Projects & CDs – Andrew Cadie

Here are some selected projects and CDs Andrew Cadie has worked on. To buy CDs, go to shop page.

Half-Witted, Merry & Mad – Fiddle CD

Andrew Cadie. Half-Witted, Merry and Mad – CD Cover

Lone fiddler Andrew Cadie breathes life back in to forgotten gems on a bold new album of traditional Northumbrian music.

Sometime in the 19th Century, Newcastle Society of Antiquities came in to the possession of a dusty old manuscript containing fiddle and pipes tunes. An elusive local figure called William Vickers had noted down almost 600 melodies between 1770 and 1772, in what seems to have been a concerted effort to collect tunes that were circulating in the area at the time.

250 years later, Andrew Cadie has decided to make an album of some of these tunes, arranging them for unaccompanied fiddle.

Wonderfully weird modal jigs, ancient reels, songlike airs and rolling triple-time hornpipes keep surprising the ear. William Vickers was obviously surrounded by Northumbrian tunes that were considered ancient even at the time, but he also documents how people in the 18th century were already moving around and trading melodies. There’s a strong Scottish contingent as well as some of the earliest records of tunes now considered Irish classics. Several southern English country dance tunes make an appearance and even some German and French examples crop up.

The Snow Tree – CD

Andrew Cadie - The Snow Tree — Click for info / to buy

The Snow Tree is Andrew Cadie’s solo CD from 2006.

“He’s a musician with an ear for a finely tuned melody – his playing is both sensitive and crafted, and the album’s a grower. These soulful, evocative, lyrically convincing songs sit very comfortably within the English folk genre.” –The Living Tradition
“This is a great album” – Irish Music Magazine
“A very pleasing record” – fRoots
“A solid collection of songs and tunes” – Dirty Linen
“Die CD klingt von vorne bis hinten stimmig und überzeugend. Von Andrew Cadie werden wir noch viel hören. Wetten?” – Folker

GeisterBahn – CD and Live Project

Various - GeisterBahn — Click for info / to buy

After 10 years living and playing folk music in Germany, Andrew Cadie decided it was time to get together a rabble of fellow musicians and go on the trail of German folk songs. Although German songs are not completely forgotten, it appears that folk songs from the British Isles seem to be more widely sung in Germany than the indigenous ones.

The idea behind the project is that folk musicians from the British Isles and Ireland, resident in Germany, arrange and sing a selection of German songs (that may or may not be so well known) in the same way they would approach a manuscript of an old song from their own tradition.

On the CD, all of the instruments are played and recorded by Andrew. Vocals are shared between Mark Bloomer, Mark Bennett, Neil Grant, Tim Gray, Craig Herbertson, Dave Jackson and Andrew. The CD was mixed by Andrew at Wishing Well Studio and mastered by Marko Schneider at Skywalk. Some vocal takes were recorded by Jens Ewald at 9a Studio.

GeisterBahn Live Radio Concert

In March 2013, German classical music station WDR3 invited the GeisterBahn musicians to perform the songs live for a recording to be broadcast at a later date. The concert took place at the Feuerschößchen in Bad Honnef. The first half consisted of English language songs performed by Goodwin & Gray and Broom Bezzums. After the interval, most of the album songs plus a couple of surprises were performed. The concert and various interviews can still be heard on the WDR3 website here GeisterBahn in WDR3 – The programme description is here.

Article about GeisterBahn in Folker magazine