With up to eleven musicians from countries as diverse as Venezuela, Ireland, Cuba and Scotland, playing a unique mix of instruments that includes brass, celtic pipes and congas, Salsa Celtica create an experience that looks as good as it sounds. El Camino, the latest album from Salsa Celtica,  is a cracker and actually has contributions from 22 musicians!

The Edinburgh-based eleven-piece band made it to Number 5 in the European World Music Charts with their CD El Agua De La Vida and as they have become an  increasingly important name on the World Music scene, they could very likely do even better with El Camino. Among the treats on this album, Eliza Carthy makes a guest appearance singing Grey Gallito, a beautiful Latin version of an English traditional song.

The release of El Camino (The Road) coincides with Salsa Celtica’s first appearance on the big screen. In late summer of 2004 the band travelled to London to film two scenes for the Jeremy Brock directorial debut Driving Lessons, starring Julie Walters and Rupert Grinch. The film is scheduled for general release in cinemas from April 2006 and, among other appearances and tracks in the movie, features Salsa Celtica’s rousing and typically unique version of Auld Lang Syne over the end credits. 

The Musicians:
Tracks 3,4,6,7,9,12
Toby Shippey – trumpet, coro
Lino Rocha – lead vocals, percussion coro
Steve Kettley – saxophone
Dougie Hudson – congas
Eamonn Coyne – tenor banjo, tenor guitar, cittern
Phil Alexander – piano, accordion, coro
Ross Ainslie – pipes cittern, whistle
Chris Stout – violin, viola
Greg Lawson – violin (tr. 9, 10)
Sue McKenzie – saxophone
Fraser Fifield – saxophone, pipes, whistles

Tracks 4,8,9,10
David Robertson - bongos, shakers
David Donnelly – bass
Ross Hamilton – bass (tr 1,8,9,10) coro
Ryan Quigley – lead trumpet
Chris Grieve – trombone
Ricardo Fernadez Pompa – vocals, percussion, coro
Emeris Solis – congas (tr 5,8,11) coro
Barney Barnett – baritone sax (tr 12)
Jarlath Henderson – uilleann pipes (tr 1,4)
Catriona MacKay – harp (tr 11)
Eliza Carthy – lead vocals (tr 8) coro (tr 4,8,9,10)