review YA weekly

Dom Duff’s been up to Donegal, the Republic side of old Ulster County. He went there on his own. There’s our boy, he listened to the peaceful wind. And the wind blew right into a song. It showed to a white angel which way to go. And there it landed, « aelig gwenn » on his shoulder.

Dom Duff’s audience is a bit like that angel, a little shy at the beginning, getting nowhere like a heavy-clapping and over-cheering support. It’s not long though before Dom goes on to the rougher side of things, in « kiger San’ Wazeg » he fires away with the story of a downtrodden butcher in a small breton town, sharpening his knives day and night with a view to cutting the banker’s throat, the evil man who’s busy down there looking after his debts, chop chop. One may come to wonder if there’s a butcher or a bank in Sant Wazeg. No harm done then as we come walking down « straed an amann » (Butter Street). Or it might well be a spoonful of melted butter we’re after, that « lipig » which makes a real difference when it comes to eating a real « Kig-Ha-Fars », a treat to the Leon people. As the guitar sweeps away there comes a bit of a quiver down the backbone, those channel waves in the cold breton water… If you feel a pressing need to dance it might be the bodhran that does it. You can join the Landeda dance, « War bont an Naoned » in a round, hop hop. That girl yelling in the middle of it it shows it’s a real success. And there it comes, yell before heaven on the bridge over the aber. There’s no way Dom Duff would turn his back on his own land. This is where he delivers a harrowing ballad, « peñse ar c’henavo » is a gwerz that tells the tragic tale of four breton fishermen who went down to the bottom. On the topside of the album is the most sublime song of the lot. Breton and Irish Gaëlic mixing together, Ronan and Colm O’Snodaigh echoeing Dom Duff.

Cajun guitar, (rhythm box ?), harp, bewitching choruses, the whole hog. It sends a shiver, that celtic feeling and way beyond. Dom Duff likes travelling abroad, and more and more people out there are ready to give him a warm welcome. This comes as no surprise.