"World Musette" by Mike Surratt

Review by Helen O'Shea 🦋☘️

As a card carrying traditional Irish music enthusiast, I am no stranger to the accordion - but I have never heard it played like this! On this outstanding project "World Musette", Surratt takes the listener on a musical voyage unlike any other... In my search for the meaning of the word "musette", I settled on the definition that resonated most with me in the context of this masterpiece - "a pastoral melody". 

The melodies are beautiful and the pastoral care in this record is undeniable. The opening track "Valencia", with its wonderful European vibe, whisks us off to Spain to begin our "world" journey where the connecting thread is music, especially the many musical facets of the accordion. From there, we head to the islands for the fabulous "Caribbean Bailando", a  natural mood elevator! I absolutely adore "Majestic Matterhorn", aptly named as it is a majestic track with a gorgeous melody, a musical expression of class and dignity, that just happens to have a fabulous guitar solo. From here, all I can say about the beautiful "French Riviera" is simply that this piece of music takes you there! 

From the opening strains of the next song, I knew it would be one of my favorites, not just because it made me long for my Celtic home, but because of the seamless meshing of the beautiful vocal stylings of Aeone with the plaintive accordion as well as the superb flute, reminiscent of my homeland - I absolutely loved "Celtic Whispers". 

The fiddle becomes the star on "Moroccan Moon" - a simply sublime piece, a graceful, and purposeful track with beautiful production. The melody and feel of "Altiplano Sunrise" will leave you in no doubt that the South American sunrise must be seen to be believed! One of the standout tracks on this mesmerizing album is "Prussian Passion" with its beautiful instrumentation, stellar production and changing temp from slow build to full on passion, and then back again, another favorite of mine for sure. 

The spectacular and heartbreaking track "Bonnie Sorrow" just took my breath away. I do not know what exactly made Bonnie sorrowful, but I felt every ounce of it. We are treated to both lyrics and vocals with harmonies on "Dance Of Dreams" which is a departure from the rest of the record, a truly a beautiful song, with many wonderful layers. The fabulous "Thor's Blacksmith" with its amazing guitar work totally lifts my spirits. This track feels like a show should be created around it... I was so sad to reach the last song on this album "Desert Whispers", which brought our musical trip around the "world" to a close. As beautiful and as fitting a goodbye as this song is, I cannot help hoping that Mike Surratt will be back next year, to continue this melodious pastoral voyage!