Litha

„Each of these selections is intelligently scored and superbly played, bearing replay in a way that instrumental tracks don’t always manage.
Vocally as well as instrumentally, Litha are truly blessed, since they possess two excellent lead singers in Aaron and Gudrun, while Claire and Jürgen’s backing vocals are both supportive and well harmonised. This CD is an especially scintillating example of the diversity principle at work providing an immensely satisfying listening experience.“

David Kidman, froots

„Words cannot express the beauty evoked by Litha in this brilliant release. With excellent choice of material, impeccable performances, and exquisite production values, this is a master work of artistic creativity and execution.“

Stuart Mason, Fiddlefreak Folk Music Blog

„The girls’ voices work beautifully in harmony and the musicianship is top-notch. The traditional tracks show the kinship between the nations and the self-penned stuff displays a continuity and sensitivity. Aaron Jones has a lovely Dougie McLeanesque quality to his voice and Juergen Treyz’s guitaring is superb. This album proves there are no barriers. And if there are, well you can just dance right on over them.“

Hazel Davis, Maverick Magazine

Litha is the current new moniker adopted by the two dues quartet. Combining the Irish/Celtic/ German coupling of Aaron Jones, Claire Mann, Jurgen Treyz and Gudrun Walther, the pairings involved gel harmoniously. Their second album Dancing of the Light comes complete with new name and adopts a swing away from the familiar Celtic repertoire to dive into native Germanic folkloric and more contemporary material song wise. Germanic material whether settings of poems or the sole traditional song provides highlights. Native Germanic texts Mondlicht and Herr Oluf and the traditional Nun Wil Der Linz sees Litha giving new canvas to native words while treatment wise melding with the contemporary Celtic and medieval dives into territory occupied by fellow Teutonic revivalists like Ogunweide, Fidel Michel and Lilienthal. Rarer songs by Suzanne Vega, Karine Polwart and Tim O’Leary prove a welcome and necessary sidestep for a Pan Celtic band offering a varied and unfamiliar song repertoire. Elsewhere the tune sets rattle when needed and maintain a strict poise on slower moments.
This controlled mayhem works well and coupled with the imaginative song choice makes for a collection enjoyable and intriguing.

John O’Regan, Irish Music Magazine

„They meet at this quite literal Celtic crossroads to share and celebrate their common ground through exciting yet truly relaxed musicianship that’s so natural and refreshing, partly because you feel (as they themselves clearly do) that they’ve nothing to prove.“

The Living Tradition

2 Duos

Some recordings take a while to grow on you.  Not this one!  Right from the start I was hooked!  This is the result of the collaboration of 2 duos with a joint love of traditional music –   Claire Mann and Aaron Jones from Scotland, and Gudrun Walther and Jürgen Treyz from Germany.  Together they play a mixture of songs and tunes from Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and further afield.

Aaron is the master of picking cracking songs that suit him right down to the ground, and those on this CD are no exception.  It opens with a rousing version of the Midlothian Mining Song, with driving guitar and bouzouki work and layered harmonies that are both unusual and catchy.  Most of the others are contemporary; including Richard Thompson’s Beeswing and Sandy Denny’s Solo, all given the magic touch I have come to expect of Aaron.  My only slight complaint – and it is only a small one – is that Aaron has recorded a couple of these songs on previous albums, and while it’s nice to hear the different treatment given to them, I know he has a lot more up his sleeve that I would love to hear.  Jürgen’s dobro is particularly subtle and effective on some of the songs, as are the accordion bass lines which add a fullness to the overall sound.
Gudrun’s strong, clear voice makes a great job of five traditional German songs, covering themes that are familiar to trad lovers everywhere – love, sex, dressing up, drowning and revenge.  I was awaiting the appearance of a “wee penknife” and a broken token!  Die Ballade Von Den Drei Grafen Und Der Nonne is a striking song, sung beautifully, and the arrangement is reminiscent of some of Ian Carr and Karen Tweed’s more gentle work.
Claire’s flute, whistle and fiddle, along with Gudren’s fiddle and accordion, provide the basis for most of the tunes, with Aaron’s unmistakable bouzouki and Jürgen’s guitar giving a driving rhythmic backdrop.  Of particular note is Asturian tune Pasucais d’Uvieu, in which flute and fiddle effortlessly intertwine, creating a light happy feel, and the Spike Island Set where the two fiddles blaze their way through a fiery set.  The standard of the musicianship is impeccable, and they certainly don’t sound like 2 duos, they are a tight outfit who play around each other with a natural ease.  The arrangements are thoughtful and imaginative throughout, and mention must be made of the superb quality of the recording and production.  A finely honed album – tasty stuff!

Fiona Heywood, Living Tradition

Well, this is certainly interesting, combining Germans Gudrun Walther and Jürgen Treyz with Scots Claire Mann and Aaron Jones (of Old Blind Dogs). The focus, both in instrumentals and songs, is on the traditional, but there’s also a neat line in covers, with material from Sandy Denny (a wonderfully low-key version of „Solo“), Richard Thompson, and David Francey.

But the real find here comes with the traditional German material (and let’s face it, you don’t often hear German folk music), which is quite delightful, and curiously reminiscent of Danish music. The quartett is a joy, with a light touch and superb interplay, making the instrumentals quite delicious.

But it’s for the songs that they really stand out, with Jones and Walther both excellent leads. There’s probably a lot more German folk music hiding out there, and quite a bit of it will be worth hearing. But with this, 2Duos show themselves right at the forefront, and by mixing it with things more familiar, they integrate it quite seamlessly into the folk mainstream.

CN, Sing Out! 53/2

Not to be confused with The Two Duos Quartet of Wood/Cutting and Tweed/Carr, this particular 2 Duos is a fortuitous teaming of two established pairings of young musicians in the process of discovering and celebrating common ground between their respective traditions. 2 Duos comprises Claire Mann (flute, whistle, fiddle) and Aaron Jones (singer and bouzouki player with Old Blind Dogs), with German musicians Gudrun Walther (singer and fiddler/accordionist) and Jürgen Treyz (guitar), each of whom is well accustomed to band work too (leading Secret Orders and the German outfit Cara respectively). On the face of it, a collaboration between Scottish and German musicians might seem an unlikely prospect, but their friendship, initially formed over a three-day session-blitz at 2006’s Wimborne Folk Festival, quickly crystallised into a three-week tour of Germany last April and the parallel live-in-the-studio recording of just under half of this CD, the remaining tracks then being completed via cyberspace. Not that you’d be able to spot the difference, for a tremendously relaxed joie-de-vivre characterises all the performances, which focus on group dynamics and a refreshingly unhurried quality within the ensemble playing rather than on parading individual virtuosity per se (not that this aspect is ever lacking!).
Interestingly, then, only three of the tracks turn out to be purely instrumental, session-style tune-sets: Beyond The Glen combines two Scottish tunes with an Asturian street-march, Spike Island Set fits a Barra puirt-a-beul between two storming Irish tunes, and Tube Station (pairing John Carty with Stockton’s Wing) kicks off with some superb twin-fiddling. The disc’s vocal contingent is even more enterprising; while it’s inevitably defined by the distinctive qualities of the quartet’s two lead singers, some tight and well-considered harmonies from Claire and Jürgen also form an integral component of the sound-picture. Aaron gives us keen and abundantly lyrical interpretations of songs both well-loved (Braw Sailing, Beeswing) and less-known (Midlothian Mining Song and David Francey’s Saints And Sinners), and a especially fine version of Sandy Denny’s Solo is laced with a lovely dobro part (Jürgen). Gudrun concentrates exclusively on German-language folk material, providing some really delightful discoveries: the beautiful song of unrequited love Stets In Trauer (originally from Switzerland), two ballad-narratives and an „evening-song“ (adult lullaby), The diversity of the material proves no drawback whatsoever, and this CD delivers a subtly enthralling new project that doesn’t need to shout to prove its worth.

David Kidmann, May 2009, froots, also published on NetRhyths

„…the 4 musicians really come together beautifully and its a great, great, great album…“ and just recently on his BBC radio show (June 24th, 2009): „Now, here’s another track from an album by 2 Duos, which I absolutely love. (…) Its a fantastic CD, its got some beautiful songs on it including a wonderful version, you might remember of the David Francey song, Saints and Sinners. (… playing Midlothian Mining Song …) Great singing there from Aaron Jones.“

Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2

Ein schlichtes grünes Cover mit ein paar gemalten Kühen drauf: Die deutsch-schottische Co-Produktion zeugt von sympatischem Understatement und beinhaltet in modernem keltischen Gewand 13 Titel. Gudrun Walther an Geige, diatonischem Akkordeon und mit ihren Vocals bildet mit ihrem Partner Jürgen Treyz an Gitarre und Dobro die eine Hälfte der überaus erfolgreichen Formation Cara. Auf Touren und Festivals lernten sie dann Claire Mann (Flutes, Whistles, Fiddle und Vocals) und Aaron Jones an Bouzouki, Gitarre und Gesang kennen.
Als „2duos“ bündeln sie nun ihr gesamtes Potential, das Können und die Spielfreude, jeder für sich ein Virtuose an gleich mehreren Instrumenten. Traditionell gespielte Jigs und Reels, perfektes Synchronspiel von Fiddle und Flute, groovende Bouzoukiklänge untermalt von punktgenauem Dobro-Slide-Spiel wechseln ab mit stimmungsvollen Balladen, Liedern über Wassernixen und verträumten Airs im Satzgesang. Die wunderbare Stimme von Aaron Jones und sein sympathischer Dialekt stehen bewusst in Kontrast zu den deutschen, besser altdeutschen Texten, gesungen von Gudrun Walther. Minnesang meets modern Folk.
Es ist eine wahre Pracht, was dieses Quartett hier zusammenbringt, alle geben ihr Bestes, und das voller Freude, Wissen und Können. So entsteht eine ganz eigenständige Folk-basierte Musik mit wunderbaren Melodiebögen, ausgefeilter Rhythmik und einer Stilsicherheit, um die man die Band nur beneiden kann. Hervorzuheben sind besonders der mehrstimmige Gesang, im Chor wie im Kanon und das stilvolle Dobro-Spiel. Mit 2duos hat die deutsche Folkszene eine immens kreative und produktive Formation bekommen. Herzlichen Glückwunsch.

Patrick Steinbach, Akustik Gitarre

Gudrun Walther und Jürgen Treyz sind der Nukleus der Gruppe Deitsch und als solche zumindest mitverantwortlich für das Deutsch-Folk-Revivalchen der letzten Jahre. Sie sind auch fast die eine Hälfte von Cara, die (nicht nur) den Amerikanern erfolgreich zeigen, wie gut die hiesigen Jungs und Mädels ihre keltischen Lektionen gelernt haben. Walther und Treyz sind aber auch ein Paar, das nicht gerne lange auf Lorbeeren verweilt und da machte es sich gut, dass sie auf ein ähnlich gestricktes Paar von nördlich des Hadrianwalls trafen: Claire Mann und Aaron Jones, die z.B. auch der aktuelle „BBC Musician of the Year“ Tom McConville als Begleitung bevorzugt. Damit ist klar: Keltische Klänge – gerne auch mit skandinavischen oder balkanesischen Einflüssen – sind für die beiden Paare – oder eben 2Duos – kein Problem. Und da das gesangliche ebenso wie das instrumentelle Niveau (Fiddle, Akkordeon, Flute, Whistle, Gitarre, Dobro, Bouzouki) vorbildlich ist, kann die Zusammenarbeit eigentlich nur in einer guten CD resultieren.
Was aber macht die CD besonders? Neben traditionellen und zeitgenössischen englischsprachigen Songs und drei Instrumental-Sets haben Walther und Treyz fünf traditionelle deutsche Lieder in die Kooperation eingebracht. Diese Lieder sind ein Problem für die Fraktion, die von der musikalischen Minderwertigkeit der deutschen Tradition gegenüber der anglophilen spricht. Lasst es mich so sagen: Wenn auf Sandy Dennys „Solo“ das schweizer-deutsche „Stets in Trauer“ folgt und danach Richard Thompsons „Beeswing“ angestimmt wird und keinerlei Qualitätsunterschiede zu hören sind, wenn das gesamte Album durchgehend auf einem hohen musikalischen und interpretatorischen Level ist, dann kann das nur heißen: Gib den richtigen Musikern deutsches traditionelles Material und sie werden was Spannendes draus machen. 2Duos haben u.a. daraus ein geniales Debutalbum gemacht.
P.S. Den unvermeidlichen Kritikern, die meinen, diese deutschen Lieder klängen doch ziemlich keltisch, sei entgegnet: Jawohl, das tun sie, lasst sie keltisch, rockig, jazzig, bluesig oder punkig klingen, aber – verdammt noch mal – lasst sie klingen!

Mike Kamp, Folker

„You can sometimes tell from the first track that you are really going to enjoy a full album. And so it proves with this debut recording from 2Duos. The pair in question: Claire Mann & Aaron Jones and Gudrun Walther & Juergen Treyz (of the German band Cara) already enjoy great credentials and you just know this recording will be something special. In the days before 2Duos we had…it appeared…loads of artists such as The Bothy Band, De Dannan, Altan and Clannad etc. all vying for the same bit of space on the Celtic music scene. Perhaps we don’t have quite so many now but now is a good time to promote the genre.
With songs such as the ‚Midlothian Mining Song‘ with Aaron putting his fine Scottish vocal to good use and the gently evocative flute/fiddle start to the track ‚Beyond The Glen‘ (think Maids Of Michelstown) this is a band in no rush to rock it up for the general public. On another track the texture of bouzouki underpinned by Jurgen’s subtle use of dobro on Sandy Denny’s song ‚Solo‘ is crowned by the gorgeous harmonies of Gudrun and Claire. The band utilise to good effect a studied repertoire that will appeal to a wide listener base and as demonstrated on this recording they should prove a real winner on the ‚folk‘ circuit… I hope I’m proved right!“

Peter Fyfe, Various Publications

The new group 2duos is just that, a collaboration between the Scottish duo of Claire Mann (flute, whistle, fiddle, vocals) and Aaron Jones (lead vocals, bouzouki, guitar) and the German duo Deitsch, comprising Gudrun Walther (lead vocals, fiddle, accordion) and Jürgen Treyz (guitar, dobro, vocals).
What’s most interesting about the group is the mix of music: Jones (also the lead vocalist of Old Blind Dogs) sings traditional Scottish songs as well as versions of Sandy Denny’s „Solo“ and Richard Thompson’s „Beeswing“. The songs performed by Walther are traditional German folk songs sung in German, which, arranged with the fiddles, whistles, accordion and bouzouki, sound very similar to the Scottish ones. (This is in contrast to her work with the band Cara, in which she sings Celtic songs in English.) The tune sets are also nicely arranged, again with twin fiddles, accordion, and whistles backed by the guitar and bouzouki.
An interesting and entertaining combination of two cultures.

(JLe), Dirty Linen Magazine

„MUSICAL soulmates, though based in Scotland and Germany, the two partnerships of Aaron Jones with Claire Mann and Gudrun Walther with Juergen Treyz make wonderful music when they get together as this compelling foursome. There are songs by Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, and verses collected by Goethe. Flute and fiddle reels from Ireland breeze alongside Gaelic mouth-music melodies or marches from Asturias. Language and idiom don’t seem to matter when you love playing music like this bunch.“

Norman Chalmers, Scotland on Sunday

We’ve all gone solo, we all play solo, ain’t life a solo? So goes the Sanny Denny song. However, best things happen sometimes in good company. Gudrun Walther (vocals, fiddle) and Jürgen Treyz (guitar) are members of German group Deitsch (FW#31, FW#32). Claire Mann (FW#25) is the Tabache (FW#4) flutist and fiddler gone solo, Aaron Jones (vocals, bouzouki) is best known as retired member of Northern Irish band Craobh Rua (FW#2) and lately of Scottish band Old Blind Dogs (FW#36). Together they are 2Duos!
They crossed their path again and again and developed a mutual understanding. Eventually the four took the 2Duos on the road in 2008 and decided afterwards to put it on CD. „Until the Cows Come Home“ features folk music, being it German or Anglo, which fits perfectly together into a Planxty (FW#30) like sound. Francis Child meets Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Aaron Jones sings the „Midlothian Mining Song“, Richard Thompson’s „Beeswing“ and David Francey’s „Saints and Sinners“; Gudrun the „Markgrafensohn“ (chorus with English lyrics made up and added), „Stets in Trauer“, „Rheinbraut“, „Ballade der Drei Grafen und der Nonne“ – partly from Gudrun and Jürgen’s „Königskinder“ album – and the last curtain call „Lasst uns all nach Hause gehen“. Both their singing is nice, and the four-part harmonies gorgeous. Additionally there are three fiery instrumental sets of Irish-Scottish tunes. Until the cows come home is a Scots saying which means something like very, very long, and possibly there is hope for more.

Walkin‘ T:-)M, Folk World

This unique forursome is made up of two Edinburgh musicians, Claire Mann (flute/whistles/fiddle/vocals) and Aaron Jones (vocals/bouzouki/guitar), and two Stuttgart performers, Gudrun Walther (vocals/fiddle/diatonic accordion) and Juergen Treyz (guitar/dobro/vocals), who perfrom roots music that blends the best of their respective traditions. Claire, renowned for her time with – amongst others – Tabache and Craobh Rua, plus Aaron of the award-winning Old Blind Dogs work effortlessly with their European colleagues to produce brilliant results. This release is the result of occasional get togethers and, more unusually, numerous mailings of MP3s between two parties. The entertaining and engrossing tracks include their take on Richard Thompson’s Beeswing and the traditional Braw Sailing.
Great Stuff.

Keith Ames, Musician Magazine

An unusual twist on the kind of Euro collaborations that have become familiar on the Scottish folk scene, often with Scandinavian musicians. 2Duos combines well-established pairings from Scotland and Germany as Aaron Jones and Claire Mann team up to good effect with Gudrun Walther and Jürgen Treyz on a mixed set of songs and tunes from their respective home bases.
Jones and Walther offer strong and contrasting lead voices on a mixture of traditional and contemporary material, including Jones’ fine take on Richard Thompson’s classic ‘Beeswing’ and David Francey’s ‘Saints and Sinners’. The instrumental sets and accompaniments reveal a high level of skilful interplay, featuring Walther’s fiddle and accordion and Mann’s flute, whistles and fiddle alongside Jones’s bouzouki and guitar and Treyz’ guitar and dobro.

Kenny Mathieson, 11th June 2009 The List

Was haben „Der Markgrafensohn“ und „Saints and Sinners“ oder „Die Rheinbraut“ und der „Midlothian Mining Song“ miteinander zu tun? Antwort: Es sind Volkslieder, Folksongs. Und was bringt zwei deutsche und zwei schottische Musiker zusammen? Antwort: Die Liebe zu eben dieser Musik. So einfach können Antworten manchmal sein, wenngleich die Fragen auf den ersten Blick ein wenig schwierig erscheinen. Das Duo Gudrun Walther und Jürgen Treyz, der hiesigen Folkszene als Duo Deitsch und als Bandmitglieder der deutschen „Keltenfolkband“ CARA bestens bekannt, hat sich mit dem schottischen Duo Claire Mann und Aaron Jones zusammengetan, um aus jeweils einem Duo „2Duos“ zu machen. Mit Until The Cows Come Home legt das Quartett nun sein erstes Album vor, eine Mischung aus irischen, schottischen und deutschen Folk(Volks)songs. Was zunächst etwas merkwürdig anmutet, fügt sich auf dieser Scheibe ganz hervorragend zusammen. Ein mutiges Projekt, das ein ganz dickes Lob verdient.

Irland Journal 2/2009