Ben the Hoose wins Best Folk Album Tui

News release folk – 1
January 28, 2007

Bringing down the Hoose!

Scottish-born musicians Kenny Ritch and Bob McNeill of the duo Ben the Hoose are the winners of the Tui for Best Folk Music Album of 2006 for the album ‘The Little Cascade’.

The winner of the Tui for Best Folk Album has been announced and the trophy presented at the Auckland Folk Festival at the Kumeu Showgrounds tonight (Sunday January 28).

Fiddler Kenny Ritch and guitarist Bob McNeill embody the modern Scots tradition with spirited interpretations of modern and traditional dance music of Scotland.

It’s the third Music Awards Tui for McNeill who won the same award as a solo artist in 2005 with his album ‘Turn the Diesels’.

Ben The Hoose formed in early 2005 when the two discovered their shared passion for the music of the Highlands and a common desire to play it to New Zealand audiences.

The album, which is the first from the duo, features three of McNeill’s compositions. Their tastes run not only to traditional tunes but also to modern Scottish compositions, music from movies and McNeill’s original songs.

The other finalists were Birmingham-born Bob Bickerton for ‘The Likes of Us’ and evergreen Kiwi folksters The Warratahs with the quintet’s seventh album ‘Keep On’.

The Best Folk Album award is part of the New Zealand Music Awards and it is the third year it has been presented at the Auckland Folk Festival.

According to the official Ben the Hoose website ‘‘The Little Cascade’ is a collection of the passionate playing and inventive arrangements that has made Ben the Hoose such a live success’.

It features modern and traditional dance tunes from all over Scotland, two original songs by Bob McNeill, and a haunting, New Zealand-inspired version of Robert Tannahill's Gloomy Winter’s Noo Awa'.

The title track is a six-part reel written for Highland pipes by Pipe Major George S. McLennan during the First World War. McLennan, a prisoner of war in Germany at the time, is said to have composed the tune while unable to sleep because of a dripping tap.

The Little Cascade was recorded in Ritch’s adopted hometown of Rangiora in Canterbury, between June and September 2006. It was mixed in Wellington, where Bob now lives.

Recording Industry Association of New Zealand CEO Campbell Smith says Ben the Hoose’s win ably demonstrates the diversified strength of folk music in New Zealand.

“The fact that an album of Scottish music can win New Zealand’s top folk music accolade shows me the genre is subject to a wide range of influences which can only be good for the quality of music produced.”

The Auckland Folk Festival is in its 33rd year and its 16th at the Kumeu Showgrounds. Information about the event is available at www.aucklandfolkfestival.co.nz

NOTE TO EDITORS: The Tui for Best Folk Album is for albums released between 16 November 2005 and 15 November 2006. The Folk category was introduced to the awards in 1984. The winner will again be acknowledged as part of the main awards ceremony in October, 2007.

Previous winners of the Tui for Best Folk Album
- 2006 - Lorina Harding for ‘Clean Break’
- 2005 - Bob McNeill for his album ‘Turn the Diesels’
- 2004 - Brendyn Montgomery and Mike Considine for the album ‘Mountain Air’

Or refer to www.nzmusicawards.co.nz (see history section).

About RIANZ: The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Inc (RIANZ) is a non-profit organisation representing major and independent record producers, distributors and recording artists throughout New Zealand. RIANZ works to protect the rights and promote the interests of creative people involved in the New Zealand recording industry.

ENDS

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