this gig are simply what make it the most invigorating experience of the Fringe. - Three Weeks Rating 5/5
Fiddle 2010 Review.
By Sue Wilson (Northings, The Scotsman)
"The power and sophistication of contemporary Shetland fiddling were also thrillingly exemplified by another of its leading young exponents, Ross Couper, of the band Bodega, teamed here with guitarist Tom Oakes in one of Sunday’s daytime recital slots. Setting about the tunes with a force and intensity that left both him and his audience breathless, Couper nonetheless matched attack with finesse and precision, displaying audacious improvisational flair and some excellent original tunes, deftly complemented by Oakes’s exhilarating drive and agility "
Review from North West Evening Mail - John Lee (14th July 2011)
'ELECTRIFYING PERFORMANCE: Ross Couper and Tom Oakes at the Furness Tradition Festival'
And we weren’t disappointed. His Devonian guitar playing partner Tom Oakes revealed it was a signal box, not Couper himself who was struck by the forked stuff, but the duo conducted an electric set which fizzed, and crackled with storming intensity.
The Coronation Hall’s supper room where around 30 people had gathered on a lazy, warm summer Saturday afternoon might not seem like the obvious setting to witness such high intensity world class performers. But folk does things differently. And two chairs on a simple wooden stage is all these top class artistes need to take us on a magical, musical odyssey. Shetland and Devon are just about as diametrically opposed as it’s possible to be in the UK. But Couper (from Shetland) and Oakes (from Devon), have struck up a musical harmony while retaining their fiercely distinctive styles.
Couper’s natural game is fiery fiddle. Throwing himself around his chair, his fingers working at a dazzling pace on the strings, and his bow thrust in all directions, as he footstomps his way through a range of sets. It’s breathless, and hugely impressive.
Oakes is all studied intensity, hunched over his guitar, feeling every sound. Both were also more than adept at changing the pace, slowing it down to a more reflective, and at times haunting, sound, like when they both relaxed into The Last Gasp, a tune penned after an exhausting and exhilarating Cambridge Folk Festival. Couper was also good at the tales between sets, describing a “trowie” (Shetland’s version of the Norwegian troll), who would take a fiddler to its magical hideway to “the greatest parties known to man”, and wine them and dine them, as long as they continued playing, and then when the fiddler emerges back into the real world, after just one trowie night 30 or 40 human years would have gone by, like nights they spent at Newcastle Uni, they joked.
Couper also took us to his native Shetland Isles, when describing a fiddler’s vital role at Shetland weddings, leading the march through a community and even playing by the newlywed’s marriage bed. Over the 45-minute set they played tunes, ranging from Sweden to Shetland, one penned by Couper’s own mum, well-respected fiddle tutor in her own right Margaret Scollay. It was outstanding, live music, and a privilege to be there, even if Oakes did admit at one stage he had no idea where they actually were, such was their delayed journey, which meant they had to rush straight to the venue where the concert had already started.
Up next was another local man, fiddler Ross Couper joined by Tom Oakes from Devon with guitar and flute – not at the same time of course.
Energetic and polished is perhaps a little cosmetic a description for these two but they were. Very often tune names are dull but Ross introduced the Bigton Hall to I’ve been Here Before but Not With You. Written in reference to an unfortunate incident involving sherry, a one-night stand and an ex-girlfriend’s house. The tune was a delight but didn’t reflect the horror of the situation; there was nothing in there that made you envisage Boris Karloff at all.
Oakes loved Shetland already and in his best Shetlandese he pronounced the previous night’s trip north on the boat had been a “bra struggle”. His playing wasn’t reflected in that.
The two men were certainly raising a sweat with their powerful performance, it felt like that even watching. There is something perfect about the fiddle and flute together, just ask the Irish. A couple of hornpipes later, including the uplifting The Newcastle Hornpipe and the audience were in complete agreement.
Review from Three Weeks - Edinburgh Fringe 2011 - 5/5
Fusing traditional Scottish folk music with Irish fiddle accompaniments, Couper and Oakes’ infectious dynamism erupts from the stage as the duo shift from Shetland capers to Irish reels; seldom do audiences get a chance to see such a skilful, well-organised and whole-heartedly impassioned performance. Inviting the audience up to have a dance on the stage, this gracious and sincere gig affords the space to sit back and soak up the craft; chatting in between songs, the pair laugh along and regale us with stories of drunken PRs and small-time pub gigs. Assisted by a lone, rattling snare drum, the pace and energy of this gig are simply what make it the most invigorating experience of the Fringe. - Three Weeks Rating 5/5
Fiddle 2010 Review.
By Sue Wilson (Northings, The Scotsman)
"The power and sophistication of contemporary Shetland fiddling were also thrillingly exemplified by another of its leading young exponents, Ross Couper, of the band Bodega, teamed here with guitarist Tom Oakes in one of Sunday’s daytime recital slots. Setting about the tunes with a force and intensity that left both him and his audience breathless, Couper nonetheless matched attack with finesse and precision, displaying audacious improvisational flair and some excellent original tunes, deftly complemented by Oakes’s exhilarating drive and agility "
Review from North West Evening Mail - John Lee (14th July 2011)
'ELECTRIFYING PERFORMANCE: Ross Couper and Tom Oakes at the Furness Tradition Festival'
And we weren’t disappointed. His Devonian guitar playing partner Tom Oakes revealed it was a signal box, not Couper himself who was struck by the forked stuff, but the duo conducted an electric set which fizzed, and crackled with storming intensity.
The Coronation Hall’s supper room where around 30 people had gathered on a lazy, warm summer Saturday afternoon might not seem like the obvious setting to witness such high intensity world class performers. But folk does things differently. And two chairs on a simple wooden stage is all these top class artistes need to take us on a magical, musical odyssey. Shetland and Devon are just about as diametrically opposed as it’s possible to be in the UK. But Couper (from Shetland) and Oakes (from Devon), have struck up a musical harmony while retaining their fiercely distinctive styles.
Couper’s natural game is fiery fiddle. Throwing himself around his chair, his fingers working at a dazzling pace on the strings, and his bow thrust in all directions, as he footstomps his way through a range of sets. It’s breathless, and hugely impressive.
Oakes is all studied intensity, hunched over his guitar, feeling every sound. Both were also more than adept at changing the pace, slowing it down to a more reflective, and at times haunting, sound, like when they both relaxed into The Last Gasp, a tune penned after an exhausting and exhilarating Cambridge Folk Festival. Couper was also good at the tales between sets, describing a “trowie” (Shetland’s version of the Norwegian troll), who would take a fiddler to its magical hideway to “the greatest parties known to man”, and wine them and dine them, as long as they continued playing, and then when the fiddler emerges back into the real world, after just one trowie night 30 or 40 human years would have gone by, like nights they spent at Newcastle Uni, they joked.
Couper also took us to his native Shetland Isles, when describing a fiddler’s vital role at Shetland weddings, leading the march through a community and even playing by the newlywed’s marriage bed. Over the 45-minute set they played tunes, ranging from Sweden to Shetland, one penned by Couper’s own mum, well-respected fiddle tutor in her own right Margaret Scollay. It was outstanding, live music, and a privilege to be there, even if Oakes did admit at one stage he had no idea where they actually were, such was their delayed journey, which meant they had to rush straight to the venue where the concert had already started.
