Salsa Celtica are a Scottish musical group famed for playing (and possibly inventing) a form of music which is a fusion of salsa music with traditional Scottish instruments, including elements of folk and jazz.

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History

Salsa Celtica was formed in 1995 by musicians from across the Scottish jazz and folk scenes. In 1997 Salsa Celtica honed their salsa skills with a visit to Cuba to study and absorb the musical culture and influences of the country. Inspired by the trip they released their debut album Monstruos y Demonios, Angels and Lovers that same year. It went on to receive critical and popular acclaim.

Since the release of their first album Salsa Celtica have toured most of Scotland, including the Hebrides from Iona to Orkney, as well as the rest of the UK and Ireland. They have played at numerous festivals, including T in the Park, Celtic Connections, Hebridean Celtic Festival, The Highland Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival and Trowbridge Folk Festival, Celtic Fusion Festival and the Aberdeen, Cork, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow Jazz Festivals. International tours have taken them all around Europe and North America as well as points in South-East Asia.

In 1998 Salsa Celtica performed at Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations in front of 40,000 revellers which was broadcast live on UK television. In 1999 the band returned to Cuba after being invited to appear in Havana and Santiago to work with Conjunto Folklorico de Cutumba.

2003 saw 'El Agua De La Vida' reach number 5 on the World Music Chart of Europe and number 24 in the end of year round-up 2003 World Music Chart for Europe and was also their first album released in the USA on Compass Records. In 2004 the band toured the UK for the first time which included a headline performance at Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank.

The group's fourth album, 'El Camino', was released on 1 March 2006.

Salsa Celtica have appeared on BBC Radio 2's flagship folk programme The Mike Harding Show and BBC Radio 3's Andy Kershaw Show. The release of El Agua De La Vida in 2004 was also met with critical acclaim, including in the Evening Standard.

Salsa Celtica was featured in and on the soundtrack of the motion picture, Driving Lessons (2006), written and directed by Jeremy Brock, a coming-of-age story starring Rupert Grint, Laura Linney and Julie Walters.

In November 2006 the band were nominated for 2007 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in the 'Best Traditional Song' category for their rendition of the traditional English song 'The Grey Cockerel' sung as the 'Grey Gallito' by guest vocalist Eliza Carthy

Current members

• Simon Gall - Piano
• Toby Shippey - bongos, cowbell
• Lino Rocha - vocals
• Dougie 'El Pulpo' Hudson - congas
• Javier Fioramonti - Bass guitar
• Steve Kettley - Saxophone, Flute, Jews harp.
• Éamonn Coyne - Banjo, Tenor guitar
• Ross Ainslie - Bagpipes, Whistle, Saxophone
• Ryan Quigley - Trumpet
• Kenny Fraser - Fiddle
• Eric Alfonso - Timbales

Discography

• El Camino

(Discos León) DSLCD001 (Released 6 March 2006)

• El Agua De La Vida

(Greentrax Recordings) G2CD7010 (Released February 2003)

• The Great Scottish Latin Adventure

(Greentrax Recordings) G2CD7005 (Released June 2000)

• Monstruos y Demonios, Angels and Lovers

(Eclectic Records) ECLCD9717 (Released 1997)

Former members

• Martyn Bennett
• Galo Ceron-Carrasco
• Stevie Christie
• Jenny Gardner
• Paul Harrison (musician)
• Andi Neate
• Chris Stout