Groups

Robert Harbron & Emma Reid
Robert Harbron • English concertina, vocals and guitar
Emma Reid • fiddle

Robert Harbron and Emma Reid are both highly regarded traditional musicians who hail from the north of England. Their duo performances bring together individual influences and expertise with shared roots in English traditional music. Rob performs with the acclaimed English Acoustic Collective and is a sought-after composer and teacher. He is known for his unique concertina style, and is an assured performer, a consummate accompanist and an engaging singer. Emma is currently based in her motherland Sweden where she studied Swedish folk music performance at Stockholm’s Royal College of Music. Emma is a truly natural fiddle player, with a deeply personal style and a real ability to speak through her fiddle. She regularly performs and teaches in the UK, Scandinavia and the USA.

Together Rob and Emma bring a natural, uplifting sound to bear on a varied repertoire which includes their own new music alongside traditional songs and tunes. The heart of the repertoire is in the dance tunes of England, which they bring to life and adapt to the stage, inspired by archive recordings and contemporary musicians to expose the vitality, swing, lift and articulation at the core of each tune.

This is honest, upbeat, optimistic music to listen to in an intimate, acoustic setting – where the audience can enjoy the intricate details, spontaneous harmonies and arrangements that stem from a close interplay between the players, and the ongoing dialogue between artist and audience. May 2006 saw the release of the duo’s debut album, New Dogs, Old Tricks. The album is highly accomplished yet delightfully informal, and to complement the intimacy in the duo’s music, they are touring in a series of house concerts – performances which take place in private homes, in cooperation with hosts who are willing to invite a few old (and maybe new) friends around to hear world-class acoustic music in a warm and intimate setting.

Review
"Emma and Rob play in such a studious, musical, intuitive fashion, they strip the tunes of their tradition, their background and context. Whether they introduce a piece as a traditional dance tune or a self-penned ditty about swimming, they force you inside the music itself. What’s clear from their body language and reaction to each other’s playing is that they’re listening for the outcome as much as we are, creating an air of genuine spontaneity and honest interpretation… Each journey through an old tune is just as exciting as the last, full of possibility, surprises and new pleasures."
- The Living Tradition

MP3 tasters
From the album New Dogs, Old Tricks, 2006:
The Rose Tree, trad. morris dance tune
Tombigbee Waltz, trad.

Interested in hosting a house concert?
www.robertharbron.co.uk

Back to Groups