Varo is the newest submission to the traditional genre, and it comes from a fiddle and vocal duo who are – surprisingly – not native to the Emerald Isle. Lucie Azconaga is from France, while Consuelo Nerea Breschi hails from Italy. They met in 2015, when after moving to Dublin in order to pursue their love of traditional music.

The two have performed with Ye Vagabonds and Lisa O'Neill, and have spent the past few years collecting songs from throughout Ireland, Scotland and England. Varo have nailed down the Celtic lilt, achieving a delicate form of sean-nós, but the ancestral grit is missing from the pretty vocal.

Still, the girls' passion for the culture is obvious and their effort deserves a hearty listen. "Varo is the name of a river that, centuries ago, used to represent the border between France and Italy, then went from being more French to more Italian, basically through time, it couldn't really choose a nationality...", the group notes, "as the two of us, coming from two different countries and finding ourselves falling in love with the Irish music and its culture." 

The album was recorded by Christopher Barry (Ye Vagabonds, Junior Brother), and mixed by John Spud Murphy (Lankum). 

Catch Varo on their Irish tour this month and next:

JANUARY 2020

31.01.20 Jim of the Mills, Thurles, Co. Tipperary

FEBRUARY 2020

07.02.20 Fennelly’s of Callan, Kilkenny

08.02.20 Quarter Block Party, Cork

13.02.20 The Sunflower, Belfast

14.02.20 Keady Clachan, Limavady, Derry

15.02.20 Bookmart, Sligo

22.02.20 Leacadona, Leitir Moir na Coille/ Lettermore, Galway

23.02.20 The Black Gate, Galway

28.02.20 The Sound House, Dublin

14.03.20 Daffodil Mulligan, London, UK