ArcoMalarkey & StrumaHooley
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ArcoMalarkey & StrumaHooley **
ARCO: Played on a violin or other stringed instrument using the bow.
MALARKEY: Silliness, Nonsense - we prefer “FUN”.
ArcoMalarkey is the pairing of Titch Roberts and Johnny Reeks. They perform tunes picked up from all corners of the globe, put their own stamp on the arrangements, and often add layers with Cello, Bass, Mandolin and Percussion using looped tracks, rhythms and beats. Together they found a common love in dance oriented beats and rhythms set to traditional tunes, the master of which, in their opinion, was the late Martyn Bennett, whom Titch spent time with at The Larmer Tree when he first experienced his music.
Strongly influenced by the likes of Dave Swarbrick, Liz Carrol & John Doyle, Anna Meridith, and many many more ground breaking artists over the years; ArcoMalarkey stretch beyond the boundaries of the individual tune’s tradition and create a unique landscape for the melodies they perform.
With decades of performing, and thousands of gigs under their collective belts, ArcoMalarkey deliver a fresh, modern sound to the deep tradition of fiddle tunes, and even the odd song or two - very odd…
Titch (ArcoMalarkey)
First picked up a violin in 1970 - and has been learning ever since. Starting out with Classical tuition, then into a touring medieval band, and then onto a ceilidh band, with many recording and dep sessions along the way. Like many “traditional” fiddle players, playing for dancing has strongly influenced his techniques.
Engineering was the occupation that Titch pursued, and in 2004 a career break saw him hop off the multinational 9-5 routine and embark on an individual business building Electro-Acoustic Instruments. The Chin-Cello (Octave Viola) that Titch uses is a development from that business adventure, allowing fiddle players to create and perform Cello lines without hauling around a big fiddle.
Titch also developed a Dorset based youth folk band under the umbrella of Dorset Music Services. Titch retired from business and teaching in 2002 and is now back focussed on performing.
His other interests are:
Motorbikes
Cheese
Beer
John (StrumaHooley)
Johnny first picked up the guitar in his late teens. In his bedroom he learned his craft playing alongside his extensive and eclectic record collection; to the likes of David Bowie, New Model Army, King Crimson et. al. His playing first saw the light of day when he attended a guitar course being run by local luthier Robin Greenwood, this gave him his first taste of Blues & Ragtime.
After meeting Titch through a mutual friend, Johnny joined up with the local tune session at The Coventry Arms in Corfe Mullen, drawing him away from his “Rock and Roll” background. Approaching “Folk” guitar from a leftfield angle, Johnny was soon adopted as the go-to bedrock of many sessions far and wide, and still is to this day, often sat alongside Titch.
Johnny has been beaten into submission by many band situations into playing both mandolin and bass, these instrument also feature in ArcoMalarkey
His other interests are:
Guitar Playing
Playing the guitar
Music