Josie Nugent or, to be precise, Dr Josie Nugent MA is a graduate of Cambridge University, a music therapist and a violin player and composer and Modal Citizen is her debut album. It’s a clever title but also representative of her musical interests.
I have to say that the album is, in part at least, one for the specialists and Josie hasn’t escaped far from academia. It opens with sets of slip jigs and reels, both original compositions, the first with just added guitar and bodhran and the second with flute and Uilleann pipes added to the mix. All very nice but my interest was seriously aroused by the title track. It’s one of three pieces, the others being ‘ Éadan Doire’ and ‘First Flight’, which feature Josie playing a Rhodes Mk 1. Now, I’m no expert but I know that the current model is the Mk VII and that Josie’s must be pre-1979. It has a very distinctive sound which anyone who was around forty-odd years ago will recognise and these two compositions take Josie away from her traditional roots into a very different area.
The other composition that attracted me is a waltz, ‘Lisfannon Sundays’, which begins in a stately manner but takes side-steps as it builds up before bursting out into a flute solo. The final tracks on the record move from away from Josie’s compositions to real traditional tunes including several from the Harding Collection. I usually urge musicians to stick with the tradition they sprang from but in Josie’s case I’d like to hear more from her role as a contemporary composer.
Dai Jeffries
Artist’s website: www.josiebrianmusic.info
A set of quadrilles played by Josie Nugent and Brian Stafford:
We all give our spare time to run folking.com. Our aim has always been to keep folking a free service for our visitors, artists, PR agencies and tour promoters. If you wish help out and donate something (running costs currently funded by Paul Miles), please click the PayPal link below to send us a small one off payment or a monthly contribution.
Thanks for stopping by. Please help us continue and support us by tipping/donating to folking.com via
You must be logged in to post a comment.