NUA

There’s more than one band called NUA, which is of course a Gaelic word for “new”. This particular Nua is a trio based out of Toronto, playing what is loosely Irish traditional music with a healthy dose of contemporary Canadian influences. James Law’s fiddle provides the lead, confident virtuoso playing all up the fingerboard. Graeme McGillivray and Jacob McCauley build supporting pillars on guitar and bodhrán, creating a sound which is full and varied, remarkably flexible for a trio. This is their debut CD, and the title is fully justified: NUA put their own stamp on the music, most of which is their own compositions, with a couple of choice morsels by Oliver Schroer, Dave Richardson and Michael Ferrie. The up–tempo sets are bold indeed, challenging melodies and rhythms ripped out at an impressive pace, without any loss of definition or detail. I’m reminded of the Tartan Amoebas, the same energy and freshness with a fiddle front line, but to achieve this level of impact with only three pairs of hands takes rare skill.

The intricate backing arrangements are an essential ingredient of this powerful trio’s sound, and faster tracks such as The Draw or The Hijack make the most of the depth and dexterity brought by McGillivray and McCauley. Original instrumental music can be hard to judge, but Schroer’s Driving Song and Richardson’s MacArthur Road allow a comparison with other recordings. Based on this, I’d say NUA can hold their heads up in any company. Bold is a definite contender for my 2013 Top Ten list. - Alex Monaghan of Irish Music Magazine

NUA's debut album BOLD in the Best Of 2013 list for FolkWorld's editor and well-known reviewer Alex Monaghan. - FolkWorld

An energetic fiddle, a driving guitar and a bodhran – this is all that is to Nua and to this album – and you would not want anything more. “Bold” features mainly compositions of James and Graeme, primarily in a Scottish-Canadian trad style, presented with style and skill. Hats off to James Law (fiddle), Graeme McGillivray (guitar) and Jacob McCauley for this impressive debut album. The trio managed to master the art of pressing a live feel onto a CD. This music is pure energy – you cannot stop tapping your feet along. A real favourite! - Michael Moll

NUA's latest 14 track release, BOLD, is an amazing Folk/Celtic release that makes a strong bid for instrumental album of the year. I don't get excited that often about non-vocal albums, but BOLD is definitely something worth getting a bit pumped up about. James M Law (fiddle), Graeme McGillivray (guitar), and Jacob McCauley (bodhran) bring together their masterful music skills to create some of the most amazing compositions I've heard so far this year. Their talents far exceed that of most of the 350+ independent bands sending me music each month for review consideration. This is why my ears perked up when I first heard them.

BOLD is the perfect name for NUA's project because, it is very strong and unique in that I have not heard an album like this. It can be both rewarding and challenging to be the only one in your "lane" because, on one hand you sometimes reap the benefits of being the first to do it, but on the other hand you have to work extra hard to reach an audience and get their ears tuned to what you're doing. Yet, it is my belief that NUA won't struggle too hard to get an audience to like them because tracks like: Fizzbuzz, Happy Cammy Drammy Birthday, Driving Song, and The Dark Road all work to make a strong case for this Toronto trio. Overall, NUA is a "Grade A" trio of musicians whose talents are superior, and their BOLD release is powerful. If you're looking for something that goes beyond the cliche sounds of today's mainstream Top 40 music, then you should definitely check these guys out. - I AM ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE

Canadian trio Nua draw heavily on Scottish and Irish influences, although most of their material is original. Combining the guitar of Graeme McGillivray, the fiddle of James Law and the bodhran of Jacob McCauley, they have produced a debut album of 14 exciting tunes.

As well as the traditional influences mentioned, one wonders if other styles of music flavour their work - the album begins with an Intro and ends with an Outro - an homage to the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band perhaps? The opening of Intro sounds momentarily like Hawkwind in collaboration with the Penguin Café Orchestra before settling into the tune itself!

Fizzbuzz is a fairly standard tune plus rhythm section arrangement, but with the fiddle able to show the breadth of its range. The Draw begins to hint at the more diverse, syncopated rhythms which the trio are capable of. One impressive feature of this tune is the fiddle and bodhran playing the melody together, proving that the latter is not just a rhythm instrument.

There is more wonkyness in Happy Cammy Drammy Birthday where the listener is on edge, wondering if the melody and rhythm instruments are going to fall out of synch with each other, but of course, they never do.

Instrumental albums can often seem to be full of fast, loud tunes, but Nua can also be sensitive - Rich With Heart changes its dynamics and moves seamlessly between styles and time signatures. A very Irish sounding section moves naturally into jazz.

One would think that varying the texture would be difficult with just one melody and two rhythm instruments, but Nua make it seem easy. A fine debut. -

There is something that makes Celtic music seem like such a relief from the ‘regular’ music you hear every day, and bands like NUA make that all more true. Rather than simply being an energetic collection of folk-type instruments, as you would expect, NUA’s back-catalogue is a whole collection of twists and turns, managing to capture an adventurous atmosphere with such ease that listening to them is like experiencing an aural film, with emotive music keeping you gripped from start to finish. Their debut album BOLD is out now, and has that rare power that is beyond most forms of music: it can lift a good mood, soothe a bad one and incite an eager excitement in the listener. NUA specialise in genre-defying, empathising music that you just long to be the soundtrack to your own adventure. - http://thankfolkforthat.com/?p=9679

NUA is a trio of men out of Toronto, Canada. Their CD, "Bold", is a testimony to the remarkable talent they share. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this 14 track album is all instrumental.

The first three times I listened to "Bold" I was mezmerized and could not think of anything to write. This CD is so captivating, so full
of life and imagination. With every beat I wondered what the writer
was thinking...what was in his heart and in his head.

My favorite track is "Peter and Michelles". It is a bit slower and perhaps darker than the rest of the CD. I literally felt as if I weresitting in an old Irish smoke-filled pub surrounded by friends and raising pints as stories of old were being told.

If you need to escape after a long day, believe me when I say NUA and "Bold" will take you on some memorable excursions!!! -

Bold is the new debut album by Canadian group Nua whose members include Jacob McCauley on bodhrán, James Law on fiddle and Graeme McGillivray on guitar. Rooted in traditional Irish and Scottish music their music absorbs external influences from their varied backgrounds in Jazz and other world music. This debut is predominantly made up of self-compositions and the categorisation of many of the tracks is difficult due to the unique approach taken by the group. The result is modern and contemporary with tunes stretched to breaking point and then reconstructed in their search for new avenues of expression. With only one melody player in the group this presents challenges. Bodhrán and guitar have to work especially hard to provide an adequate balance and interest to what is being explored musically. Inventiveness abounds and the interwoven nature of some of the arrangements is impressively daring.

Tracks like The Draw for example are part jig and part reel but not in the way that we would know them. The arrangements are very involved and require significant bodhrán and guitar interplay to offset long interludes without fiddle. In fact for nearly one third of this track the fiddle takes a backseat. They shift time signatures mid tune and mix things up in new ways. On other tracks they add elements of jazz fiddle and guitar to close out proceedings or provide interludes in the arrangements. These elements come at you unexpectedly and are cleverly incorporated into the tracks. If you are going to be this inventive then why not show what can be achieved and this is exactly what Nua do. Fizzbuzz is another track that gets stretched. Basically a jig but incorporating a lot of syncopation, overlays and rhythms that ebb and flow until they reach a natural end. Throughout the album there are some great compositions like The Dark Road and Rich with Hart which they pair with the Dave Richardson composition MacArthur Road and the slower Martyn's Yellow Tea Pot. Nua are a unique group with their world influenced compositions and arrangements. Bold lives up to its name and is the Canadian equivalent of some of the more contemporary albums coming out of Ireland at the moment. They challenge you with an album that is creative, questioning, and inventive in equal proportions. - Tony Lawless of TradConnect

NUA are an exciting and vivacious trio of traditional musicians from Canada: fiddle player James M Law, guitarist Graeme McGillivray and bodhrán player Jacob McCauley. Their debut album is Bold, in more ways than one, it being a perfect metaphor for their driving, energetic repertoire. There is no traditional material here; the majority of the tunes are penned by Law and McGillivray, drawing heavily from the deep well of the tradition whilst simultaneously reinvigorating it.

It is predominantly Law’s fiddle that provides the melody, yet the other two players are by no means just bystanders. McCauley’s bodhrán is an ever-present, lithe and impressive heartbeat, whilst the occasional flat-picking of McGillivray’s guitar brings more than rhythm to the mix. Their judicious use of just three instruments, aided and abetted by some technical wizardry and an obvious abundance of talent, allows for a wide and varied palette of sound and texture.

Genre boundaries are effortlessly traversed on Bold, with the insouciant “Happy Cammy Drammy Birthday” and “Rich With Heart” portraying gypsy jazz undertones, and the trippy, trance-like electronica deployed in the album’s opening and closing tracks, bringing an other-worldly aura to these new compositions, nonetheless hinting at echoes from the past.

Slowing the pace down somewhat, with the waltz-time “Peter and Michelle’s” the guys also show that they can play with a considered elegance; similarly the subtle opening to “Flying CDs” builds a brooding drama, before unfolding in to their more usual sprightly pace.

From start to finish the music surges forth with an indomitable vibrancy, whipping round the room like a whirlwind: rhythmically compelling, and irrefutably entertaining. Bold is a thoroughly enjoyable album, that leaves you almost drooling at the thought of how much fun these guys must summon up in a live setting. - - Because Music Matters

There’s more than one band called Nua, which is of course a Gaelic word for “new”. This particular Nua is a trio based out of Toronto, playing what is loosely Irish traditional music with a healthy dose of contemporary Canadian influences. James Law’s fiddle provides the lead, confident virtuoso playing all up the fingerboard. Graeme McGillivray and Jacob McCauley build supporting pillars on guitar and bodhrán, creating a sound which is full and varied, remarkably flexible for a trio. This is their debut CD, and the title is fully justified: Nua put their own stamp on the music, most of which is their own compositions, with a couple of choice morsels by Oliver Schroer, Dave Richardson and Michael Ferrie. The up–tempo sets are bold indeed, challenging melodies and rhythms ripped out at an impressive pace, without any loss of definition or detail. I’m reminded of the Tartan Amoebas, the same energy and freshness with a fiddle front line, but to achieve this level of impact with only three pairs of hands takes rare skill.

The fiddle is impressive in its own right. James handles jigs, reels, eastern rhythms and jazz riffs with aplomb. There are one or two slight tuning issues, probably due to the hasty recording process, but the fingerwork is impeccable and the powerful tone never wavers. It’s not all fast and furious: Peter and Michelle’s is a delightful romantic waltz by Law and McGillivray, and Martyn’s Yellow Teapot also shows the gentler side of Nua. The intricate backing arrangements are an essential ingredient of this powerful trio’s sound, and faster tracks such as The Draw or The Hijack make the most of the depth and dexterity brought by McGillivray and McCauley. Original instrumental music can be hard to judge, but Schroer’s Driving Song and Richardson’s MacArthur Road allow a comparison with other recordings. Based on this, I’d say Nua can hold their heads up in any company. Bold is a definite contender for my 2013 Top Ten list. - Alex Monaghan

Canadian trad-trio Nua build upon the success of their 2014 debut Bold with a solid and satisfying sophomore effort; Flow is flush with both fast flowing melodies and songs as lush as the Irish landscape. It’s amazing how far three instruments – guitar, fiddle and bodhrán – can take traditional tunes when this kind of award-winning talent is in abundance. From the opening notes of Wide Open to the closing run of YK Inn, these 12 terrific tracks will have listeners tapping their toes and, for ex-pats, wiping a tear from the eye. Highlights here include The Jacobite, Wasabi, and the pseudo-country styling of Manic Breakfast. A lock for major North American festivals, be sure to catch the band on tour in the coming months. - Celtic Life International Magazine