Beyond The Valley Independent Release ***

The Byrne family celebrate their Scots-Irish and French heritage with graceful ease and understatement. Beyond The Valley is a live recording of a concert dedicated to their late father, Seán Byrne, from whom they inherited a cavernous song collection. Their French mother passed on an equally extensive repertoire. Two generations feature here: Seán's two sons and one daughter and his granddaughter play guitar, vocals, whistle, percussion and harmonica, with some fine flute lines added by guests Marielle Probst and Elodie Malanda. What sets this apart is the organic quality of the music, created by amateur musicians with fire in their bellies. It's a rich collection that includes Scottish mouth music, anti-war songs and, intriguingly, a melding of Robert Burns's The Slaves Lament with the Irish air Fill A Rún Ó or Sagart Ó Dónaill, long associated with Alan Stivell, among others. All proceeds go to The Institute for Healing Memories in Cape Town. byrnecrossing.co.uk