Pool

Did someone say ‘funky folk’? Yes? Well, you’ve come to the right place. The sixth studio album from multi-instrumentalist Ross Ainslie is also the third in a trilogy of what he terms ‘journey albums’, to be listened to in one sitting. Ainslie has worked in many different outfits on the Scottish scene, including Salsa Celtica, Treacherous Orchestra and India Alba, and this collision of traditional and world sounds informs the eclectic nature of this largely instrumental project. Whistles swirl, staccato rhythms stamp and there is little time to breathe (save a mellow interlude of pipes on ‘All My Years’ and an over-earnest foray into spoken word on ‘Sync or Swim’ – not the only punning headline in sight). While Ainslie plays a dizzying array of instruments from pipes and whistles to cittern, bamboo flute and synth, he is assisted by a vast band including Greg Lawson on violin, Paul Towndrow on sax and Hamish Napier on keys.